For over fifty years, the Met Gala has been the epicenter of celebrity culture and fashion innovation. It is held at its namesake, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. The Gala is notorious for its exclusivity and thematic dress code. A ticket to attend costs a whopping 75,000 dollars. This cost is similar to the average yearly college tuition and more than triple the average Super Bowl ticket, which clocks in at an average of $10,194. Adding to the mystery, celebrities are restricted from taking photos or videos inside the event.
The theme this year was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”, primarily focusing on fleeting beauty and paying homage to vintage and worn pieces. The gala’s dress code was “The Garden of Time”, inspired by J.G Ballard’s Garden of Time. This short story revolves around a very wealthy count and countess living in their paradise garden. A chaotic mob approaches with the intent to break into the garden. In an attempt to bar the mob from the garden, the count plucks petals from a flower that slows time. The story ends with the mod descending into the floral utopia as all the flowers have been plucked. According to Vogue, this theme aims to represent “the beauty of the natural world, its fragility, and it’s inevitable decay”.
This year’s guests featured an array of star-studded celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, and Zendaya.
Zendaya returned with not one, but three looks this year, to the surprise of many. The outfits were made by John Galliano and styled by the genius, Law Roach. Her most jaw-dropping piece was a custom maison margiela adorned with metallic fruits, vines, and birds. The look referenced the gown Galliano had created for the Dior Spring-Summer 1999 haute couture show.
Swarovski invited top models Anok Yai, Imaan Hamman, Karlie Kloss, Giovanna Engelbert, and Irina Shayk. Their bejeweled pieces consist of over 518,500 crystals and several other jewels. Swarovski’s collection is meant to embody the elements of the natural world: air, water, sand, nature, and flowers. This was Swarovski’s first Met and is undoubtedly one the best debuts the Gala has ever seen.
Tyla is another Met Gala newcomer. Her sculpted Balmain sand dress was praised for incorporating the theme in such an innovative and unique way. Although it is beautiful, it did leave the South African singer unable to walk up the stairs. The star had to be carried and was eventually cut out of the dress so that she could sit. Another elaborate choice was Cardi B’s dress, which was composed of 10,000 feet of tulle and required the aid of a record-breaking seven people to help her navigate the stairs.
Kim Kardashian, well known for sporting a variety of controversial looks, opted to wear a sweater overtop of her corseted silver getup. This sparked confusion over a possible wardrobe malfunction because Kim had to clutch it in front of her during pictures. She later went on to comment that the seemingly out-of-place sweater was part of the theme. She described how she would react in the story by saying, “This is like, the wildest night of my life in a garden and I just ran out and grabbed my boyfriend’s sweater.”
Sabrina Carpenter was accompanied by her boyfriend, Barry Keoghan. Both broke the internet with the news of their relationship and their poses on the red carpet. Keoghan’s look was applauded for its luxurious velvet and thematic time period reference. The suit embodied the idea of the Count, leaning into a more Mad Hatter-inspired outfit according to his stylist Ilaria Urbinati.
Mona Patel, an Indian entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the founder of Couture For Cause, stole the show with her stunning orchid-inspired dress. Patel was styled in custom Iris Van Herpen by Law Roach. Her dress combined fashion and technology with its kinetic flower petals which flutter in slow motion.
All in all, this year was a successful year at the Met, with beautiful looks left and right.
