Every first Monday of May comes one of the biggest events in the fashion industry: The Met Gala. Formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, this event is a fundraiser for New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute that invites A-listers and members of high society from around the world. It also marks the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit, which sets the theme of the Gala itself. This year, the theme was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the official dress code was “The Garden of Time.” The exhibit focused on archival pieces that could no longer be worn and the research going into replicating some of these delicate items.
“It’s very cool that we get to see such old pieces without damaging them,” Lambert sophomore Zahra Fakhri explained. “It’s like we get to see history and what fashion was like in the past.”
The 2024 Met Gala celebrated this wonderful and innovative new exhibition, featuring approximately 250 items drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection. Many of these pieces have rarely been seen in public before, making the exhibition a very unique opportunity for fashion enthusiasts. Noteworthy pieces included a Charles Frederick Worth ball gown from 1877, which, due to its fragility, was displayed through innovative methods like video animation and light projection.
Based on this exhibit, the dress code for the event was set to focus on the ideas regarding time. Inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time,” the Gala saw attendees in many floral and botanical looks by well established designers and high-end labels. Standout appearances included Zendaya in a custom Margiela look and a vintage Givenchy dress, Jennifer Lopez in a sparkling Schiaparelli number and Bad Bunny in a sculptural Margiela suit. Florals were a dominant theme, with Nicki Minaj in a Marni dress covered in hand-painted metal flowers and Gigi Hadid in a three-dimensional floral ballgown by Thom Browne. Similarly, one of this year’s standout looks was worn by the Indian actress Alia Bhatt, who came in a Sabyasachi saree.
“Her look was magical,” Lambert sophomore Zahra Fakhri said. “It matched the theme so well with the flowers and pastels. It was also so cool to see someone wear a saree to such a big event.”
Alia Bhatt’s intricate and beautiful saree exemplified the opulence of the Met Gala. The remarkable dress took 1,965 hours to make and combined Indian embroidery and textiles with western styles like the 1920’s fringe. Similarly, many other stars had dazzled the audience with many different takes on the dress code, such as Tyla’s sand dress to represent an hourglass.
The 2024 Met Gala once again proved to be an unforgettable night, blending fashion, art and history in a celebration of creativity and craftsmanship. As the evening came to a close, the anticipation for next year’s theme and the stunning creations it will inspire has already begun.
