The Met Gala returned to its regular first Monday of May schedule, and Anthony Ramos was there to take it all in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit took place on Monday, May 2, in New York City to celebrate the opening of In America: An Anthology of Fashion—the second of a two-part presentation—and the theme this year was “gilded glamour.” This was the In the Heights star’s first time attending the event and he went representing Tommy Hilfiger.
Ramos, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, has been the face of recent Tommy Hilfiger campaigns including Pass the Mic, and he was chosen to represent the brand at the Gala. In line with the brand’s commitment to a future where clothing is made responsibly, all of the looks designed for the Gala this season were made with vintage and archival fabrics, recycled textiles, and repurposed accents. Ramos wore a custom Tommy Hilfiger white tailcoat upcycled from vintage sailcloth, a white cotton poplin tuxedo shirt, and a matching bow tie, paired with navy silk wool tuxedo pants, and a pair of Hilfiger’s shoes.
Ramos’ outfit not only paid homage to the brand’s history but also his. The suit jacket had odes to his birth year, his initials, and heritage, making the design feel more personal to him and his roots. Complex caught up with the Emmy nominated actor ahead of the event and he told us about wearing shoes from Hilfiger’s closet, representing Puerto Rico and New York on the red carpet, starring in the upcoming Transformers and Iron Heart, and how much his career has changed in the past year.
Can you share a little bit about your decision to join forces with Tommy Hilfiger and also what it means for you to be representing such a huge name on fashion’s biggest night?
AR: Tommy Hilfiger that’s New York right there. Tommy Hilfiger was such a big part of the culture that I grew up in as a kid. And you know, it’s funny, they used to ask me, they were like, what was your favorite Tommy piece growing up? And it wasn’t even the clothes, it was the cologne. I loved it. And, I just it means a lot to me because I’m from here, I’m from New York and Tommy Hilfiger is New York. You know what I’m saying? And it started here branched out, and it’s become, he’s become a global name and the brand has become a global brand, but it’s still that feel.
People think of Tommy Hilfiger and they think New York, especially when it started booming with the hip hop culture and so on and so forth. All of that had everything to do with me saying nah like, I really, I genuinely want to collab with these guys and I feel honored to do it and grateful. And I want to just bring that flavor, whatever that is, my culture and the flavor that I grew up with to the brand and to these campaigns and it’s important for me to bring myself fully and integrate it with what Tommy already has going on. So it means so much to me.
One of the most exciting things for me covering the Met Gala over the past few years has been seeing more and more Latinos hit the red carpet. What does it feel for you to be representing Latinos in this event?
AR: It just means everything, man. One of my homegirls she’s from Venezuela, but she grew up in Puerto Rico. She says to me, ‘Yo, mira, papi. Remember, we’re all going to the Met Gala tonight.’ And that hit me a little bit when I was on the ride over here because I was just like, “Man, don’t take this for granted. Like you are really blessed and you’re really doing this, it’s just not about you bro.” I was talking to myself, having this conversation with myself and I just feel proud. There are a lot of people, a lot of our ancestors that would never have the opportunity to go to a thing like this and not only represent their family but to represent their culture at an event like this, at fashion’s biggest night.
I think it’s just one more opportunity to continue to, God willing, just share the beauty of what it is to be Puerto Rican from New York and to be Latino. And to do that in this room, it’s just, I don’t know. It just means everything. It goes without saying, it’s been a lot of years where Latinos didn’t have opportunities like this. I feel proud and I feel grateful, blessed.
