Marcello Hernández Shares the Best Life Advice He’s Ever Received

3 min read

Marcello Hernández isn’t really a fashion guy. “That’s more of a question for Thom Browne,” he told me when I asked him about the inspiration for his Met Gala fit from the New York-based designer. But, but! Hernández is learning about vagaries of the style world. And a few days before the first Monday in May, I found myself on the phone with him discussing just that.

“This is all kind of new to me. I never thought a lot about clothes, but now I understand that when you’re seeing so many people—like when your parents used to dress you up for the airport—you should wear something nice,” the Saturday Night Live star explained. But the Met Gala is no airport, and Hernández’s fit isn’t just nice.

The comedian is pulling up to the event in a clean double-breasted jacket and trousers, a combo that aligns nicely with the outfits he wore on stage when he was just starting out. “I used to wear a blazer all the time when I would do stand-up, because I looked up to the comedians that I saw when I was really young. I would watch Johnny Carson, Jerry Seinfeld, and Freddie Prinze Sr.—and they would all wear suits to do stand-up,” Hernández said. “So I used to wear blazers all the time, then I got a little casual for a while, and now I would say I’m somewhere in the middle.”

“I used to wear blazers all the time, then I got a little casual for a while, and now I would say I’m somewhere in the middle.”

The theme of the Gala this year is Costume Art, and the exhibit is organized around how nearly 400 objects from the Met’s archive speak to fashion as an embodied art form. Hernández’s Thom Browne look is meant to represent the classical body. And it carries more meaning than just that for Hernández. “We added a little something to represent my background. There’s an azabacha stone, which is something that my mom used to put on me when I was a baby for protection, and then a larimar, which is a Dominican stone. I’m also wearing a chain in memory of my uncle who passed away this year who I miss very much.”

We moved on to a few lighter-hearted topics, namely some of his style icons among SNL guests. To Hernández, “clothes just depend on the person.” He continued: “Like, not everyone can wear what Jason Momoa wears because you have to have a motorcycle—I think—to be able to wear some of the stuff that he wears. Everyone has their own thing. I like old-school vibes, like flower shirts and ‘70s, ‘80s vibes—like Richard Pryor when he filmed his special.”

On life advice: “‘Never say something is bad if you don’t have a better idea.’ That was from Kenan Thompson.”

Aside from fashion cues, Hernández also has turned to comedians for life guidance. “‘Never say something is bad if you don’t have a better idea.’ That was from Kenan Thompson,” the comedian told me when I asked him about the best advice he’s received. “Jerry Seinfeld once said, ‘The bad crowds help you edit and the good crowds help you explore.’ Colin Jost is like a financial advisor to me in some ways. He’s very thoughtful about his money—even though you can’t tell because he bought a ferry. And my mom always told me to be nice and always say thank you and please.”

Finally, there was one question that I had to get in during my conversation with Hernández: If you could theme the Met Gala, what would you theme it? “I don’t know what I would do. I’m glad that’s not my job,” he said matter-of-factly. “Maybe something like vintage looks from a specific period in time—like The Past. You have to wear something that’s from before 2000. Everything has to be a vintage piece. We’d take people back in time, and it would be cool. Or: Beach. You interpret it as you want, no recommendations, just Beach.”

Maybe next year…