The Broadway stage manager and Tony Award-winning producer exclusively takes Parade along for the ride to his first Met Gala appearance, a moment he says he “manifested.”
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Cody Renard RichardMarc J. Franklin
When Richard got the news that his fashion dreams were coming to fruition, he “started crying,” he admits, “because I was overwhelmed, and then I called my best friend, and I was like, ‘Can you believe what just happened?’ I freaked out. I screamed. I ran around my apartment, and then I gathered myself... and then I answered the email.”
Expressing himself through fashion has meant a lot to Richard, who currently works as the production stage manager on Broadway’s The Last Five Years, starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren. Over the years, he’s been part of numerous Broadway plays and musicals, including Lin-Manuel Miranda’s megahit Hamilton, the Broadway revivals of Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods and many more. At each opening night, Richard is sure to land himself on the Best Dressed list, so attending the Met felt like kismet.
Marc J. Franklin
View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article“Honestly, in my head, I [think] every time I go to an event, this is my audition for the Met Gala,” he says with a laugh. “It's also part of my journey of expressing myself through fashion and clothes. But deep down inside, I'm like, ‘You know what, one day somebody's gonna be like: Let's get this man to the Met Gala.”
After Richard finally got the invitation, “I immediately started brainstorming about what to do,” he says. “I knew immediately that I wanted to do something epic — for me — because this has been such a dream of mine. I wanted something custom. I wanted to wear something that feels very on theme, but also me. So I got on Instagram, and I started looking at different stylists. I've never worked with a stylist. I usually do my own styling.”
Cody Renard Richard's Met Gala lookMarc J. Franklin
This year’s Met Gala theme — which was selected by chief curator of The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Andrew Bolton — is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which was inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. The dress code is “Tailored for You.”
“The exhibit is around Black dandyism and Black style and culture,” Richard says. “So I want to really pay homage to the Black dandies. I wanted to wear a tailored suit with a big dramatic flair — because it’s me. So we decided on a suit that’s custom, in a way, and then an overcoat cape situation, which you know, is very regal. It has a train, and it’s a long overcoat. It’s like a statement piece on top of the jacket.”
Marc J. Franklin
View the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleAfter figuring out his look, it was important to Richard that he assemble an all-Black team to make his dream become a reality. “This theme just felt so special to Black culture,” he explains. “So my stylist, the designer, hair and makeup, my photographer… it's an all-Black team, which is also very exciting for me.”
Cody Renard RichardMarc J. Franklin
Growing up in Texas, says Richard, “I always had on something that was a statement, [whether that was] this big lime green shirt or these cowhide pants going to the rodeo… Fashion was always a part of my life. And I don't think I realized what style meant until I moved to New York, and I saw more people expressing themselves through clothing, and that was really the thing that I really fell in love with. I think Billy Porter said something years ago — it was around the pandemic. I was watching this interview, and he was like, ‘I can dress fabulously and still be serious.’ And it was something I used to struggle with, really expressing myself through, like, painting my nails or wearing a blouse or wearing a dress or wearing, you know, sequins.
Cody Renard RichardMarc J. Franklin
Whether it be through fashion or the theater industry, the multihyphenate artist is always striving to make positive change.
Cody Renard RichardMarc J. Franklin
“I hope that folks seeing me at the Met on the carpet feels like a win for the community,” he says. “I'm not typically on the stage, so I think that it's really a big deal for me as a stage manager and producer to be invited and get to walk.”
Cody Renard RichardMarc J. Franklin
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