The Met Gala, also known as the Costume Institute Gala, is one of the most prestigious fashion events in the world. Every year, numerous celebrities climb the famous steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to showcase their surprising and disruptive looks.
Besides being a stage where A-listers stun in their extravagant garments, the ceremony’s main aim is to raise funds for the Met’s Costume Institute, the museum’s collection of fashion items.
The charity event, which unites fashion and art, is held annually on the first Monday in May, marking the start of the Costume Institute’s annual exhibition. This edition celebrates the launch of the exhibition titled Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.
The dress code for this year’s gala is The Garden of Time, based on the 1962 short story of the same name by J.G. Ballard.
The celebrities listed as hosts of the 2024 gala are Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Wintour, and Zendaya.
Furthermore, the honorary co-chairs of this year’s event will be Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe, and Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok.
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Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief and chairwoman of the event since 1995, appeared dressed in a minimalistic long-sleeve white ensemble underneath a long black evening cloak with floral embroidery. The renowned editor accessorized her look with a silver necklace and white sandals.
Loewe’s look created for Anna was inspired by the Tulip-strewn cape in “Sleeping Beauties,” which was designed by Charles Frederick Worth, a French designer born in 1825 and considered to be the first couturier.
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Additionally, Chris Hemsworth, one of the night’s co-hosts, has arrived alongside his wife, Elsa Pataky, in a cream-colored suit paired with black shoes. Elsa is donning a long gold ensembles with matching accessories. The couple is wearing Tom Ford.
Bad Bunny, another co-chair of the night, has stepped on the red carpet wearing a Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection by John Galliano, a navy barathea wool smoking worn over a black satin corset.
The Puerto Rican star, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, honored the theme of fashion’s biggest night with a bouquet made up of the Flor de Maga, the national flower of his home country. The 30-year-old singer paired his extravagant look with geometrical sunglasses, a navy hat and some peculiar-looking black and white shoes.
Meanwhile, Zendaya adhered to the Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion theme in a green and blue Margiela gown with botanical motifs and heavy red eye makeup. The 27-year-old actress is attending the glamorous gala for the sixth time.
In a video posted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Costume Institute, and Vogue Magazine, the painting “The Old Gateway” by Thomas Edwin Mostyn was shared as inspiration for the attendees. The painting depicts a garden covered in flowers and a woman in a blue dress.
The artist’s work, from the late Victorian era and early 20th century, is known for its idealistic and romantic garden scenes.
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Actor Matt Damon has arrived in an elegant Dior Men tuxedo, while his wife, Luciana Barroso, is donning a long strapless white gown.
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Naturally, J-Lo couldn’t miss the annual fundraising event.
The singer and actress made an impactful entrance in a sheer, sparkly gown by Schiaparelli that accentuates her waist. The stunning gown was paired with silver high heels and a matching necklace, while her hair was styled in a classy updo.
Jennifer made her Met Gala debut in 1999, and she has never gone unnoticed ever since. At the time, she honored the Rock Style theme with her then-boyfriend, Puff Daddy. While she donned a cut-out dress which exposed her shoulders, cleavage, and waist, her beau showed up in an white turtleneck and coat paired with black shades.
She has attended the ceremony a whopping 13 times.
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Andrew Bolton, the Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, explained to Vogue that the event “is basically an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion.” The garments will be shaped around three main “zones”—Land, Sea, and Sky.
The event usually hosts approximately 450 attendees, which include culturally relevant figures from different spheres, from singers to actors, athletes, and politicians.
About 250 garments and accessories spanning four centuries will be exhibited at the Costume Institute. The pieces will be visually united by iconography related to nature, serving as a metaphor for the fragility of fashion as well as for the themes of rebirth and renewal.
Some pieces that are too fragile to ever be worn again—such as a Charles Frederick Worth ball gown from 1877—will also be displayed using technology like video animation, light projection, AI, CGI, and other forms of sensory stimulation, as per Vogue magazine.
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The funds raised during the event will be directed to the Costume Institute collection, which currently comprises over 33,000 garments and accessories representing seven centuries of fashion.
The event is highly secretive. Attendees must abide by its no-phone rule and resist the temptation of sharing their colleagues’ stunning looks on their Instagram stories. With the exception of the A-listers’ impactful arrivals at the venue, the ceremony isn’t recorded or broadcast to the general public.
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