For Matthew Kim, getting ready for Gold Gala was about stepping into a moment that felt bigger than fashion.

As a guest of Hennessy for the 5th Annual Gold Gala, the K-pop musician and Beef Season 2 actor prepared for an evening celebrating Asian Pacific excellence, surrounded by over 600 AAPI leaders, creatives, and changemakers. For Matthew, the night carried both personal and cultural weight.

Before stepping into the Gala, Matthew Kim gave us an inside look at his getting-ready ritual, below!

“Must haves for getting ready are a good attitude, excitement for what the night is gonna have in store for me and a positive imagination of what’s to unfold, and it doesn’t ever hurt to have a glass of Hennessy”

“The suit is by Heon Kim from the garments down to the shoes as well. My jewelry is from MCI, a beautiful family that does jewelry out here in LA, also from Korea“

“Gold Gala is always super special because these are celebratory moments that, as an Asian-American growing up, in my younger years, you wouldn’t have imagined seeing so many successful Asian Pacific people in one place”

“Hair and makeup is by Suzie, a good Noona of mine. Noona is an older sister figure in Korean, and she had me looking great, not only for today, but a lot of the Beef press stuff that I did”

“When I was younger, Hennessy was a very prevalent drink that I had around me, a lot of celebratory moments were spent with Hennessy and I think that’s why I have it in a lot of my lyrics as well”

“Being able to do a collaboration with Hennessy is a big moment for me now and especially with my friends too”