Rachel Brosnahan was gearing up to attend her fourth Met Gala, and second with designer Sergio Hudson, at the Plaza Hotel on Monday evening.

Clad in a body-hugging, royal purple strapless column gown with silk collared detailing around the bust line with matching tie, worn backwards, the actress was channeling not only a modern take on the 2025 Met Gala’s dress code of “Tailored for You” and the new Costume Institute exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” but also hinting at her role as Lois Lane in the upcoming “Superman” movie.

“Me and Rachel go way back. She’s my girl,” Hudson told WWD while getting ready to attend the glamorous night ahead, where he dressed not only Brosnahan but also the likes of Stevie Wonder, Quinta Brunson, John Imah, Breanna Stewart, Adrienne Warren, Jennifer Raymond and many more.

“I just love Rachel. She’s such a genuine person and is so normal. She’s such a New Yorker and always rides the subway or walks to her fittings. I’m like, ‘OK, you’re Marvelous Mrs. Maisel just riding the subway,’ but she’s a New Yorker, and that’s what I love about her,” Hudson said.

At the 2023 Met Gala, Brosnahan donned a sheer black ’90s inspired goth gown by Hudson — a look he told WWD was designed with an edgy sensibility to “present her to the world as who she really is, and not the [‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’] character.”

“After the first fitting, it fit like a glove. I couldn’t believe it, but that’s your tailoring,” Brosnahah recalled, noting that coming into the 2025 Met Gala, she knew working with Hudson again was a no-brainer.

“I would trust fall anywhere Sergio would take me,” she said. “I got so lucky going together the last time, and that was one of the best I’ve ever felt. Every time I wear one of his dresses, it feels like the least stressful getting ready process ever. It just goes on; it fits like a glove and he has the most amazing team. It’s just a really exciting collaboration.”

The duo agreed their collaborative design process was easy and organic — the result of their real-life friendship, which spans far beyond a working relationship.

“You feel empowered when you know that somebody knows your body, loves your body and is going to embrace it. It’s just been such a great partnership over the years,” Brosnahan, clad in David Yurman jewelry, said laughing in-between photo ops with the designer.

Coming into the 2025 Met Gala, Hudson explained that he was excited to experience Black joy on the carpet.

“When I say Black joy, it’s Black culture and style being celebrated by all races, all creeds. It’s just an exciting time for me as a Black man to see my people, my culture, my history, be celebrated, especially in such a political climate as we’re in right now. So that’s what I’m excited about. It’s not about me and the people I’m dressing. To me, it’s about contributing something to a historical moment that means a lot to me and the brand,” he said.

“I think it’s such a beautiful thing to be able to celebrate Black culture. You don’t have to be Black to celebrate Black culture. It’s amazing to have a friend who she could just call me and be like, ‘Are you going to dress me?’ She didn’t have to figure out if she was wearing a Black designer. She already knew me, and it was like, ‘OK, let’s just make this work,’” Hudson said of Brosnahan. “I was appreciative that she wanted to be a part of this Met Gala. That means a lot to me as a Black man and as a Black designer, and for her to celebrate our culture is just amazing.”

“It’s a total no brainer. I mean, as you said, we’re friends. I’d go with you every year, if you’d take me,” Brosnahan added. “You said it too — yes, you’re a Black designer, you’re a brilliant Black designer, but you’re also just a brilliant designer, and so it’s an honor to get to celebrate you year after year.”

The sportswear and eveningwear designer added that designing multiple looks, including Brosnahan’s, around the theme for the red carpet wasn’t a difficulty, “because it’s things that inspire me in general,” he said, pointing out his own Zoot suit-inspired, pinstriped ensemble.

“I’m inspired by ’30s and ’40s suiting and Sammy Davis Jr., Cab Calloway, and in the ‘70s — Bianca Jagger, Mick Jagger. I’m inspired by these things — Dapper Dan in the ‘80s and Eddie Murphy from ‘Boomerang.’ To me, that was a dandy in the early ‘90s. All of these things are my inspiration,” he said.

Working with Brosnahan this time around meant not only bringing forth his tailoring skills to her custom look, but also kicking off her Lois Lane look on the red carpet.

“They’re about to start the press tour, so this is actually her first stop on the press tour. I really wanted to set off the start of her press tour with a huge bang, so we made a beautiful purple gown, and the inspiration came from her body and her silhouette,” he said, noting the look was designed to meld minimalism, menswear tailoring and the movie character’s purple hue. “I say this about every look we created for this, but it’s one of the most favorite things we’ve ever made.”

“We talked about the purple being a Lois [Lane] color. We’re about to kick off the summer of ‘Superman,’ and so what a way to do it,” Brosnahan added.