On May 6th the Metropolitan Museum of Art held its annual Met Gala. The Met Gala is the most exclusive and awaited red carpet event of the year. With only 400 invites sent out this year, it is extremely hard to be invited to such a coveted event. To receive an invitation, you have to be known by Vogue editor in Chief, Anna Wintour, give a large donation to the Costume Institute, and be relevant. The most important elements of the carpet are the out of the box outfits worn by A-list celebrities. This year’s theme was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” and the dress code was “The Garden of Time,” inspired by J.G Ballard’s 1962 short story. The story includes dark themes of time and wealth, while also telling the story of a wealthy couple who uses flowers to slow down time.
Emma Chamberlain: Returning to host Vogue’s YouTube channel was Emma Chamberlain. The YouTube star known for her unique editing style has garnered much more attention since entering the celebrity fashion world. For the last three years Chamberlain has been pulling off fabulous looks and this year is no different. Chamberlain walked the carpet in a gown made by Jean Paul Gaultier inspired by a goth interpretation of the theme “The Garden of Time”. The look consisted of a body-con silhouette and a tulle train. Dark brown lace and tree branch embroidery trail up the gown. In an interview with Vogue, Chamberlain describes her take on the dress code as an “apocalyptic garden”. The most intricate part of the outfit is most definitely the embroidery that wraps around her entire body.
Mindy Kaling: Taking place at number four is Mindy Kaling. Actress, writer, comedian, and producer is known for her many works such as, American sitcom series, The Office, Netflix series, Never Have I Ever, and Pixar movie, Inside Out. For her ninth Met Gala attendance Kaling wore an incredible gown made by Indian couturier, Gaurav Gupta. Her gown was by far the most meaningful and on theme gown. Her dress was made with a sheer beige material with glitter strands of fabric woven through.The most important piece was the cape with swirls that come together to make a flower. In her interview with Emma Chamberlain on the red carpet, Kaling’s gown coined the name “The Melting Flower of Time” and described her dress as “a bud blossoming into a flower that is now wilting”. Kaling really hit the mark with her interpretation of “Garden of Time”, her gown was a beautiful art piece and truly tells a story.
Tyla: Next on the list is up and coming artist, Tyla, known for her hit song Water and her debut self titled album. For her first Met she decided to go for something, in her own words, “out of the box”. Tyla looked at this year’s theme in a different angle, instead of going for the predictable flowers and vines she went for “Sands of Time”. Tyla’s body con dress was designed by Olivier Rousteing for Balmain. Her gown was made of real sand and microcrystals, the mold of her body took over 200 hours to make, dry, and sculpt into a dress. She accessorized with a gold hourglass clutch to tie in with “Sands of time”. Tyla took a different approach on the dress code, even though her outfits didn’t include flowers, it still followed the dress code and her innovative gown definitely made a statement.
Lana Del Rey: A great surprise at the Met Gala was Rey’s first appearance since the 2018 Met Gala, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”. Singer-songwriter, Lana Del Rey, is known for her hit songs such as, Born to Die, Summertime Sadness, and West Coast. The design for her outfit was Alexander McQueen and her designer and McQueen’s creative director, was Seán McGirr. Her look was inspired by Alexander McQueen’s 2006 Fall collection. This collection included looks inspired by antlers, bird feathers, bird wings, neutral tones, and lace. This collection directly translates into Rey’s gown. Her ensemble was made of beige tulle and a corset covered in silk. There was root embroidery trailing up the gown. The real focus was her Hawthorn branch headpiece layered with more beige tulle. Her accessory was a red rose that she held walking down the carpet. Rey’s look symbolized the age of a garden, the roots on her dress were entangled which represented the age and timelessness of this outfit.
Zendaya: Zendaya, actress and executive producer, always shows up to the Met Gala in outstanding looks, this year was no different. At this Met Gala she was a co host and had to show up and show out. Her designer was John Galliano with her iconic stylist Law Roach. Her dress is made out of mixtures of tulle and fabric in different shades of blue and green. The masterpiece starts with a duchesse satin corset with a mermaid dress silhouette. The gown is layered with ruffles of fabric made of iridescent organza and metallic crin. For her headpiece, she wore a black net that wrapped around her face and created an ominous look.
A showstopper of the night was when Zendaya walked the carpet a second time in an entirely different look. This look consisted of a never-worn before 1996 Givenchy Spring Haute Couture dress. The dress was made of layers of black silk with a train, a corset with puffy sleeves, and an extravagant headpiece. The piece had a huge bouquet of flowers with a black floral wrap. Zendaya’s looks were the most extravagant and beautiful gowns on the carpet. Her take on “Gardens of Time” translated through and gave the audience a wonderful art piece to see.
This year’s Met was another success in the books with many lavish dresses that stole the show. The celebrities in attendance deserve a round of applause for their interpretations of the theme and dress code. This Met should make audiences excited for what’s to come in next year’s carpet.
