The big problem Katy Perry had at this year’s Met Gala? Actually getting to the event.

Perry’s giant feathered wings – all two metres of them – couldn’t squash into a standard limo so she had to putt off, standing, in a vintage convertible to New York’s Metropolitan Museum.

She negotiated the famous stairs without incident but had to edge in sideways when her archangel Versace look couldn’t fit through the doorway. Fed up, she ditched the wings for a druid’s cape once inside.

Popstar Katy Perry winging it. Photo: Getty

Fashion’s annual $40,000-a-ticket, big night threw up plenty of other head-turning moments, too.

In tune with the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination theme, there were performances by the Sistine Chapel choir and Madonna (who said she was excommunicated by the Vatican over her 1989 Like A Prayer video).

The religious trappings had rapper 2 Chainz – real name Tauheed Epps – feeling spiritual.

He got down on one knee to propose to Kesha Ward, the mother of his three children, who said yes. But hold the bus. According to the internet, 2 Chainz also proposed to Ward in 2013 at the BET Hip-Hop Awards and the pair married some time later that year,

Whatever the truth, Ward flashed a giant ring, and both accepted congratulations, although 2 Chainz kept it real. Asked how long he’d been planning the proposal, he said: “About 10 or 15 minutes.”

It was a night of romance for other A-listers. New parents Bradley Cooper and model Irina Shayk made their joint first appearance at the Met, and Elon Musk had a surprise date on his arm – Canadian singer Grimes.

The unlikely pair – the Tesla CEO is a thrice-married father-of-six, and the counterculture darling is 16 years younger – have “been keeping their relationship under the radar”, a source said.

Not so loved up? Kim Kardashian, who ignited buzz when she showed up for the second year running without husband Kanye West.

But Kardashian found a pal in – yes – Perry, who acted as her guardian angel. The Firework singer did a grooming favour for the reality TV star, as she explained on Twitter.

Katy actually flew my nails on her plane over to me from LA LOL They are just glued on! So had to show her! https://t.co/PS34k55KUW

— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) May 8, 2018

When it came to being hands-on, Kardashian’s model sister Kendall Jenner, also flying solo, was in a league of her own when she felt a random was in her photo space on the red carpet.

https://twitter.com/BarbieHarp/status/993722861578731522

Black Panther star Letitia Wright and her actor boyfriend John Boyega captured a video which was acclaimed on social media as “the blackest moment in Met Gala history”.

Thank you @letitiawright for capturing the Blackest moment in #metgala history. https://t.co/ECDSsykno8

— Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) May 8, 2018

After being greeted by the evening’s hosts Donatella Versace, Rihanna and Amal Clooney (one of the many who changed outfits during the night), guests made their way through the museum’s galleries.

On their way to cocktail hour, a hand-in-hand Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady, Kate Moss, Mitt Romney and Zoe Kravitz passed under a balcony filled with mannequins wearing Balenciaga-designed choral robes.

The party is planned a year out, and among co-chair and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s rules are that partners don’t sit together, and three things – parsley, garlic and onions – are never on the menu.

This year, cocktails done, guests were escorted to red velvet monastery seats for dinner. Long wooden tables were left bare, and set with pewter plates and blown glass goblets in amber and plum.

The modern Roman table settings at the gala. Photo: Corey Tenold

As centrepieces, flowers, grapes and pears spilled onto burgundy runners with gold tassels.

“We wanted to evoke the lush, decadent feel of a last supper,” Eaddy Kiernan, Vogue’s director of Special Events, said.

The modern Roman menu kicked off with cacio e pepe pasta followed by lobster with wild herbs and saffron radish. The plates were garnished “with edible 23-carat gold flake”, executive chef Jenny Glasgow said.

Main course was “simple and clean” baby lamb chops with fresh mint and almond pesto. Dessert, which was confectionery bites including gold-dusted truffles, was served in the museum’s Great Hall.

And as the gala attendees eventually disappeared into the night, they were farewelled with an espresso and an amaretto semifreddo cone topped with a golden pearl.