FLORALS AND ANIMALS abounded at this year’s Met Gala in New York, with co-host Zendaya stealing the show with her costume change.
Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter also made their red carpet debut as a couple at the annual fashion extravaganza.
The annual event is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
The dress code for this year’s Met Gala was “The Garden of Time”, which draws inspiration from the 1962 short story of the same name, written by English writer J.G. Ballard.
In essence, it’s about the ephemeral nature of beauty, however many attendees took it literally and wore outfits donned with flowers and leaves.
Co-host Zendaya, star of Challenges and Dune: Part Two, was making her first Met Gala appearance since 2019.
The 27-year-old star first appeared wreathed in jewel-toned lame, organza and satin designed by John Galliano, with vines crawling up her duchess corset and arms – and what appeared to be a hummingbird nestled into her neck.
Hours later she made a surprise second appearance – this time in dramatic, Mexican Gothic-inspired black, her two outfits bookending the fashion parade and underscoring the transience of beauty, in line with the theme of this year’s fundraiser.
Elsewhere, Barry Keoghan and pop star Sabrina Carpenter made their red carpet debut as a couple.
The pair arrived together but posed on the famed staircase separately, before reuniting afterwards.
Keoghan wore a Burberry suit with a top hat while Carpenter wore a bouffant skirt which is said to have drawn inspiration from an orchid.
Meanwhile, rapper Cardi B wore a flowing black gown which required the help of nine tuxedoed men to lift it up the stairs.
While she appeared to miss out on the theme, Cardi B told journalists that “it’s a black rose”.
However, singer Lana del Rey got the memo and emphasised decay in her outfit, with stark sculptural twigs rising from her gown to hold a veil of tulle like a canopy over her head.
Elsehwere, singer Camila Cabello said her hands were “really cold” due to carrying around a purse made from a block of ice.
She explained that she was planning to pass the huge block of ice on to someone else after she reached the top of the stairs and told reporters: “I can’t feel my hands.”
The large block of ice featured a rose in the centre.
Meanwhile, fashion and comfort don’t always go hand in hand and that was the case for Jennifer Lopez last night.
Ahead of the ceremony, Lopez admitted that she could barely walk in her dress which took over 800 hours to create.
Celebrity interpretations of Met Gala themes have been wide-ranging but attendees this year seemed to shrug off the pressure.
“I don’t even think there’s pressure at all, I think it’s more of an opportunity,” actor Colman Domingo, who carried a bouquet in a lily-coloured caped jacket and wide-leg trousers, told journalists.
The theme parallels the Met exhibit “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” which focuses on the most fragile pieces of the Costume Institute’s vast collection.
The show, which will be on view for the public from 10 May through 2 September, features clothing so delicate it cannot be displayed on mannequins.
The Costume Institute relies on the blockbuster Met Gala to fund its work, including exhibitions and acquisitions.
The gala was first held in 1948 and for decades was reserved for New York high society.
Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour took over the show in the 1990s and transformed the party into a catwalk for the rich and famous.
This year, a ticket cost a cool $75,000 (€69,690), with tables starting at $350,000 (€325,220).
The 2023 gala which celebrated the late designer Karl Lagerfeld raised nearly $22 million (€20.44m), a record sum.
But what exactly goes on inside is an enduring mystery.
“Something mysterious, I’m sure, and unexpected,” actor Jeff Goldblum told journalists on the red carpet, dressed as a count swathed in Tiffany jewels.
Guests are likely to peruse the exhibit, and stars have performed in the past.
This year, both the gala and the exhibit are co-sponsored by TikTok.
The tech world joined luminaries of music, film, politics and sports on the carpet, with TikTok CEO Shou Chew, also an honorary co-chair, in attendance.
Outside the event, several hundred protesters against the war in Gaza demonstrated nearby, with security tight and several arrests made as stars walked the red carpet.
Organizers on X, formerly Twitter, posted a flier for an event dubbed as the “Citywide Day of Rage for Gaza.”
-With additional reporting from - © AFP 2024
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