Micaela Erlanger walked us through 13 Met Gala looks she's styled, from a denim gown to a sparkling dress she chopped in half after the event

Speaking with Insider ahead of this year's event, Erlanger shared the stories behind more than a dozen red-carpet looks she's styled for the annual gala.

According to Erlanger, it was common a decade ago for celebrities to work directly with fashion brands and designers who invited them to the Met Gala as guests.

But because she and the "Downton Abbey" star had then started working together, Erlanger was brought in "midway through the process" to help complete Dockery's look, she said.

The actor wore a sleeveless, leather dress made with an "embossed, patent-python technique," as Erlanger described it, and a statement necklace for the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" theme.

"I remember discovering this designer who had made a lot of the jewelry for 'Downton Abbey,' and he happened to have a collection that felt kind of edgy and cool. And that's where that necklace came from," she said.

When shown a photo of Nyong'o wearing Cartier jewels and her green-and-brown Prada ensemble, Erlanger quickly said: "I love this look."

"We were inspired by Josephine Baker — she was kind of our style reference," the stylist said. "This was for the 'Charles James: Beyond Fashion' theme, and we took it in a different direction. She really stood out!"

Munn wore a yellow, long-sleeved gown with a plunging neckline that was custom-made for her by Diane von Furstenberg.

Erlanger said she worked "very, very closely" with the brand to co-design the dress, which was partly inspired by photos she'd seen of vintage gowns with a similar yellow-and-blue color story.

Erlanger thought the end result was "beautiful" and "really special," especially when paired with a broach in her hair and orange-red lipstick.

"Jamie was in Jason Wu for Hugo Boss," Erlanger recalled. "She was so glamorous, so beautiful. She was dripping in DeBeers Forevermark jewelry. It was such a sleek look."

The actor was also pregnant at the time, and Erlanger "could not believe she was in heels."

He wore a chocolate-brown, custom-made tuxedo from Calvin Klein, and accessorized with a Fred Leighton jabot, commonly known as a lapel pin.

"Common really made rocking jewelry on the red carpet his thing," Erlanger said. "The pin was just so exquisite and so cool. And the chocolate color of his suit was so unique. Normally, you see a sea of black tuxedos."

Erlanger told Insider that she worked with couture brand J. Mendel to bring this custom dress — a multicolored gown with a sheer top, bodice slit, and open balloon sleeves — to life.

"It was a beautiful, hand-pleated, hand-painted gown," she said. "That entire ombré motif was all hand-painted. It was so exquisite."

"But I'll never forget that they cut the hem in the final fitting with a pair of shears," she added. "It was so precise, and they were just cutting the raw fabric to the correct length. My heart rate was so high, but they had such a steady hand. It's true couture craftsmanship, being able to do that."

For accessories, Erlanger and her team chose to put orchids in Munn's hair, creating a look that was both elegant and cool, she said.

It was his first Met Gala, and he wore Gucci. Describing his look simply, Erlanger said: "We went tails; we didn't go tux."

"The fitting and making of a custom tailcoat is a whole other ball game. It's a very different craft and technique," she said.

But that detail — and his standout accessories — made Leto's outfit "very cool," she said.

"He wanted a walking cane — something that felt a little magician-inspired," she said. "It had this beautiful Gucci lion's head as the handle. It was so major."

Erlanger also sourced vintage Cartier pieces for the outfit, putting a woman's broach in place of a bow tie at his collar.

"Men can wear jewelry too," she said.

The strapless dress, which was fitted up top and extended into a tulle skirt, was crafted by H&M.

"When you think of H&M, you do not think of evening wear," she said. "Like, let's be real. You think of fast fashion and more wearable pieces. So it was really fun to collaborate with them on a dramatic, showstopping gown."

Erlanger noted that Hudson was also involved in the design process, and was "so excited" any time she saw a sketch.

"The cool thing about this gown actually was that for the after-party, instead of changing, we cut it," Erlanger said. "We took scissors to her dress and she went out dancing that night and had a great time."

But while Erlanger thinks the sparkling, Calvin Klein dress was "beautiful" and "very cool," she admits that the actor's hairstyle — a tall updo inspired by African culture — "stole the show."

"The ways that a hair and makeup team collaborate with a stylist is really important," she said. "Vernon François and Lupita make such a great team."

The night's theme was "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between," and Nyong'o wore Prada. But the dress she donned on the red carpet wasn't their original choice.

"We had designed a different dress, and then in the fitting, we changed our minds! Sometimes that happens," Erlanger said, explaining that they only had a few days to create a new one. "She went with this, and it was really all about the neckline and the makeup."

Makeup artist Nick Barose had "pulled references of birds of paradise," she added, and they agreed that "the colors were amazing."

Together, the makeup and dress made for a vibrant moment that Erlanger still thinks is "really beautiful."

"I don't think she had worn orange before — and orange on the red carpet is quite a statement," she said.

Not only was the dress custom-made for Kruger by Prabal Gurung, but she also had a full set of custom accessories.

"I commissioned a special, custom headpiece from Philip Treacy," Erlanger said. "We did custom shoes with Gianvito Rossi. Everything was just very, very thoughtful."

She added: "I'm so proud of this look. This is the Met."

In one word, Erlanger described this colorful look perfectly: "major."

"They sent through the sketches and we were having such a hard time choosing," she said of working with the Versace team. "But there were a number of things we loved about this. One is that the top came off. Oftentimes what you see on the red carpet — these very elaborate gowns — they do come apart because you can't really sit for dinner in something like that."

Equally important were Nygong'o's accessories, which Erlanger credits partially to the actor's makeup artist Nick Barose.

"This is the power of collaboration. Nick was like, 'Micaela, you need to ask them to make a fan.' And so we had them make a fan at the 11th hour," Erlanger recalled. "We made this ridiculous fan so that when the shoulder piece came off, she still had this fan to play with and carry the theme of camp through the night."

The strapless gown Nyong'o wore might have been designed by an Italian fashion house, but it had American flare largely thanks to Erlanger.

"The most American fabric I could think of was denim, and I was thinking about Gianni Versace," she said. "He lived in Miami for many years, and he had Versace jeans as a sub-brand of Versace. It was huge in the '90s, like huge. So I kind of really started playing with this idea."

Donatella Versace and other designers at the fashion house "loved the concept," according to Erlanger, who pulled references from old Versace campaigns to help design the look.

And because this gown was created during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, every part of the creative process — from designing to fitting the dress — was done virtually.

"I can't believe it turned out this well. It's bonkers," she said.

"I'm really proud of myself, my team, my clients, and the designers who work so tirelessly to create these things," she said. "It really is so collaborative, and I also love the Met because it happens in my city. This isn't out in LA — it's a celebration of art and design, right here in New York."

"The range of photos you just shared with me really makes me smile," she continued. "It's a testament to the diversity of topics the Met Gala touches on. The various themes are so broad, and it's challenged me in a very positive way as a stylist to get to work on the Met Gala each year."