The Met Gala. A simple name for a not so simple evening. Every year, designers take on the challenge of interpreting the designated theme and dressing the invited celebrities accordingly. With the 2024 Met Gala theme, “Sleeping Beauties: The Reawakening of Fashion,” a wide door of predictions lay open, with guesses ranging from archival fashion to princesscore.
Meet the Met
Met Monday: Hollywood’s most anticipated night of the year where stars are invited to push the limits of fashion by exploring their wildest concepts, mingle with other A-listers and refrain from using their cellphones — besides the annual bathroom selfie, of course.
For those who need a little background on The Met, the event is named after the iconic space where the fundraiser is hosted, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that proudly stands in New York City’s Central Park along 5th Avenue. Every year on the first Monday of May, the museum shuts down the streets of Manhattan and hosts a gala, infamously known as the Met Gala, where the most influential celebrities are invited to witness the reveal of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit. Those who are lucky enough to land a very sought-after invitation are expected to match their fashions to the theme of the new exhibit. And when I say celebs go all out each year, I am not exaggerating.
Whether it’s wearing a chandelier as a dress, having both butt cheeks out, arriving with a replica of your own head or simply being carried in like a Pharoah, the steps of the Met have seen it all. Designers spend months preparing the looks their attendees will strut across the red-carpet in. Maggie Dobra, the president of LUX fashion club at the University of Miami, described The Met Gala in these three words: archival, intentional and artistic. So much focus centers around the clothes worn that viewers often forget the real purpose of the event: to raise funds for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
One would think that deciding on an outfit could pose a challenge for those attending The Met Gala. Thankfully, every year, designers are provided a little direction with a specific theme that is chosen by directors of the museum as well as the queen of The Met Gala herself, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
Themes we have seen in the past include “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and The Catholic Imagination,” “China: Through The Looking Glass” and, most recently, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”
Princess-core or Pulling from the Rack?”
The theme chosen for this year’s Met Gala is titled: “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” The initial details were announced on Nov. 8, 2023, and ever since, bloggers, brands and all Met-lovers have been predicting what this theme will entail. Some predictions revolve around the idea of archival fashion and reworking old items. Celebrities who choose to go down this route have an opportunity to demonstrate sustainable dressing — an option which could pose as the perfect platform to inspire the public to take more sustainable efforts when it comes to fashion.
“Fast fashion takes the majority of resources, but the luxury fashion world sets the standards by which fast fashion operates,” said Jennifer Jacquet, an environmental science and policy professor at the University of Miami.
I mean, who doesn’t love a good upcycling moment?
On May 6, 2024, The Costume Institute exhibition at the Met will showcase approximately 250 pieces drawn from the Institute’s permanent collection, many which have rarely been seen by the public eye. These hidden gems if you will, will be featured physically, via video animation, CGI, AI and other forms of sensory experiences. Head curators of the Costumer Institute, Andrew Bolton and Wendy Yu, mentioned that the items featured in the exhibit will represent themes of nature. According to Bolton and Yu, the exhibition will be based on the three main “zones” of the Earth: land, sea and sky. Some predict that the fashion seen at this year’s Met Gala will take on a more elemental approach to pay tribute to the natural world.
Although we might see a lot of re-worn or reworked pieces especially this year, the Met Gala is not foreign to archival fashion. We all remember when Kim Kardashian decided that Marilyn Monroe’s sparkly “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” gown was the perfect fit for the 2022 Met Gala theme, “In America: An Anthology of American Fashion.”
Kim’s use of archival fashion on the red carpet inspired other celebs to also take on the challenge of putting your own twist on an outfit that has been seen before. Dobra explained how this year we hope to not have any archival controversies like Kim’s in explaining, “Ideally, we won’t be seeing anyone ruining old garments. I think we are going to see a lot of damaged garments being incorporated into something new.”
Don’t Mind My Predictions
At the most recent Met Gala, numerous celebrities honored Karl Lagerfeld by pulling pieces from the Chanel archives. Dua Lipa, Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart and Margot Robbie are just a few of the well-known celebs who wore archival Chanel at the Met Gala 2023. This recent spark in pulling pieces from the archival rack will most likely continue to be a trend in the upcoming Met Gala.
As a new ambassador for the Balenciaga campaign and a lifelong supporter of the brand, I expect Kim Kardashian to take on a vintage look sourced by Balenciaga at this year’s Met Gala. If Harry Styles chooses to bless us with his presence on the Met Gala carpet in May, I suspect Gucci to dress him in an archival suit with an exposed chest, leaving us a little peak at his sculpted pecs and fine-line tattoos. Emma Chamberlain will most likely make an appearance in a vintage Louis Vuitton dress with a spunky hair accessory, looking perfect and put together while interviewing all our favorite celebs on their way in. I could also see the reimagination of classic designs or a certain style that a celebrity is known for. Picture Lily Collins taking on a Jackie O aesthetic in re-worked Giambattista Valli or Vera Wang, posing in a bathtub at the end of the evening of course. After all, tradition is tradition.
With any Met Gala, there is always the chance that you will run into a handful of celebrities who interpret the theme quite literally. Arguably one of the masters of the Met Gala, Jared Leto, is known for taking the theme at face value. Last year, Leto arrived as Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, Choupette, in a head-to-toe costume with pearly white fur and soft blue eyes. Doja Cat and Katy Perry also tend to take a Met Gala theme very literally, so don’t be shocked if they arrive in full sleeping beauty glam.
One thing I know for sure is that we won’t be disappointed this May. Pretty soon, guest lists will start to emerge, highlighting those who dare to strut across the Met steps. For those interested in reacting to Hollywood’s best, the Vogue team will be streaming the red carpet on their official website, as well as live-blogging reactions to the looks. If I were you, I would definitely take advantage of tuning into the only Monday of the year that everyone looks forward to.
words_remi turner. photo_julia gomez. illustration_hunter holstein. design_julia gomez.
This article was published in Distraction’s Spring 2024 print issue.
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