Met Gala mastermind Sylvana Ward Durrett is leaving Vogue after becoming the breakout star of May’s annual glamorous affair. Durrett, the magazine’s elegant 34-year-old director of special projects, is leaving to start her own business, sources confirmed to Page Six.
The move comes after Durrett spent six years toiling behind the scenes on the 600-person, celebrity-packed event, but was thrust into the spotlight this year after becoming the hero in the Met Gala documentary, “The First Monday in May,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The married mother of two, who produced the doc, “steals every scene she’s in, with her cool grace under pressure and her masterful handling of La Wintour,” The Post wrote in April, with Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo saying, “Sylvana is this year’s Grace Coddington [who captivated audiences in the doc ‘The September Issue’]. She’s emerged as the breakout star.”
Durrett worked her way up from being Wintour’s assistant to chief planner of the Met Gala, and — along with the famed editor — oversees the event’s meticulously planned seating.
A Vogue spokeswoman said: “Sylvana will continue to produce the annual Met Gala and be a consultant for Vogue on a number of other projects.”
A source added, “Nobody does the Met Gala like Sylvana, and she will continue to be the lead producer on the event. She is very popular at Vogue and will be missed.”