Despite telling Emma Chamberlain on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet that he was sleep deprived, Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams kept the party going and changed into a brand-new outfit for the after-parties, giving us a menswear-approved alternative to the pantless trend.
After the Met Gala wrapped, Williams was seen in the lobby of The Mark Hotel in New York City, where he also got ready before heading to the event in a bathrobe. As captured by multiple onlookers, the star was rocking a formal black tailcoat with wide peak lapels worn over a white piqué tuxedo shirt and a matching cummerbund.
Instead of pants, Williams opted for briefs-style shorts with a curved hem, which made them look a lot more like underwear than actual pants. To amp up the contrast of the bare legs, he wore tall white socks and black leather loafers. The finishing touch? A black military-style beret.
Williams’ Met after-party look is a unique take on formal evening wear that throws the formal out of the window and is courtesy of Eli Russell Linnetz’s fall-winter 2026 collection for his brand ERL, titled “The Void.” (The multi-hyphenate designer, whose name you might recognize from Jacob Elordi's 2022 GQ cover shoot or A$AP Rocky's colorful quilt from the 2021 Met Gala, confirmed it himself on Instagram.)
Williams' pantsless take contrasts with the look worn by his Heated Rivalry costar, Connor Storrie, at the Saint Laurent party. Instead of ditching the pants, Storrie ditched the shirt for his own Met Gala after-party look.
Whether we get a better picture of his second look or not, there’s no denying that it has been a great night for Hudson Williams. The actor made his Met Gala debut, styled by Anastasia Walker, wearing a custom Balenciaga look comprised of a cropped matador bolero jacket inspired by one of the Spanish house’s archival pieces. Like Storrie for the after-party, Hudson skipped the shirt for the actual Gala (balance!) and completed his look with Bvlgari jewels and a Black Swan-inspired glam by Aika Flores, who also accompanied him to the after-parties.
.jpg)
