The 2024 Met Gala kicked off on Monday night, with a slew of celebrities descending upon New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to show off their fits — and not all of them were real. Meanwhile, a slew of internet denizens descended upon social media to judge said fashion.
This year's Met Gala theme was "The Garden of Time," complimenting the museum's spring exhibition Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. Though the name understandably evokes images of fairy tale princesses, the exhibit will actually focus on fashion throughout history.
"Approximately 250 garments and accessories spanning four centuries will be on view, visually united by iconography related to nature, which will serve as a metaphor for the fragility and ephemerality of fashion and a vehicle to examine the cyclical themes of rebirth and renewal," reads the Met's description.
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The Gala's theme was specifically inspired by English writer J.G. Ballard's 1962 short story of the same name. "The Garden of Time" follows a noble couple who use crystalline flowers that rewind time to prevent a mob of less fortunate people from reaching their luxurious villa. Of course, this strategy only works for long as their garden grows.
Ballard also wrote a story entitled "Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan," which would have made a very interesting Met Gala theme as well.
In an unintentional parallel, "The Garden of Time" theme gained further relevance in light of nearby protests in support of Palestine. Hundreds of pro-Palestine protestors marched through New York while the Met Gala was underway, beginning around 1.2 miles away at Hunter College and travelling north toward the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the protestors ultimately did not disrupt the Gala, the disaffected proletariat marching toward an extravagant event by the wealthy seems remarkably on the nose considering the plot of Ballard's short story.
The Met Gala's theme offered designers a significant scope for creativity, whether they reached for historical inspiration, alluded to time itself, or relied on tried and true florals. And as always, some were more creative than others.
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Met Gala co-host Zendaya prompted a double take with two outfits (not quite Lady Gaga's four but still impressive), wearing first an ocean blue, leaf-clad look by John Galliano for Maison Margiela meant to channel the natural world, then a black vintage Givenchy couture gown with a bouquet headpiece.
"See this? This is how you dress for a theme. A lot of you should be taking notes," said TikTokker @nickycbell.
Entrepreneur Mona Patel was captivating in an Iris Van Herpen gown adorned with moving butterflies, while singer Tyla embodied the sands of time in a dazzling dress from Balmain — complete with an hourglass clutch. "This is what I mean when I say drama," said TikTokker @marissaspagnoli of the gown.
Sydney Sweeney seemed to take inspiration from both flowers and fairytales, arriving in a pale blue Miu Miu ballgown adorned with floral embroidery, while Mindy Kaling's Gaurav Gupta gown was intended to represent a plant's life from bud to wilting blossom. Several attendees drew directly from the time-warping crystal flowers from Ballard's story, including Elle Fanning and Janelle Monáe.
Other designers seemed to stretch the limits of the theme, like high school art students inventing justifications to just do whatever they want. Model Anok Yai looked stunning in a crystal-encrusted blue Swarovski jumpsuit, but tying it to the theme via water in a garden felt like a stretch. Doja Cat's "timeless" white T-shirt was also a fairly unique take on the theme, particularly as she put a wet-look spin on it. The orchid inspiration of Sabrina Carpenter's admittedly incredible Oscar De La Renta dress was difficult to discern as well.
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Despite some arguably tenuous links to the theme, the women at least looked amazing. In contrast, onlookers have come to expect many of the Met Gala's male attendees to give them nothing, and indeed several failed to serve this year.
Dishonourable mention goes to Alexander Skarsgård for showing up in a plain black Calvin Klein suit, as well as Jerry Seinfeld for his equally uninspiring tuxedo. Hugh Jackman's unimpressive Tom Ford number only scores points for sticking to the time theme, as he reportedly rewore the same tuxedo he donned at his first Met Gala 20 years ago. And Ed Sheeran's blue Stella McCartney outfit was praised by X user @georgia_211 as "Troy Boltons tux from the HSM 3 prom scene back to life."
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Fortunately, other men had much more fun with their looks, including fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, actor Jeremy Pope, desaturated chocolate factory owner Barry Keoghan, and as X user @keyon put it, "fresh from the Montague vs capulet battlefield" Bad Bunny in John Galliano for Maison Margiela.
Stray Kids also made their Met Gala debut, becoming the first K-pop group to have all members attend the event. While their red, white, and blue Tommy Hilfiger outfits could definitely have been kicked up a few notches, all eight of them together created a striking capsule fashion show for the label. Other designers would do well to take note.
Want more Met Gala? Here's what happened last year.
