As the winter cold blooms into a floral flower, the garden of our world transports us through time and culture. But in a bustling epicenter of beauty and sculpture, this year’s Met Gala celebrated just that–the reawakening of time. The 2024 Met Gala was held on May 6, 2024 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with the theme Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening of Fashion. The dress code was centered around a depiction of a Garden of Time within fashion. This year’s carpet featured hues of aquamarine, lined with railings that featured exaggerated vines and white roses. But the true vines of the time overtook the celebrities and attendees that graced across the green carpet. 

Looking through the lens of time in fashion, many designers find inspiration from predecessors who graced their runways with glamorous looks and couture. But for some of the greatest designers in history, this may simply mean referencing their own work. Styled by Law Roach, actress Zendaya took the carpet by storm with a custom Maison Margiela gown designed by John Galliano. While this gown captured the gardenesque theme of the night, it also referred to the progression of time in fashion. John Galliano reawakened a piece from his Dior 1999 collection, reinterpreting his own craftsmanship and creating a showstopping piece. This wasn’t the only stop on the carpet for Galliano; other guests featured in his designs included Bad Bunny, Kim Kardashian, and Gwendoline Christie. 

With the Garden of Time dress code, it was no surprise that designers and celebrities put the petal to the metal on the carpet. Model Gigi Hadid was seen wearing a custom Thom Browne gown that featured an off-the-shoulder corset layered underneath a white sheer and silk skirt. This look featured 3D yellow flowers that bloomed on the exaggerated hips of the dress. This gown took an impressive 2.8 million microbeads and 13,500 hours to construct. Actress Demi Moore also took the carpet wearing a custom Harris Reed gown, embodying a Mother Nature physique with a bold floral statement. Rapper Nicki Minaj manifested into a floral sculpture dressed in a colorful, short piece designed by Marni’s Francesco Risso that featured an arrangement of different flowers. 

As the night continued to bloom, more interpretations of time began to awaken. Singer Tyla, styled by Olivier Rousteing for Balmain, took the runaway like a sand storm; her theme centered around a sand hourglass.  This custom look by Balmain was constructed out of real sand and was molded into a silhouette that hugged Tyla’s body so tightly, she had to be carried up the stairs of the MET.  Once inside the MET Museum, Rousteing was seen cutting the bottom train of the dress, revealing a short version of this sand sculpture that was worn for the rest of the night. Olivier Rousteing followed with Tyla’s sand theme, gracing the carpet in a sand sculptured piece that replicated his own face. The designer also dressed actress Elle Fanning in a skin-tight sheer gown that branched out into glass-like hummingbirds on the gown’s shoulders.

Alongside many other iconic fashion houses, the Haus of Loewe was seen throughout the night on celebrities such as Ariana Grande, Anna Wintour, Josh O’Conner, Taylor Russel, and Greta Lee. Ariana Grande was seen wearing a custom gown constructed by the house that featured a pearl corset that flowed into linen-like draping at the skirt of the gown. Grande stated on the carpet, “Pearl is my birthstone, so it’s very meaningful to me for that reason—as well as the subtle ways in which I feel like it nods to Glinda’s bubble and to Wicked with its subtle opalescent winks of pink and green.” (Vogue) Taylor Russell, who is a Loewe muse, cemented herself on the runway with a 3D wood molded top, created using hydro-sublimation technology and a silk draped skirt that completed the look. Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of Loewe stated, “Playing with the senses is central to the experience of the exhibition, and we play similar tricks with trompe l’oeil in collections at Loewe, blurring the line between what’s real or  surreal, what’s natural or unnatural.” (Vogue) 

Fresh off the Coachella stage, Lana Del Rey debuted at the Met Gala wearing a custom Alexander McQueen gown that referenced a previous look constructed by McQueen in 2006. Creative director of the house, Sean McGrirr, blended the old with the new where he created this gown using silk, double georgette, and tulle, reawakening the origins within the fashion house.      This look also featured a bronze metal drop bag with an embedded clock detail. 

Hidden in the gardens of floral elegance, the supermodels of our generation emerged on the Met Gala steps like the crystal chandeliers found within ballrooms. Creative director of Swarovski, Giovanna Engelbert, dressed models Karlie Kloss, Anok Yai, Irina Shayk, and Imman Hamman in embodiments of elements seen within nature. This marked the brand’s first time debuting couture on the Met Gala carpet! 

Karlie Kloss represented flowers with a floor-length pink gown, embedded with pink jewels. Anok Yai represented water with a skintight futuristic catsuit that combined both aquamarine and icy blue crystals. Imman Hamman represented the sun with a two-piece gold look that was constructed using 100,000 crystals. Irina Shayk represented air with a crystal mesh gown that brought an ethereal aura to the carpet.…and mother nature herself, Giovanna Engelbert, dressed herself as the earth, wearing a beaded emerald green gown inspired by the landscape of Viennee artist Gustav Klimnt. 

To watch more iconic moments from this year’s Met Gala, click here!