The 2024 Met Gala took place tonight (Monday, May 6) and that means it’s time to take a look at the best looks of the night. As usual, celebrities took liberties when it came to following the theme of the year “Garden of Time,” but there were many showstopping outfits tonight.
The event, which is held with the purpose of raising funds for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is considered the “Oscars of Fashion.” This year’s theme was related to the museum’s exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time.”
According to Vogue, the collection celebrates “clothing and fashion so fragile that it can’t ever be worn again.” Meanwhile, Ballard’s story themes are related to time, nature, decay and, even, revolution. In that sense, many celebrities took the “garden” very literally (most wearing florals, and so) while others tried to explore the idea of time and other forms of nature.
Who were the best-dressed celebrities at the Met Gala 2024?
Emma Chamberlain
Emma Chamberlain attended the Met Ball in customized Jean Paul Gaultier. “The theme is the garden of time, which is [the title] of a short story. This is sort of a fantasy, enchanted-like theme. It’s fun to do a dark twist on it; the underbelly of nature,” she explained in a post.
Zendaya
One of the most anticipated gowns of the night. Zendaya, also a co-chair, returned to the Met Ball after five years of absence, and boy, she didn’t disappoint. She wore a gown by Maison Margiela’s John Galliano paying tribute to a vintage Christian Dior spring 1999 haute couture look.
If her first look was already impressive, Zendaya shut down the red carpet with a second look: a never-worn archival look by John Galliano for Givenchy. The collection debuted the year she was born.
Bad Bunny
The singer, who was one of the co-chairs, arrived wearing a Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection by John Galliano. He was on theme with the bouquet, made up of the Flor de Maga (the national flower of his native Puerto Rico), as well as a rose (a nod to the Sleeping Beauty’s original fairytale?)
Tyla
Tyla wore a Balmain design, which was made out of sand and was molded to Tyla’s body. Olivier Rousteing, creative director of the brand, explained that the idea behind this is that you can only wear a sleeping beauty once and then put her to rest forever.
Elle Fanning
Elle Fanning wore a glass like gown created by Balmain. Fanning’s interpretation of the theme included the topic of fragility, and it’s a stunning piece, which definitely was one of the best of the night.
Mona Patel
Mona Patel is an entrepeneur and philantropist that took everyone by surprise at the Met Gala. “I wanted my debut look to be something that celebrates my heritage and also combines my love couture, and when I heard of the theme, Iris Van Herpen seemed like the obvious choice,” Patel told the Vogue India team in March.
Rebecca Ferguson
The actress Rebecca Ferguson wore a custom Thom Browne look, which, according to Vogue, took 8,500 hours to make with 60,000 crystals and 7,000 folded petal raffia and raw raffia frayed ravens. Thanks to the ravens in the gown, you can definitely see the theme of decay.
Maleah Joi Moon
The actress took the red carpet in a Collina Strada gown taking the theme of the exhibition to heart. Not only wearing a dress that screams garden, but actually, the gown, designed by Hillary Taymour, figures in the exhibition.
Alia Bhatt
The actor pay tribute to her roots and wore a custom-designed mint-green sari by Indian couturier Sabyasachi. It featured a 23-foot-long train detailed with florals delicately hand-embroidered using silk floss, glass beading and semi-precious gemstones.
Rebecca Hall and Morgan Spector
Rebecca Hall wore a romantic hand-painted Danielle Frankel dress accessorized with more hand-painted floral details on her gloves and also her body. Meanwhile, Morgan Spector’s Willy Chavarría is also on theme thanks to the designer’s classic silhouette.
Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid wore Thom Browne, a customized gown, which, like many others, took the theme’s idea of garden and roses. According to the model, 70 people worked on the dress, and it took 13,500 hours to create. The skirt simulates a deconstructed jacket (a staple of the brand).
Fabiola Beracasa Beckham
A vintage pull that also was very on theme. The film and TV producer wore a spring 1999 couture Christian Dior look from the house’s Surrealist collection that recalls a garden statue.
Kendall Jenner
Talking about Sleeping Beauties! Kendall Jenner resurrected an archival Alexander McQueen look from Givenchy’s fall 1999. She is the first person to wear the piece (which wasn’t modified in any way), and after tonight it will go back to the archives.
Ariana Grande
Grande’s Loewe gown was made of mother-of-pearl, which is her birthstone, and the dress incorporates 3-D wings—which are handmade. The makeup also is reminiscent of a elf/mermaid, playing the idea of “Garden of Time.”