What to Wear to Spring Galas, According to Vogue Editors

Reported by Vogue.

Gala season has officially arrived — and if the calendar anxiety hasn't hit yet, it will. These black-tie moments are a genuine opportunity to dress with intention rather than just obligation, and according to Vogue, the editors who attend them most are the first to say: read the room before you dress for it. Match the dress code, lean into context clues (a medical nonprofit benefit calls for something different than a fashion or film tribute), and when every other option fails you, a well-cut long black dress closes the argument.

The range in how Vogue's own team approaches the brief is instructive. Shopping director Talia Abbas wore a sheer polka dot drop-waist Tory Burch dress to the Met — light, decorative, subway-functional. Market editor Minty Mellon reached for a floral Carolina Herrera gown, the closing look from its spring/summer 2025 show, grounded with black pumps and beaded earrings from Le Sundial. Executive director Libby Page leaned into an Art Deco moment with a draped top she'd bought the previous year with nowhere to wear it — a small reminder that the right piece has a way of finding its occasion.

The Formula, Simplified

For editors who prefer efficiency over theatrics, the logic is consistent: one strong dress, then build from the accessories out. Beauty editor Kiana Murden swears by a draped or column silhouette with a statement clutch and earrings — especially useful when you're getting ready at the office. Associate commerce producer Alexandra Ditch opts for an embellished Oscar de la Renta column gown with pearl drop earrings by Completedworks and a Savette top-handle clutch, treating accessories as long-term investments rather than afterthoughts. Lifestyle editor Elly Leavitt, a recent gala convert, has landed on a fluid silhouette (currently a Reformation x Camille Rowe olive green dress), kitten heels from Manolo Blahnik, and an oversized suede clutch large enough to fit a paperback for the subway ride over.

The designers worth watching for evening — according to fashion market director Madeline Fass — aren't necessarily the obvious ones. She points to Heirlome, Tove, Esse Studios, Colleen Allen, and Fforme as a new class making formalwear feel modern and unconstricted. Meanwhile, senior beauty editor Margaux Anbouba takes the vintage route: when she's not sourcing actual archive pieces, she turns to Dôen's 1940s-inflected silhouettes in fabrics that actually move. Andrea Zendejas keeps it even simpler — a sleek Khaite LBD, kitten mules, a colored satin clutch — proof that restraint can still read as deliberate.

The real takeaway isn't about a specific dress or a trending silhouette — it's that the editors who look best at these events are the ones who dressed for how they'd actually spend the night.

Read the original at Vogue.