Zendaya, AI-Gate, And More That You May Have Missed At the Met Gala
So, here’s the breakdown–it’s the first Monday of May, and you know what that means.
The time is upon us–every first Monday in May, long reigning Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour puts on the Met Gala at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Gala has been held annually since 1948, with Vogue taking the reins in 1995. Each year, a theme is decided for the guests to create customized high fashion looks for.
The gala benefits the Met’s Costume Institute, the only department of the museum required to pay for itself. At every Gala, an exhibit matching the theme is unveiled to the guests, and made available to the public at the end of the week. The event takes a whole year of planning. It’s also the moment when everyone and their mother goes online and becomes Miranda Priestly from “The Devil Wears Prada” (I say as I wear a well loved pair of jeans and vintage cardigan today, ready to give my thoughts on the looks of the night). Without further ado, here’s what you missed at the Met Gala.
As the celebrities filed out of the Mark Hotel and towards the storied steps of the Met, look after look hit the green carpet. This year’s theme was “Garden of Time”, with the Costumes Institute exhibition titled “Sleeping Beauties: Awakening Fashion.” The former takes its name from English author J.G. Ballard’s short story of the same name. This year’s event co-chairs included Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Bunny. As usual, the themes tend to be broad and allow for the subjective nature of art and fashion to shine through. That being said, the people ALWAYS have thoughts.
Yet again, Zendaya captivated the world. In her first year as a co-chair for the event, the actress collaborated with her longtime stylist Law Roach on curating two unique looks. The first, a purple and green gown designed to resemble vines and grapes, complete with a small blue bird near the neckline.
Her dark, moody makeup resembled that of 1920s silent film stars. Her second look was a dramatic Victorian gothic style 1996 black Givenchy gown, complete with a dramatic colorful rose headpiece. The versatility of the two looks cemented that Zendaya really was a great choice as a co-chair on the Gala, and that Law Roach truly shows exemplary range as a stylist. Roach has been serving the actress tennis core looks for the past month surrounding the release of her much anticipated film “Challengers.”
Outside of the major fashion houses, several celebrities wore outfits from fashion newcomers tonight. Mindy Kaling stunned in a nude colored dress constructed to make her look like the center of a flower in bloom. The gown was designed by Indian designer Guarav Gupta, who called the dress “the melting flower of time.” Kaling is known for carving out a path for South Asian representation in the entertainment industry, and platforming an Indian designer starting to break the international market felt like the right use of her moment.
Actress Phoebe Dynevor wore former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham’s first ever custom design to the carpet. The flowy lavender gown was a simple yet elegant choice for the “Bridgerton” star. Beckham pivoted into the fashion world in 2008, but more recently has expanded into custom couture.
“Garden of Time” might not mean flowers to everyone, despite what some angry Twitter users had to say. Afro beats star Tyla made her Met debut tonight, wearing a Balmain number called “the sands of time”, turning herself into a human hourglass. Meanwhile, actress Taylor Russell wore a corset made out of wood with striking details, and even had matching accessories in her hair designed by Loewe.
New York cultural icon Sarah Jessica Parker (the one and only Carrie Bradshaw) wore a whimsical Richard Quinn outfit she collaborated with the designer on during her recent stint in London. In her interview with host LaLa Anthony, Parker explained that elements of her gown were meant to evoke imagery of a garden trellis.
Singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey appeared to pay homage to iconic fairy tale villain Maleficent in her Alexander McQueen look. The outfit consisted of a tree-like design rooted at the base of the skirt, and traveling up into branches that sat atop the singer’s head, which were draped in a nude veil.
Her designer Seán McGirr claimed they were going for “Mother Nature, but with a sinister aspect.” Del Rey famously contributed a cover of “Once Upon A Dream” in her signature haunting old Hollywood style to Disney’s “Maleficent,” which starred Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. Oddly enough, Kim Kardashian (readers of this newsletter may know her as aiMee) was interviewed alongside her, a moment Swifties will be thinking about this week. Why is this significant? Lana Del Rey is Swift’s friend and collaborator, and Kardashian literally inspired “Reputation.”
Speaking of Elle Fanning, sleeping beauty herself brought a unique adaptation of the theme herself. In a diversion from the dreamy florals she once wore as Aurora in “Maleficent” in 2014 or even as Catherine more recently in “The Great,” the actress wore a dress so reflective it looked like glass. Complete with two bird-like details coming from the shoulders, the Balmain outfit looked like a bird bath that garden goers could see their own reflection in.
Amidst the chaos, something strange was afoot. A gorgeous image of Katy Perry in what can only be described as a garden-of-Eden dress on the steps of the Met surfaced on Twitter, with thousands loving the look in relation to the theme. The only hiccup? It was an AI-generated image, and Perry was not present at this evening’s gala.
AI-gate was another reminder that people now only have so much ownership over their art until further regulation of new technologies is implemented. While arguably unfair, the controversy surrounding the fabricated image only further proved that a “Garden of Time” theme was more than needed this year, as we reflect upon all that led to the tumultuous times we find ourselves in domestically and internationally.
Back to the REAL attendees. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande walked the carpet together, in starkly contrasting looks, to further amp up audiences for the upcoming premiere of their film “Wicked.” Grande will play Glinda while Erivo is set to play Elphaba. After a controversial year (think Spongebobgate), the angelic white mother-of-pearl moment on the carpet felt ironic for Grande, but well fitting as a promotional material for her upcoming project. Erivo delivered a unique Thom Browne two piece look reminiscent of a black suit-dress dripping in florals.
Ayo Edebiri, who stars as Syd in FX’s “The Bear” and wrote and starred in “Bottoms” opposite Rachel Sennot this past year, wore a custom lace Loewe gown that appeared dip dyed in rich color at the bottom. In her interview with LaLa, she confirmed it was hand painted, and that her designer even hand painted some matching hair pieces for her.
And of course, Hollywood royalty was in attendance. Pamela Anderson graced the carpet in a drapey blush pink Oscar de La Renta gown paired with feathery hair accessories. The light and airy ensemble fit the beginning of spring perfectly. Not far behind was Uma Thurman, decked out in a gorgeous periwinkle butterfly themed Tory Burch taffeta gown. The actress told Vogue that she was inspired by the extinct American Xerces Blue butterfly.
Grammy winner Laufey made her Met debut, after building critical acclaim over the past few years for her sophomore album “Bewitched.” The Berklee educated singer-songwriter is often credited with bringing jazz to Gen Z via various hit songs, including “Falling Behind” and “Goddess.”
Also, Dove Cameron did not disappoint. The Disney star turned musician is both the rock star and rock star girlfriend tonight, as she appeared on the carpet in a pink distressed Diesel gown opposite Damiano David of Mäneskin.
And then at last, the chart topper of the moment Sabrina Carpenter appeared alongside boyfriend Barry Keoghan. While the duo walked the carpet together, it was clear that they intended to interpret the theme each on their own individual terms that made sense with their respective bodies of work. Sabrina’s black Oscar de la Renta gown with an elaborate pale blue train evoked the flirty retro stylings of her latest on-stage ensembles and the 1960s Hollywood fashion of the music video for her hit single “Espresso.”
Meanwhile Barry Keoghan’s brown velvety Burberry suit complete with tie up boots, an ascot, and top hat felt Victorian and almost vampiric, evoking his hit 2023 role in “Saltburn.” Director Emerald Fennell has previously described it as a vampire movie, both for that scene and its themes rooted in class inequity.
As for men’s fashion, I fear there was indeed, mostly a sea of black suits. Personally, my favorite black suit went to Nicholas Galitzine, whose film “The Idea Of You” is quickly smashing streaming records on Amazon Prime Video, hitting number one this evening. The actor wore a custom black tuxedo by Fendi, featuring black embroidered roses blooming from the bottom of the jacket. The classic look was the perfect way to toe the line into the fashion world as his celebrity heightens.
A few other standouts, included “Succession” star eldest boy Jeremy Strong, Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Bad Bunny, and “Bridgerton” beloved Jonathan Bailey. The former wore a white suit complete with a row of blooming florals snaking along the lapel, complete with a chic pearl earring. It was a Loro Piana outfit apt for his recent theatrical run in Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of The People,” for which he just earned a Tony nomination.
Bailey, who is soon to grace our Netflix screens once more in the much anticipated “Bridgerton” third season as Anthony Bridgerton, donned custom Loewe for the occasion. The actor sported a black and white double breasted suit jacket and black trousers, paired with a large flower blooming from his collar and a mini version pinned to his belt loop. The outfit was an elevated classic that allowed for the theme to take center stage.
Bad Bunny has been serving avant garde for a while, and that continued tonight. The music star wore a custom made Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection by John Galliano. The structured suit and large hat paired with floral details and hoof-like shoes instantly hit me with nostalgia for the “Narnia” films. Yes, I said it, he was giving Mr. Tumnus.
Cardi B literally stopped time with her entrance. The gothic glamour moment came amid so much black tulle that nine people needed to help carry the train as the rapper made her way up the legendary steps. She paired the Windowsen gown with a dramatic beehive hairstyle and silver statement jewelry with green stones.
And last but not least, the woman, the myth, the legend, Anna Wintour stepped out in a long white Loewe gown cloaked in a floor length black trench coat emblazoned with flowers, featuring a silver floral brooch. To top it off, her trademark bob and sunglasses.
And that’s what you missed on the steps of the Met. XOXO, words from my wits end.