Anna Wintour says Baz Luhrmann made Rihanna dance on a table at the Met Gala

LACMA's Art + Film gala entered its bratty era over the weekend.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art fundraiser took place Saturday night on the grounds of the Los Angeles cultural institution, as the rebellious spirit of its musical headliner Charli XCX and its culture changed brat the album seemed to permeate the festivities. The carpet got a green makeover, Anna Wintour praised the frenetic creative spirit of award-winner Baz Luhrmann and how she once got Rihanna to dance on a table at the Met Gala, Kim Kardashian caused a stir by wearing another rare piece of fashion history and Chloe Sevigny asked the crowd to “make some fucking noise” for Charli, who turned LACMA into an electric afterhours with a quick set with her Sweat Tour partner Troye Sivan. It even rained a little, which is a very strange thing for Mother Nature to do in a city like Los Angeles.

The world-class event, presented by Gucci once again (and every year since its inception in 2011), has often been called the Met Gala of the West Coast, a title that the Academy Museum Gala, which takes place in a few steps away, has threatened to make a name for itself in recent years thanks to hosting a star-studded and hip Hollywood crowd. But Art + Film endures with a list of more than 650 guests from the worlds of art, fashion, film, business and more, including Netflix's Ted Sarandos, co-president Leonardo DiCaprio, mogul David Geffen and Kim Kardashian. (Also strong: The evening raised a record $6.4 million.)

Art + Film also did its part this weekend by welcoming Met Gala guru Wintour to the stage to present a tribute to the evening's honoree representing the film portion of the program: her longtime friend Luhrmann. In the process, Wintour divulged some secrets about the benefit for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. First, however, he explained what happened when he asked Luhrmann for some advice on marrying one of his children. “He proceeded to install fiddlers dressed as nymphs in all the trees, and we actually have quite a few trees,” he said, apparently referring to daughter Bee Schaffer's 2018 nuptials. “Then he recruited the groomsmen into a surprise chorus of trumpets.”

On a larger scale, Wintour continued, Lurhmann has been “the standout impressario” at the Met Gala in “the last few years.” The role saw him offering idiosyncratic creative input, Wintour explained. “His idea of ​​light entertainment in a museum is a giant spring suspended across the entire façade, raised to reveal the Frank Ocean Orchestra, costumed, fully choreographed and fully rehearsed by Rowing stand-ins as the full orchestra and, of course, Baz as the conductor.

He offered another example: “The year we put on a Chinese art and fashion show, he announced before the gala that the evening couldn't continue unless we tracked down a giant gong with which to announce the dinner. While we were locating and trying to figure out how to deliver this massive instrument, Baz had somehow convinced Rihanna to surprise everyone by dancing in the center of the dinner table. Incidentally, we can no longer organize dinners in that gallery, but no one has stopped talking about that evening.”

The iconic Rowing the publisher and Condé Nast executive went on to reveal that he had traveled the world with Luhrmann and his wonderful wife and creative partner, Catherine Martin. “I've sailed the seas with them from the Australian Open in Melbourne to the Vatican, from the dingy pubs of Fleet Street to steak dinners in Washington.”

One thing he learned about the author behind it Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby, Australia AND Elvis is that he is a perfectionist who often operates according to his own plans. “I'm not sure I've ever known a Baz production that didn't air a little late. The thing is, Baz can't let go of his job, and if you did a job like that, why would you? I literally saw him in the car on the way to a premiere trying to get something into the final version of the film. And thank God, I can't think of anything that would be worse than Baz churning out normal films on a normal schedule.

In accepting, Luhrmann thanked some of his collaborators sitting in the audience, actors like DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Blake Lively. He also took the time to issue a call to action for all the artists in the room to break out of the silos that separate the world today and, in the process, support younger generations.

“Now our job is to turn back and make space and raise up new voices and new energies and new generations, and let that new energy break through into the ossified world that we find ourselves in,” Luhrmann said, dressed to the nines. a Gucci dress. “I'm not saying we shouldn't retreat or anything like that. Please don't come and say: look, this is all over. No, I don't mean that. I just want to say that those icons that we look up to, they really had their eyes on us. They really helped us and made room for us. This is now our duty.”

Acclaimed attorney and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson had the honor of presenting a tribute to the program's artistic award winner, Simone Leigh. The Chicago native has a career that spans two decades and disciplines such as ceramic and bronze sculpture and video work, much of which focuses on Black women, their work, strength, and care. Generations from now, Stevenson said people around the world will study Leigh's work.

“They will be engaged in deep reflection and discussion about this artist. They won't dispute that she is one of the greatest artists of the 21st century. They will not discuss the impact she had on contemporary art around the world, but above all they will try to understand how this artist revolutionized our relationship with art and elite spaces. Simone Leigh is transforming the art world. He is changing the historical archive of art through his sculptures, figural and abstract, which use clay, ceramic, bronze, fabric. She is creating a new catalog that focuses on the beauty, the power, the dignity, the grace of black women, of women who have been misunderstood, distorted, often ignored in cultural spaces. The power of Simone's work is so transformative that she is teaching us things about work, love, power, the experience of black women in the world.

At the end of his heartfelt tribute, Stevenson welcomed Leigh to the stage with a standing ovation. For his part, he kept his remarks rather brief, which is also a very naughty thing to do. “This moment right now reminds me of the day my daughter came home and told me her friends had decided I was cool. She said, 'Before, we just thought you were weird.'” Her daughter, Zenobia, was in attendance and she thanked her for “helping me be a better person” while also accepting “for all the black women who are weird.” ”

After awarding two awards and serving all the dishes (star chef David Shim of Cote Korea Steakhouse collaborated with Patina Catering for the evening's menu), Colman Domingo took the spotlight to welcome guests to the courtyard for dessert, cocktails and Charli's performance. His words also proved to be the only time the current political landscape was mentioned from the main stage. “Look around the room on this beautiful Saturday evening before next week, an extraordinary week,” he noted. “And fill yourself with all the art and love and hope and faith and grace and joy that we can make this world a better place. But we'll go out and dance like there's no tomorrow.

Look at all the stars present The Hollywood ReporterArrivals gallery here.