How Paris Hilton Got Ready for Her Very First Met Gala

Karl Lagerfeld once told Paris Hilton that The Simple Life was one of his favorite television shows. In fact, the staging of Chanel’s spring 2010 show, in which Lagerfeld erected a barn in the middle of the Grand Palais, may have taken inspiration from the series. It was fitting, then, that the first Met Gala Hilton ever attended was last night’s—a tribute to Lagerfeld’s career.

Hilton attended as part of Marc Jacob’s posse for the night, and wore a custom black dress by the designer that mixed leather and Swarovski crystals. Here, Hilton walks us through the preparations for her big night.

It’s your first-ever Met Gala. How are you feeling for tonight?

I’m feeling excited. I’m getting ready right now—it’s been a very hectic day, but I’m looking forward to tonight. No one loves dressing up for a themed party more than me, and this is the ultimate dress-up party. I’m just so excited to see how everyone is going to interpret Karl.

You’re wearing Marc Jacobs tonight. Can you tell me how the dress came about?

I totally trusted Marc with his vision because he’s such a genius. So when they sent me over the first ideas of the dress, I was blown away. I loved it so much. It’s kind of like if Karl was designing a couture Barbie.

Were there any specific references?

I went all the way back to, like, ’97, when Marc was the creative director of Louis Vuitton. I looked at all of the collections from there, then every single collection he has made since, with his own label. Then I went to Karl’s collection. Basically, the whole mood board was all Marc and Karl.

Another favorite part of my dress is all the Swarovski crystals. Marc made this iconic Chanel flower covered in crystals into a black choker. It looks so epic.

Do you have any beauty secrets for getting ready for the Met Gala? Are there any special products you always wear for event like this?

I got a facial from Joanna Czech and she is just incredible. Then I did a body lymphatic massage with Flavia Lanini, who’s also incredible. The products I’m using today are actually from my new skincare line. These are all the new formulas I’ve been creating with my skincare team. And I’m wearing my newest fragrance, my 29th perfume, which is called Love Rush.

Who are you excited to see tonight?

I’m excited to see the girls at my table: Anitta, Kim Petras, and Kendall. Of course, Rihanna. I’m just excited to see everyone's dresses. I’m assuming a lot of people are going to wear black and white, which is just going to look so chic.

I know you met Karl back at least once in 2006 at an event. Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian were there. Do you have any memories of him or that night?

I actually met him a couple times. The first time was when I was a teenager in Paris. My sister and I were at Valentino’s house for his after party. Karl was shooting a bunch of pictures of my sister, myself, and Marie-Chantal [Princess of Greece], and a bunch of our friends. He also asked me to DJ a Chanel dinner on a boat on the Hudson River that was hosted with Carine Roitfeld when I started DJing—that was incredible.

But that night in 2006 was such a fun one—that evening, he was telling me that The Simple Life was one of his favorite shows. I was so touched by that. I thought it was so cool that, in a 2009 Chanel runway show, he then did “Chanel’s Simple Life,”—which people called Karl Lagerfeld’s take on The Simple Life. It was a really amazing collection. He’s always been such a fashion inspiration of mine. And I love that fingerless gloves are his iconic trademark—and also one of mine.

Hair by Eduardo Ponce, makeup by Steven Tabimba, nails by Faith Oh.