For some of us, the Met Gala feels like an annual holiday party we’ll never be invited to. Falling on the first Monday in May every year, as attendees wear their designer custom made outfits, we watch it all from our couches at home praying to a legion of fashion gods that guests will understand the theme.
What began as a night for New York socialites to flaunt their financial donations in 1948 has become the invitation-only, live-streamed fashion event of the year. In reality, the Met Gala is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Hosted by Vogue magazine and overseen by editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, tickets for this year’s Met Gala were $75,000 per person and (at least) $350,000 per table.
Luxury fashion brands like Thom Browne, Schiaparelli, Givenchy and others use the Gala as an opportunity to invite celebrities to sit at their table, with the understanding that said celebrities will wear their brand down the carpet and up the iconic stairs of the Metropolitan Museum.
All the money raised goes to the Costume Institute, enabling the Gala to coincide with the debut of a new museum exhibit each year.
This year’s Met Gala theme, “Garden of Time,” saw celebrities in colorful florals, fairy tale fantasies and mythological motifs. The Costume Institute’s exhibit, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” inspired designers to reference and recreate iconic fashion moments from the past.
Here are some of my personal favorites from the event:
Zendaya in Maison Margiela
Designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela, this gown references a 1999 Galliano collection with Dior. Foregoing flowers, the peacock-colored dress incorporates leaves, grape vines, feathers and a hummingbird to offer a unique perspective of the “Garden of Time” theme.
Quannah Chasinghorse in H&M
I admit, I love anything in this shade of blue, but Chasinghorse’s H&M gown took my breath away the moment I saw it. The structural intricacy it takes to make satin fabric look like it’s floating, paired with the personal details from Chasinghorse’s cultural heritage, make this dress one of a kind.
Teyana Taylor in The Blonds
Both sumptuous and stunning, Taylor’s gown from The Blonds was an exquisite example of sticking to the theme while standing out in a look that exudes elegance. The velvet dress blended the perfect shades of rose-red. The silhouette and neckline gave us the exact amount of drama we’re looking for at the Met Gala. Taylor’s entire ensemble made me desperate to either spend an evening at the Opera or to sign up for tango lessons. Probably both.
Gigi Hadid in Thom Browne
Is it controversial to say: if I could wear any dress from the night, it would be this one? The Thom Browne gown was stark white with crisp black trim that served as the perfect backdrop for bright yellow floral accents. Paired with Hadid’s makeup and hair, the look reminded me of a sunny spring day! Vogue reported that “20 artisans spent 5,000 hours hand-embroidering 2.8 million micro bugle beads” to create the gown, so perhaps this fashion moment was not as effortlessly chic as Hadid made it seem.
Tyla in Balmain
You didn’t think I was going to forget the dress made of sand, did you? For her Met Gala debut, South African singer Tyla wore a custom Balmain gown that was so structured, it required her to be lifted and carried up the stairs — iconic. Even more iconic was the video of Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing cutting the bottom off the sandy creation, enabling Tyla to walk once she made it into the museum.
Zendaya in Givenchy
And finally, Zendaya and her stylist Law Roach made our fashion hearts flutter for a second time with a second look. It literally shut down the carpet. The all-black gown was another Galliano creation, this time from his 1996 collection with Givenchy. The look’s cherry on top — literally — was Zendaya’s headpiece: a bouquet of flowers by Philip Treacy for Givenchy.
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