Met Gala 2024 Full Fashion Review (The Good, Bad & Ugly)

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute announced the dress code for its annual fundraiser (MET Gala), “The Garden of Time,” back in February, organisers couldn’t have predicted how prescient it would feel nearly three months later.

The theme was inspired by J. G. Ballard’s 1962 short story of the same name, which tells the story of Count Axel and his wife, who live a life of leisure and beauty in a grand villa surrounded by a sprawling walled estate with a garden of crystalline flowers with glass-like stems. Beyond the villa, an encroaching mob threatens to disturb the peace, which Axel staves off by picking a time-reversing flower until none are left.

The inevitably of the destruction loomed almost as large in the lead-up to Monday’s green-and-cream carpet as it did Ballard’s dystopian tale, with several external forces threatening to disrupt the proceedings. Until coming to a last-minute deal agreement, unionised Condé Nast employees were set to protest outside the event over stalled contract negotiations. While the union called off its plans, on nearby Park Avenue, there were pro-Palestine protests, which have been omnipresent on college campuses for weeks. Meanwhile, the fate of the night’s lead sponsor, TikTok, hangs in the balance after President Joe Biden signed into law legislation that would force the platform’s parent company, Bytedance, to sell it to a US-based entity or face a ban in the country.

Still, despite all that threatened turmoil, as scores of celebrities ascended the Met’s famed steps on Monday to fete the institute’s Spring exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, which will open to the public on Friday, May 10, any signs of trouble were barely visible.

Instead, the carpet resembled a lush garden, with a number of the attendees taking a literal approach to the “Garden of Time” dress code with floral-covered looks. Cynthia Erivo wore a Thom Browne skirt suit with a long train covered in flower petals, while awards season favourites Ayo Edebiri and Greta Lee continued their red carpet streak in Loewe floral gowns, the event’s sponsor. A more adventurous interpretation was Lana Del Rey’s gown, by Sean McGirr’s Alexander McQueen, which sported tree branches supporting a veil which was designed to look like a forest engulfed by fog.

“I wanted to connect to the more sinister part of the story and Lana’s music is a major inspiration,” McGirr said of the look’s inspiration.

Male guests added flair to otherwise standard tuxedos. Jonathan Groff wore a custom Simone Rocha tuxedo embellished with pearls on the shirt’s collar, and Colman Domingo, in custom Willy Chavarria, wore a cream double-breasted jacket affixed with black calla lillies on the lapel and billowing black trousers. The look was complete with a cape, an homage to both the late Chadwick Boseman’s 2018 Met Gala ensemble and Andre Leon Talley’s signature aesthetic.

Other attendees sought to hone in on the destructive elements of Ballard’s story. Actress Rebecca Ferguson wore a Thom Browne gown made to resemble a garden statue engulfed by ravens. Dua Lipa wore a black two-piece gown complete with a corset, sheer skirt and feathered cape. Bad Bunny, one of the evening’s co-chairs, wore a custom Margiela ensemble outfitted with a black satin corset, a navy jacket, a beret — a look fitting for a villain in a story book.

“We wanted to continue ‘The Garden of Time’ story but showing what happens when the garden is destroyed,” said Tom Eerebout, who styled Ferguson for the evening. “The ravens which make their way over the silhouette slowly engulf her.”

Some instead focussed on the “time” element of the story, embracing archival looks that turned back the clock. Balenciaga embraced its heritage on multiple attendees: Comedian Rachel Sennot, a first-time attendee, wore a gown made from three Balenciaga dresses from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s while Nicole Kidman wore a reinterpretation of a Cristobal Balenciaga-designed gown that had been captured in a Richard Avedon photograph. Kendall Jenner wore a 1999 Givenchy gown by Alexander McQueen that had never before been worn, as it was originally presented on a mannequin.

A unique take on the “time” theme came from Tyla, who wore a bespoke Balmain gown made from sand that was moulded to her body. A fitting representation of the sands of time, but one that made it difficult for the singer to walk up the stairs; she had to have men lift her from step to step.

The goal with the dress, Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director, said, was to “create something that would last forever.”

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