The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. Parallel in popularity, the Met Gala is the fashion world’s Super Bowl. 

Originally titled the “Costume Institute Gala”, The Met started in 1948 and served as the same fundraising fashion event, but held for New York’s high society.

Many people often compare the Met and its attendees to the “Capitol citizens” from the popular movie franchise “The Hunger Games,” and rightfully so; between the gaudiness of the fashion and the constant flashing of competing paparazzi, contrasted with the constant devastating images of poverty and warfare from across the globe, it’s not far-fetched to see the likeness.

The Met is an event that glorifies the rich and famous, and in doing so can be attributed to taking our focus away from real-world issues and individuals that deserve our immediate attention. 

Like Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” 

I find the Met to be dystopian, but most events involving celebrities are, so I try to focus on the fun of the fashion, not who is wearing it. 

The Met’s committee invites the most culturally relevant celebrities to attend and present their own rendition of the Met’s theme in collaboration with designers. The 2024 Met Gala theme was “The Garden of Time.” For this theme, I had visions of changing seasons, timeless textures and couture that accentuated the beauty found within nature. 

The best outfits of the night were from actresses Zendaya and Taylor Russell, singer Lana Del Rey and fashion designer Georgina Chapman. 

Zendaya never ceases to impress the world with her ability to excel in all aspects of her career. The night of the Met, she further displayed her excellence with not one but two fashion displays. Her first look was a custom Maison Margiela gown by John Galliano. The theatrics of this look spanned from metallic birds, vines and berries encasing her gown, to that classically dramatic Margiela makeup. 

Z’s second look was from Givenchy’s spring/summer 1996 show, also by Galliano. The black off-the-shoulder gown is the only one of its kind. Made of silk and blank, her gown harmonized with a colorful floral headpiece by Alexander McQueen.

Russell wore a stunningly sturdy wooden corset paired with a white silk skirt by Loewe. The contrasting materials of this gown not only nailed the theme on the head, but stood out from the multitude of other looks from the night. The rust-colored details that wrap around the corset, as well as Russell’s sleek bun and makeup made for a refined silhouette and overall rounded out the fashionable display. 

Lana Del Rey beautifully honored Alexander McQueen’s fall/winter 2006 show for this year’s Met, creating a dreamlike display. Del Rey was draped in tulle, held up by an elaborate headpiece made of branches. Her tan gown was also enveloped in branches, putting a gothic-romance spin on the Met’s theme. Her equally elegant makeup and hair were exactly what I wanted to see represented as “natural beauty.” 

Lastly, Georgina Chapman had one of my favorite looks of the night. She wore a gown from the brand she co-owns, Marchesa. The layered black and white tulle gown resembled an iris flower and brought contrast and depth to the carpet. Chapman understood the theme and took it literally by showing up as a part of the “Garden of Time” herself.

While some attendees seized this year’s theme with creativity and originality, it’s as if others didn’t even get the memo. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Gustav Magnar Witzøe, Jennifer Lopez and Barry Keoghan simply failed to execute what I felt the “Garden of Time” theme was all about. 

The Met concluded with a performance by singer Ariana Grande and the classic afterparty, where attendees often change into their second glamorous outfit.  

The 2024 Met Gala theme, “Garden of Time,” was full of opportunities for imaginative “natural” couture and did not disappoint. Though scoffed at by the public, the Met is an event I will still be tuning in for next year, and letting the fashion be the star of the show.