In certain circles, the words “the first Monday in May” and “the Met Gala” have become synonymous with a parade of the most glorious, outrageous couture fashion worn by a hand-selected slice of innovators and image makers.
The event is also the annual fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute and signals the launch of an annual exhibition.This year’s,“Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” features about 250 items from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection.
The dress code for the 2024 gala is “The Garden of Time,” which is taken from a dystopian 1962 short story by J.G. Ballard that uses a garden as a metaphor for cycles of human creation and destruction. So expect some goth garden wear and lots of florals on black backgrounds.
Last year’s gala, in honor of Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, hauled in a reported $22 million and reams of coverage of attendees such as Doja Cat and Jared Leto, both of whom dressed as Lagerfeld’s Persian cat Choupette.
Many attribute the gala’s success to its organizer of more than two decades, the powerful Anna Wintour, who as global editorial director of Condé Nast and editor in chief of Vogue has long been a force in creating international celebrities. Wintour controls who is invited to the invitation-only event.
The gala earns outsize interest partly because its guest list isn’t revealed until the night before and the activities inside the museum gala are also kept secret (thanks to a no cellphones policy).
Yet the event also draws attention to the exhibition, which this year highlights the importance of museum fashion collections and their conservation. “Sleeping Beauties” refers to the delicate garments that will be taken from their temperature-controlled, acid-free tissue nests to come to life in new ways in the museum galleries — but not on mannequins. Using a range of technologies such as X-rays, artificial intelligence, video animation and soundscapes, the curators are reanimating garments that will never be worn again.
Or shouldn’t be. One might consider the exhibit a subtle rebuke to Kim Kardashian, who in 2022 wore —and likely ruined —the fragile gown Marilyn Monroe wore to sing to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. If stylists, celebrities and socialites heed the message to let sleeping beauties lie, then important, historic clothing has a better chance of preservation for future generations.
Co-chair Chris Hemsworth and his wife, Elsa Pataky, coordinate in ivory and gold looks by Tom Ford. If Pataky and her golden princess look is an early indicator, the Met’s “Sleeping Beauties” exhibit title will inspire other fairy tale-themed ensembles.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Co-chair Bad Bunny wears a suit with the tailor’s basting stitches still visible, a hallmark of Maison Margiela, now designed by John Galliano. The Puerto Rican singer carries a bouquet, a nod to the gala’s floral dress code.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Going for the goth floral look, Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and a Condé Nast executive, shows how to modernize antique clothing by having Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson create a cloak with a similar tulip pattern to one in the Met’s collection. Loewe is among the sponsors for the gala and exhibit.
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Emma Chamberlain, in a custom Jean Paul Gaultier gown in lacy, rich brown, looks as if vines have entwined her limbs, a sly nod to the garden theme.
(Kevin Mazur/MG24 / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Her height and love of theatricality make Gwendoline Christie the perfect fit for a sort of evil godmother look by Maison Margiela. Her stiff, winged hairstyle is a great fantasy accompaniment to her sheer black cape over a blood red strapless gown.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Steven Yeun’s character in “Beef” wouldn’t recognize himself on the Met’s carpet. He’s wearing a custom Thom Browne three-piece suit cut from a jacquard fabric with a pattern of ravens and roses.
(Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)
Lea Michele, who appeared on Broadway in “Funny Girl,” wouldn’t be out of place in the Ziegfeld Follies wearing a voluminous aqua gown and cape by the Pasadena natives behind Rodarte.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Jennifer Lopez dons a silvery Shiaparelli sheer gown embellished with 2.5 million bugle beads that is vintage JLo: She practically invented the trend for wearing nude-look gowns on red carpets. But it’s the butterfly wing edging at the neckline that brings the drama.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Mindy Kaling’s tawny Gaurav Gupta gown with a gazillion gathers and a ginormous back bow makes her look like the fairy godmother we always knew she could be.
(John Shearer / WireImage)
Designer Thom Browne is having a great showing at this year’s Met Gala, even dressing Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets in a customized version of a look from the designer’s fall 2024 collection. The clock handbag brings home the “Garden of Time” theme.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Singer/songwriter Tyla took the “Garden of Time” theme to its literal extreme with her Balmain dress made of sculpted sand, accessorized with an hourglass clutch.
(Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)
Actor Colman Domingo went through awards season killing it with every red carpet appearance and now he’s showing how to properly slay wearing a cape, no superhero role required. His bouquet of calla lilies brings home the garden theme.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Rebecca Ferguson goes for the spooky look in a Thom Browne couture gown and cape ensemble that reportedly needed 30 craftsmen, who worked thousands of hours to cover it with 60,000 crystals and 7,000 ravens made of raffia. The genius bit? The beading at the shoulders that looks so like feathers.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)
Ayo Edebiri blooms in a backless, floor-length sweep of floral embellishment, designed by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe.
(Evan Agostini / Evan Agostini/invision/ap)