One of fashion’s biggest events, the Met Gala is held every year to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which conserves, studies and exhibits the fashion of various cultures from the fifteenth century to the present day.
This year’s gala theme is “The Garden of Time,” based on J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story of the same name, wherein a magnificent villa is filled with crystal flowers that can turn back time once they are plucked from its garden. As the villa is surrounded by an encroaching mob, the resident of the villa—Count Axel—is forced to pluck the flowers one by one to keep the mob at bay, eventually running out of flowers and running out of time.
The Costume Institute also showcased a fashion exhibit, with the theme “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” which will be displayed until September and which delves into themes of revival and rejuvenation by featuring 250 ancient garments too delicate to be worn. This fragility and meditation on mortality was the underlying theme of the event, which serves as a metaphor for fashion’s impermanence.
As expected, guests have all brought their fashion A-game, with stars arriving dressed in their own interpretation of the theme, with time, memory, decay and nature intertwined in various designer pieces.
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Thai actor and singer Bright Vachirawit made his Met Gala debut, making him the first Thai artist to appear at the event. Best known for his roles in BL show 2gether The Series and the Thai adaptation F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, Bright walked the red carpet decked out in a gold mesh top and black trousers, with a custom Burberry black floral jacket in observance of the theme.
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Renowned Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh also made heads turn with a dress reminiscent of crumpled tin foil. Known for her legendary roles in Hong Kong action films, and most recently an Academy Award winning starring role in comedy-drama film Everything Everywhere All At Once, the actress wore a Balenciaga Couture custom gown, which took inspiration from Cristóbal Balenciaga Ballroom gowns from the 1940s. Made of aluminum, the dress’ structure is made to resemble tin foil used by Balenciaga’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia, when he was a child making dresses on his sister’s toys.
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TikTok’s Singaporean CEO Shou Zi Chew, who was appointed as honorary chair of the Met Gala by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, attended the event with his wife Vivian Kao. The couple first made their debut appearance in the 2022 Met Gala, and now made a splash as one of the best-dressed couples this year. Shou Zi sported a white double breasted Ralph Lauren suit with rounded lapels and a boutonniere to round off his outfit, while Vivian wore a blue Altuzarra gown with dark embroidered vines.
While it was a star-studded event and the dazzling outfits were the buzz of netizens, the overwhelming support of the attendees helped the 2024 Met Gala raise more than $26 million to fund the Costume Institute’s conservation efforts.
What was your favorite look of the night? Share it with us in the comment section!