Hadid, the show-opener, plays—you guessed it—a supermodel. On Wednesday, she graced the carpet in a scene-stealing red gown by Schiaparelli. “I love Daniel [Roseberry] so much, but I also know that [my character] Ruby would love Daniel as well,” Hadid told Vogue. “She would have definitely worn this dress.” Hadid is involved in one of the series’ most memorable fashion moments, executed by costume designer Sarah Evelyn, which sees her in a scarlet leather outfit. “I don’t know if I’ll ever wear red leather again,” she joked. “I wore that outfit for about five, six months straight…there were different versions of it because I was doing my own stunts. It was amazing, but the corset—she was tight—and I’d rather be in sweatpants. But Ruby loved the outfit, and I loved the outfit while it was happening.”
Another real-life runway regular in the lineup is Amelia Gray, who celebrated her acting debut in a slip dress and blue fur stole from Demna’s Gucci debut. “I was told not to prepare [for shooting]… I just showed up as myself without realizing the lengths of which my body would have to go through on that day of filming, but it was incredible to learn and understand body movement,” she said.
While Murphy’s shows always place an emphasis on sartorial storytelling, co-executive producer Lou Eyrich noted that The Beauty goes even further. “We knew it was going to be fashion-forward, but we had no idea how much pedal-to-the-metal fashion there was going to be.” Nowhere is that more apparent than in the wardrobe of Rossellini’s character, Franny Frost. “She’s not somebody you would want to meet, but she loves fashion,” Rossellini, clad in a Dolce & Gabbana pinstripe suit, said. “She loves haute couture to the max. In fact, she thinks she is single-handedly going to save it from an economic downturn!”
Another character with a killer closet is Ramos’ Assassin, who wears sleek leather coats and edgy accessories, including an ornate eye patch. “Ryan was like, ‘He’s going to wear all the best clothes in the show. He’s a killer, but he’s really charismatic, funny, and sadistic—he takes joy in the art of killing.”
With guests ready to get settled in, MoMA’s Roy and Niuta Titus Theatre filled up fast. Following the screening of the first two episodes, which elicited multiple rounds of applause throughout, the crowd spilled back upstairs for an after-party. The space was transformed into a dimly-lit and glamorous experiment lab, with velvety couches and lounge chairs, silver tables, and decorative pillows. As DJ Stretch Armstrong soundtracked the room with nostalgic hits from Madonna and Chaka Khan, waiters in medical scrubs passed around aptly-named cocktails—think: The Virus and Cruel & Beautiful—alongside wagyu beef toast and caviar-topped tater tots, rounded out by a raw bar and berries-and-cream stations. Nearby, models in Latex bodysuits, with lipstick-red lips in place of heads, posed with guests as they held oversized syringes. Joining cast members were the likes of Darren Criss, Christian Siriano, Law Roach, Indira Scott, and Tell Me Lies’ Alicia Crowder, Sonia Mena, Catherine Missal, and Spencer House.
On a night framed by the museum’s most notable masterpieces, The Beauty left a question-best posed by Ramos during the red carpet—mingling in the air: “How far will you go to be beautiful?”
The Beauty premieres on January 21 on FX, Hulu, and Disney+.