Met Gala 2024: The Sleeping Beauties Were Sure on Theme

By Madelyn Llanes

The Met Gala occurs on the first Monday of May and is the yearly blockbuster charity event for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The evening also marks the opening of the Manhattan museum’s annual fashion exhibits.

This year’s theme was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” The concept encompassed over 400 years of fashion history, with some celebrities wearing never-before-seen archival pieces. The dress code was “The Garden of Time,” inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story.

Previous year’s themes:

• 2023: “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”
• 2022: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”
• 2021: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”
• 2020: “About Time: Fashion and Duration.”  **Gala cancelled due to Covid-19
• 2019: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”
• 2018: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”

Many fashion and entertainment followers wonder what exactly happens at the Met Gala and it’s simple…what happens at the Met Gala stays at the Met Gala. There is a no-phone policy inside the event and at the after party so spotting the stars as they head to the gala is an event itself.

Celebrities flying in from all over the world stay in nearby Manhattan hotels such as the Mark Hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, and The Carlyle. Fans and fashion enthusiasts have the opportunity to wait either at the event itself or outside the hotels to catch a glimpse of the outfits for the big night.

This year, I camped out in front the Carlyle Hotel ready to capture the best and worst outfits that walked the hotel’s red carpet.  Here are my favorite picks from the day:

Eiza González was on theme looking like a fairy. She wore a custom Del Core dress inspired by the vanilla orquídea native from Mexico, representing her heritage.  González paired the creation with a never-before-worn necklace from Cartier.

Kendall Jenner wore a never-before-worn archival piece from the Fall 1999 Givenchy haute couture by Alexander McQueen. This piece was not allowed to be altered, and it was a perfect fit. Not only was she the first to ever wear this dress, but she was also the first to ever wear one of McQueen’s fall 1999 Givenchy looks.

Emma Chamberlain was on theme with her nature-esque custom Jean Paul Gaultier dress. She left her hotel in a long dress, but later left the carpet in a shorter version. It was inspired by a piece from the Spring 2003 Gaultier couture show.

Amanda Seyfried wore a Prada dress made from leftover deadstock fabric, making her dress one of the most environmentally friendly frocks of the evening. The fabric was repurposed from Prada’s Spring 2009 collection.

Kaia Gerber left the hotel in a custom Prada column dress, and when the dress caught light from certain angles, colors of blue, pink, and green could be seen, giving the white dress a little bit of color.

Sydney Sweeney wore a Miu Miu tulle gown with leather gloves. She sported a jet-black wig, which gave the dress a sort of Cleopatra look, but if she had stuck with her blonde locks, she could’ve looked a little like Cinderella.

Overall, the looks were more on theme than previous years.  And though the interpretations of “sleeping beauties” were varied, they were all beautiful.