May 83 min read

The Garden of Time: The most on-theme Met Gala 2024 looks

Officially known as the Costume Institute Benefit, the Met Gala has a rich history of style and glamor. What started as a simple fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute has now been dubbed globally as Vogue’s Super Bowl of style and is one of the most anticipated events of the year!

A quick history of how this prestigious event came to be…

In 1948, Eleanor Lambert established the Met Gala to raise money for the Costume Institute but the concept of themes we’ve come to love didn’t exist till 1973. As the Gala became a more celebrated affair, the first themed ball was on March 21, 1973: “The World of Balenciaga”, sponsored by the government of Spain.

Today, needless to say, only the crème de la crème gets an invite and they therefore pull out all the stops. The procession of events goes like so: There is first an exhibit, a cocktail party, and then a dinner. This year’s fundraiser contribution is $75,000 per seat.

Each year, there is also a dress code that matches the exhibition theme. The invited guests aren’t necessarily expected to follow said dress code, but many do and it’s always very interesting to observe the creativity, hidden clues, and interpretations of each outfit.

This year’s exhibition theme is “Sleeping Beauty: Reawakening Fashion”. At first glance, it may seem akin to the magical tale of Aurora and her counterparts. Not according to Vogue though. The concept is simple- celebrating fashion from previous eras, such as the Elizabethan era. Some of the clothes on display have become ornaments at best as they’re now too fragile to wear. According to Vogue, this exhibition explores how technology revitalizes garments that have become too old and fragile to be worn again.

Somewhat in line, the dress code “The Garden of Time” comes from a short story with the same title by J.G Ballard. In this period piece, Count Axel and his countess hold an angry mob bent on destruction at bay with flowers from their garden of time- constantly reversing the time and impending doom. These flowers are gorgeous translucent petals with glass stems. At their core, they hold a crystal that performs the magic of reversing time, which reverses the progress of the mob.

Interpretations of this theme would be some of the obvious- period fashion, florals, and anything reminiscent of a garden. Less obvious interpretations could be translucent or fragile fabrics that emulate the glass stems, anything sparkly to emulate the flower crystals, and darker-themed outfits to indicate the impending doom.

That said, here are some of the most on-theme looks we saw at the Met Gala:

Period Fashion

Certain celebrities were decked out in clothes reminiscent of older eras with fabulously romantic and dated elements.

Gwendoline Christie in Maison Margiela

Bad Bunny in Maison Margiela

Chloe Sevigny in Dilara Findikoglu and Ana Khouri

Usher in Alexander McQueen

Quannah Chasinghorse in H&M

Zendaya in Vintage Givenchy

Barry Keoghan in Burberry

Gardenesque

We noticed a plethora of florals- as expected. Dresses and looks that were a nod to the grander concept of the theme, The Garden of Time.

Amelia Gray in Undercover and Messika

Gigi Hadid in Thom Browne

Tyla in Balmain

Karlie Kloss in Swarovski

Odell Beckham Jr.

Nicki Minaj in Marni

Lana Del Rey in Alexander

McQueen

Zendaya in Maison Margiela by John Galliano

Maria Sharapova in Prabal Gurung

Cynthia Erivo in Thom Browne

Ayo Edebiri in Loewe

Teyana Taylor in The Blonds

Fragility

Some looks were less surface and paid homage to the details of the story. We spotted glass-like fabric which could be linked to the glass-stemmed flowers in the garden of time. The story itself has a state of fragility, the Count and countess are on the verge of their utopia crumbling and falling apart.

Elle Fanning in Balmain

Greta Lee in Loewe

Keke Palmer in Marc Jacobs

Michelle Yeoh in Balenciaga

Bling

As we mentioned earlier, at the core of the time-reversing flowers is a bud made of crystal. It’s a key part of the story so of course, celebrities came decked in bling.

Irina Shayk in Swarovski

Jennifer Lopez in Schiaparelli

Janelle Monáe in Vera Wang

Giovanna Engelbert

Kim Kardashian in Maison

Margiela

Raye in Fendi and Cartier

Ugbad Abdi in Atelier Prabal

Gurung

Doom & Gloom

The darker theme of the story was not left out it seems. More gothic looks were seen, reflecting the debilitated state of the garden at the end of the fallen Utopia.