Fashion’s biggest and most anticipated night has finally arrived. The Superbowl of fashion. The Met Gala 2024. Every year on the first Monday of May, this iconic event takes place to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year the Monday falls on the 6th of May and I couldn’t be more excited. The theme for last years gala was “A line of beauty”; honouring the industry’s well to do designer, Karl Lagerfeld. Heads turned for the Met Gala looks of 2023 and I can say that the 2024 theme; “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” has definitely inspired celebs and designers to pull out some absolute showstoppers on the carpet.
As the A-list guests start to arrive, the energy and excitement amongst the crowds lining the perimeter of the Met is unmatched. New Yorkers just hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite influences make their debut on the carpet. Some of the first guests to arrive on the scene were Vogues livestream co hosts; producer and actor La La Anthony, actor Gwendoline Christie, and model Ashley Graham, all looking fabulous repping their own interpretation of “The Garden of Time” theme. The banter, couture knowledge and smiling faces the hosts met viewers with made this livestream very entertaining and a pleasure to watch.
There are some celebrities that are particularly anticipated and never fail to deliver. So on that note, we need to talk about Zendaya’s looks. Yes looks, plural. She managed to pull off two show stopping outfits. As one of this years co-chairs, she arrived on the earlier side and started off with a dark, whimsical and gothic inspired look. The outfit appears to incorporate a bird of prey theme, with a hummingbird fixed to her neck. For makeup, a smokey eye and burgundy lip were the perfect choice to make that predacious theme apparent. After flaunting this sexy look, Zendaya ducked off into the labyrinthian Met museum to change into outfit number two. A superb gown starring a corset bodice was the direction she chose to go in for the second look. Still encompassing the gothic theme, the chosen gown was revived from Givenchy’s Spring 1996 couture collection and I am in awe. To top the look off, the added pop of colour from the Alexander McQueen rose bouquet headpiece was stunning.
Singer, Tyla, absolutely brought it with her form fitting Balmain sand dress. Although it’s her first Met, she definitely understood the assignment. “We were looking to do something creative, something completely different for my first Met Gala. So when Balmain showed me the idea and sketch I just knew it was perfect,” Tyla says in her Vogue interview. The sand sculpture complemented Tylas figure perfectly with a fit and flare style and gorgeous train. This strapless dress was made with a mixture of micro crystal studs and three colours of sand, and in my opinion should be showcased at the museum.
Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker is a style icon and no stranger to the Met Gala; this year marking her 12th time attending. Her birdcage dress is just beautiful and the chosen accessories make for the perfect garden inspired look. From the glamourous fascinator and birdcage looking bag to the embroidered stocking swallowing her heels, she is a vision. Her dress shares similarities with Richard Quinn’s 2024 spring collection. “With this dress, we wanted to play on the idea of preservation; the dress appears so fragile as to be almost ephemeral, but with care and consideration it has been built to last.”, Quinn says.
Wearing one of the most beautiful handcrafted sari gowns i’ve ever seen is Alia Bhatt. She flaunted her take on “The Garden of Time” and I must say it’s probably my favourite take on the theme. The colour, the flowers, the fabric, the sparke, make me feel like i’m looking at a real life painting. “The sari’s design, with its translucent, glass-like appearance is not just a nod to the ethereal quality of the garden in Ballard’s story but also a tribute to the exquisite, enduring craft of sari-making,” says Bhatt. This picturesque gown took 1905 man hours to make according to Alia in her Vogue interview.
Madelyn Cline was personally who I was most excited for to walk to carpet. Leaning more toward the simplistic side, she wears a gorgeous, ethereal Tommy Hilfiger gown. Sometimes less is more because Cline looked fabulous in the shirt style corset bodice and full skirt. The actor opted for a white colour palette and incorporated the garden theme with embroidered vines climbing the skirt. Madelyn chose a Tommy Hilfiger purse she got off eBay and matched the fabric of her dress with it which I loved. Her glam was stunning and I loved the pearl white eyeshadow in the inner corners of her eyes to really illuminate her face. “We wanted to keep the skin super simple, so the eyes were the focal point,” Cline explains. A garden princess is what I saw walking down that carpet and I couldn’t get enough of her look.