7 MAY - 2024
The first Monday of May (or Tuesday for those of us in NZ/AUS) is circled in big red marker on the calendar of any real fashion fanatic.
I consider myself among that crowd, with my eager anticipation of the Met Gala involving a close-study and dissection of the theme in the lead up. This year the theme was “The Garden of Time” and, naturally, I did a detailed breakdown for us on exactly what task the celebrities being dressed for the carpet had at hand. So, having laid down the law on what would constitute a thematically en-point ensemble, I thought it was only fair to give credit where due to those who came, saw and conquered the “Garden of Time” theme.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
Gigi Hadid in Thom Browne
It goes without saying that there were flowers aplenty. My botanically emboldened standouts included Gigi Hadid in a Thom Browne extravaganza. Their P.R. team pushed numbers (as predicted) with the dress stitched using 2.8 million micro bugle beads which took 500 hours to embroider - and that’s not even including the skirt. Extending from a silk tailored jacket that rested upon her hips, the full, flouncy skirt and train was embroidered with 3D canary yellow flowers, giving the illusion of vines climbing up her statuesque figure. The whole look was worked on by over 70 people.
Amanda Seyfried in Prada
Amanda Seyfried prized sustainability and stunned in a metallic silver, antique-satin Prada number, studded with black and pink crystalline flowers in one of few futuristic takes from the night.
Zendaya in John Galliano's
Givenchy
Co-host Zendaya’s first look from Maison Margiela was evocative of a midnight garden. The look was inspired by a 1999 John Galliano gown and featured a striped emerald and ocean blue trumpet skirt, styled with a fruit-like embellished corsage.
She backed that up with a gown from Galliano’s Givenchy era, specifically from the year she was born. Stark black and featuring a lace up corset, peplum waist, and billowing skirt, the look was finished with an archival Alexander McQueen bouquet headpiece from 2006.
It was arguably the more interesting of her two looks, perhaps signifying the human desire to control and constrict time and nature.
Emma Chamberlain in Jean Paul Gaultier
Zendaya was not the only one to don darker shades, with Emma Chamberlain stepping into her status as a designer it-girl.
She wore a chocolate brown, strapless, lace gown, completed with classic corsetry by Jean Paul Gaultier. The look was accessorised with wire-like vines, circling up her left arm and juxtaposing Cartier diamonds.
One friend of mine noted the complete absence of pink in her makeup elevated her red carpet images by making them look eerily sepia.
Rebecca Ferguson in Thom Browne
Rebecca Ferguson in Thom Browne also leant into the macabre, scaling the stairs in a black and silver embezzled gown which covered her from neck to toe. The look was finished with a puffy, sky-blue cape, patched with a crow motif.
Ferguson’s look, Hadid’s dress and a glimpse at Ben Simmons’ tartan, lamé suiting complemented by a clock briefcase is an efficient line of reasoning to deem Thom Browne best designer of the night. Rivalled perhaps only by Loewe.
Loewe
Taylor Russell wore an ingenious wooden corset that epitomised the excitement of unexpected materiality and cemented her place on my top three podium. Debutant Jamie Dornan was dressed in a three-piece suit covered in tiny, almost imperceivable beading. Brand muse Greta Lee was hugged by a sheer gown with white floral appliques and a structured neckline. Mike Faist finished his suiting with an oversized, bedazzled radish brooch in a movie that captured my love of crudités, and heart. I could go on, but I think this is grounds enough to declare Loewe and it’s mastermind J.W. Anderson as best on ground.
An Honourable Mention
Other honourable mentions include Tyla, showing off her hourglass figure in a Balmain dress that was covered in sand and micro-crystal studs, requiring her to be physically carried up the stairs. Damiano David dressed in a Diesel suit featuring organic, sheer panels that offered peeks at his tatted torso and thighs. Lana Del Rey quenched our thirst for Alexander McQueen in a sculptural twig and tulle laden look, in honour of the late designer's 2006 collection. Harris Reed dressed themselves and Demi Moore in dramatic proportions, utilising vintage archival wallpaper and hand painted chiffon petals. Dua Lipa and Marc Jacobs delivered a deconstructed ensemble that was dripping with Tiffany & Co. jewels. And Donatella made power moves in an aqua Versace gown that seamlessly matched the carpet, accessorising with none other than Jude Law on her arm.
Concluding Thoughts
I have to admit, I was nervous about this year’s theme. In the past, when creatives were guided by little more than a broad, sweeping concept, looks have felt confused, singular, and frustratingly derivative.
However, this year, it birthed a spectrum of interpretations that felt simultaneously diverse yet cohesive, outlandish yet grounded in a variety of aesthetics that circled the themes of time, nature, myths and inevitable degradation. Alas, to my great relief, this year my digital gaze was, in fact, satisfied.
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