OnlyOnAOL: Styling Gisele? All in a day's work for Met Ball hair maestro Harry Josh

By: Donna Freydkin

If there's one stylist synonymous with the Met Gala, it's hair god Harry Josh. He's Gisele Bundchen and Karlie Kloss' go-to follicular virtuoso.

And this year, he's tending to the tresses of Rose Byrne and Dakota Johnson. (See our interview with Johnson, Alison Brie and Leslie Mann above). He's done Bundchen a half-dozen times, because "we have personal relationships with certain actresses and models. Karlie Kloss joked that she's putting me on hold for 2017."

Taking place the first Monday in May, the Met Gala sports insane celebrity-wattage as stars of all stripes head to the Metropolitan Museum. But it's also edgy and cool, with the theme this year being Manus x machina: fashion in an age of technology. "It's got a fashion background so the dresses are usually a little more special," says Josh. "The space is elevated. It's a time to push it if you want to push it, in the sense of being adventurous. This gives you a license to be creative. You won't be ripped to shreds because it's fashion."

How seriously do people take the Met Ball? Let Harry Josh tell you:

Gisele Bundchen at the 'The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion' gala in 2009.

Meaning, the fashion police aren't as harsh on this night of nights. "You can go there and not expect too much backlash. People wear couture and crazy headdresses," says Josh.

Still, he admits, "It's a very intimidating event, more than the Oscars. The fashion crowd is an intimidating bunch of people. They have an air to them. You are hand-selected to come to this event. It's not the warmest, fuzziest crowd to be around."

Harry Josh stopped by AOL to describe Gisele's 'Model As Muse' look:
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See more:
OnlyOnAOL: Glam guru Nick Barose on getting Lupita Nyong'o red-carpet ready
OnlyOnAOL: Why the Met Ball is always in fashion
OnlyOnAOL: The top five crazy-cool headpieces at the Met Ball

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale at the 'China: Through The Looking Glass' gala in 2015.

For Josh, the calls to book him come fast and furious -- and very early. "We go based on who calls first and based on my loyalty to someone. It's about relationships with my girls," he says.

Designers invite celebrities to attend as their dates, so their hair and makeup is much more aligned with the vision of the fashion house than at the Oscars or Globes.

"You see sketches of the dresses that float between the stylist and the design team. You have to hear the designer's idea on hair and makeup. You can go with that or do your own thing. You don't want to do a Mohawk for someone at the Calvin Klein table. That's not their brand," says Josh.

Josh summed up Rose Byrne's look:
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Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady at the 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' gala in 2011.

He starts early. "It's a long night, so it needs to last and not be touched up,' says Josh.

Usually, he shows up three hours prior to departure.

"That's enough time for makeup, hair, manicure and anything to troubleshoot. There's so much riding on this. We want to be able to troubleshoot. The only bummer is, during awards shows, we can race home and watch the red carpet and see our work come to life. There's none of that for the Met Ball. You wait for the pictures to show up," he says.

Josh described Gisele's Alexander McQueen look:
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Christy Turlington at the 'Poiret: King of Fashion' gala in 2007.

Josh on Christy Turlington's Poiret look:
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For hairdo ideas, follow @harryjoshhair.

Take a gander at past Met red carpets.