Dresses made out of sand, corsets and power poses and NUDE was the colour.
Arguably the most important fashion event of the year, the annual MET GALA in NYC offers glamour and drama aplenty, year-in year-out. But when it comes to the event’s theme, which changes each instalment and is always a central focus of media attention, not everyone seems to get the memo…
Each year, on the first Monday of May, a key NYC museum transforms into a stage for some of showbiz’s biggest names, who have the opportunity to get creative and showcase some very quirky sartorial choices.
The driving force behind the whole shebang is Vogue’s Anna Wintour, who presides over it all, as per tradition. She is also in charge of that all-important guestlist and event theme, along with the choice of museum. Once again it was at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
This year, the vibe was ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’, which has been described by the Met’s Director as ‘an innovative show [that] will push the boundaries of our imagination and invite us to experience many facets of a work. The theme was JG Ballard’s 1962 short story ‘The Garden of Time, which made references to decay, lots of florals and more than one look that seemed to have nothing to do with anything.
Here’s my pick of the best…
Most people wore Maison Margiela, formerly Maison Martin Margiela, which is a French luxury fashion house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens in 1988 and headquartered in Paris.
What is Maison Margiela known for? Known for deconstructive and avant-garde designs with unconventional materials, Maison Margiela has traditionally held live shows in unusual settings, for example empty metro stations and street corners. Models’ faces are often obscured by fabric or long hair to direct attention to the clothes and design.
Tyla traded water for sand at the 2024 Met Gala.
For her inaugural Met, the singer turned to Balmain to help her bring her fantastical look to life. Latching onto time as the operative word from the night’s Garden of Time dress code, the Balmain team fashioned Tyla a dress made of sand—a nod to the sands of time.
For some people, showing up in a wet T-shirt to a fashion event that garners millions upon millions of viewers would be a haunting nightmare. For Doja Cat, it’s a fun fashion statement for the first Monday in May. Yes, that is correct: Doja Cat wore a wet T-shirt dress.
The rapper, ever one to subvert style expectations, didn’t precisely follow the “Garden in Time” dress code in her soaked-through maxi tee. Doja Cat’s wet dress, by Swiss luxury fashion house Vetements, clung to her body—as wet T-shirts tend to do.
For those of you who don’t know, Pamela wearing makeup at the MET Gala was kind of a big deal. The 56-year-old stopped wearing makeup after her longtime makeup artist and friend, Alexis Vogel, died from breast cancer in 2019.
At the time, she said: “She was the best. And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup.”
Co-chair Jennifer Lopez looked like a regal jellyfish in custom Schiaparelli.
If boho-chic now comes Met Gala-approved, the fields and tents this festival season are going to be home to more than their fair share of noughties-inspired looks. Here Sienna Miller, Greta Gerwig, Emma Mackey and Zoe Saldana, pose with the designer behind the resurgence, Chloé’s Chemena Kamali.
The first of Zendaya’s looks, this Maison Margiela gown by John Galliano plus thin eyebrows and plum lipstick.
Never one to miss an opportunity to wear a good suit, Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) went for a dusky pink Saint Laurent design.
The brooches, the white gloves, the double sunglasses. Jeff Goldblum goes hard on the accessories – hopefully his keys are amongst them so he can go home at the end of the night. Not sure about the label – but he looked good.
Rita Ora’s Marni dress was, according to Ora, made using beads collected from Europe and Northern Africa during the 1st century BC. Her husband, the film director Taika Waititi, looked like he could have borrowed his trousers from Theresa May’s Vogue shoot.
Penélope Cruz wore a Chanel dress crafted using parts of dresses from the ’40s and ’50s.
This Thom Browne design took over 13,000 hours and 70 people to make it. No wonder Gigi Hadid needed the help of five people to carry it up the Met steps.
Another year, another take on the naked dress, this time from model and writer Emily Ratajkowski.
Lil Nas X in a design by Raul Lopez of Luar looked surprisingly understated despite the 50,000 Swarovski crystals embellishing the outfit.
Kim Kardashian in this ‘armoured lace’ look from John Galliano for Maison Margiela added fuel to the idea that hard/soft is the new high/low in fashion. She had to leave her vital organs at home for this outfit.
Kendall Jenner in a Givenchy couture number from 1999. She is the first-ever person to wear it, and though the house didn’t permit any tailoring to the dress, it fit perfectly.
Kylie Jenner in a Oscar de la Renta dress.
Model Cara Delevingne in a Stella McCartney chainmail hoodie.
Naomi Campbell in an aqua sequin Burberry dress.
Shakira wearing Carolina Herrera.
Tennis player Serena Williams in custom-made Balenciaga couture.
Lizzo in a sculptural look by Paris-based label Weinsanto.
Cardi B basically shut down the Met carpet in Windowsen couture – with more than 10 assistants helping her fan out her gigantic gown and blocking the way for everyone.
