PHOTOS: Inside the Met Gala's hottest afterparties

Ellen von Unwerth and CT Hedden at Baz Luhrmann’s Met Gala After Party. Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com

whether RagtimeS ‘ Joshua Henrynominated for a Tony Award just this morning, lit the fuse at the start of the Met Gala with his gospel-inspired and sultry rendition of Whitney Houston“I want to dance with someone” Jon Batiste (which held a tribute to the American portraitist Barkley L. Hendricks in the main event) blew the roof off Carlyle with his multi-instrumental set at the Cartier Met Gala party at the gorgeous Bemelmans Bar, accompanied by a symphony of martini glasses bouncing from a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. One-night-only white linen cocktail napkins embroidered with “Behelmans Bar x Cartier” in gold thread were spotted on tables next to trays of Panthère de Cartier trinkets.

“Costume art” was this year’s dress code for the prestigious gala, and Batiste wasn’t the only celebrity to bow to the museum’s lively theme. HAD Ben Platt in a Georges Seurat’s Sunday in the park with George– inspired Tanner Fletcher tuxedo, Madonna cosplaying Leonora Carrington‘s Temptation of Saint Anthony. Fragment II, Hunter Schafer HOW Gustav KlimtS ‘ Putrid Primavesi and frankly scary Heidi Klum in a habit Mike Marino creation inspired by Giovanni StrazzaS ‘ The Veiled Virgin. Kendall Jenner AND Yu Chi Lyra Kuo there were many different interpretations of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but our favorite view from the gala itself was Amy Sheraldinspired by Amy Sherald. Of course, monumental dresses and over-the-top accessories rarely make it to legendary parties (unless you’re Luke Evanswhose Tom of Finland look was made to dance the night away).

This year’s line-up of the post-gala festivities was much like last year’s. At the Mark, returning entertainers (incl Cardi B in one Marc Jacobs bubble dress, later swapped for a see-through lace number) were greeted with KFC boxes. Nearby in Surrey, including guests Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Sarah Pidgeon and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pre-game with pre-party bellinis and hamachi crudo before heading out to hang out. Kendall Jenner, who shed her Greek goddess dress to reveal a bare mannequin sheath, and Hailey Bieberlooking like they had been toilet papered, they were seen leaving together.

Downtown, where the festivities don’t start until at least midnight, it was pure chaos at its best. IN Standard Hotel Boom afterparty (an almost 20-year-old tradition, and this year is organized by Grace Gummer AND Gabriela Hearst), Questlove DJ’d while Janelle Monáe, Misty Copeland AND Dustin Yellin looked at the singer Excuse me Ride the crowd from the top of the bar. A$AP Rocky it was there until it wasn’t. Drag queen CT Heddensporting red crepe, fishnets and a piece of the Statue of Liberty, was there, but then again, he seemed to be everywhere, notable as he was also alongside the German photographer Ellen von Unwerth IN Baz LuhrmannThe Met Gala afterparty at Monsieur—an event that also enticed Miranda Kerr, Thomas Hayo, Natalie De’Banco AND Margot Robbie (in jeans, no less). Here’s what you’ve been missing: