Tom Daley Had a Blast at His First Met Gala

Tom Daley, the professional British diver and viral knitter, didn’t know what to expect for his very first Met gala last night, but we’re happy to report that the athlete ended up having a blast while being starstruck the entire time. “I was slightly nervous going in because I had no idea what to expect,” says Daley. “Just to see the sheer amount of influence in that room is so surreal. I was like, ‘If everyone in this room actually put their heads together and decided that they wanted to be able to change the world, they probably could.’” 

On the fashion front, Daley wore a custom Moschino look on the red carpet that was designed by Jeremy Scott. “It was such a cool look. Jeremy wanted to take the classic black tuxedo and add a little kink by adding the leather lacing,” says Daley. “I was wearing a vest, and then I had it slightly cropped at the front, with a long back coat. It had all of these tie-up laces down the side and in the front and all the way down the sides of my trousers, which I really loved.”

His favorite part of the night, however, was not walking up the Met steps in front of the paparazzi—rather it was the random encounters he ended up having with a bevy of A-listers. “My most surreal moment was going to the toilet and peeing next to Troye Sivan, then Rihanna opening the door to the toilet,” says Daley. “Then walking out and Shawn Mendes coming into the toilet, then hanging out with Maisie Williams outside the toilet, and bumping into Emma Raducanu after she just won her U.S. Open. That was kind of surreal.” 

Overall, Daley enjoyed the intimate feel of the night and conversing with fellow guests. “It genuinely is just food and people having a fun time,” says Daley. “And then everyone goes back, gets changed, and goes on to the after-parties.” Now that the Met is over, though, he says he’ll be returning to relaxing and knitting—his favorite hobby. “Another surreal thing that happened [last night] was they got me knitting an American flag on the roof for Vogue’s social media video, which is kind of cool,” says Daley. “Now I am heading back to Calgary and launching my book in October, which I’m really excited about.” He may also even be getting into clothing design. “Hopefully, in the near future, some kind of knitwear range.”

Below, a closer look at Daley’s Met gala night, and how he got ready at The Mark Hotel.