From Roses To Wet T-Shirts, These Were The 9 Biggest Trends From The 2024 Met Gala
With this year’s theme, 'Garden of Time', the 2024 Met Gala was a bouquet of the best in fashion. Drawing inspiration from J.G Ballard’s short story of the same name, the steps of the Metropolitan Museum were transformed into a sartorial Garden of Eden. From big lapel energy to the 17th century, there were some key trends to keep your eyes on.
Attendees, including this year's co-chairs Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth, arrived in a flurry of trains, capes and falling petals, all celebrating the biggest night in fashion. Be it Zendaya in not one but two Bell Epoque looks – start adding bustles to your summer wardrobe now – or Rebecca Ferguson’s cape reveal, the first Monday in May did not disappoint.
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The Metropolitan’s annual fashion exhibition, which opens to the public on Friday, is entitled 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion'. It features around 250 pieces from the museum's collections and spans over 400 years of history. According to The Met, the exhibit aims to 'reactivate the sensory capacities of masterpieces', from fashion history all the way to current day.
TikTok star Emma Chamberlain did her homework, leading the pack in a modified gothic Jean Paul Gaultier corset and overdress from the French designer's autumn/winter 2003 couture collection, while Nicole Kidman and Isabelle Huppert also took cues from the past. Kidman, alongside Demna Gvasalia, dived into the Balenciaga archive for her 1950s monochrome feathered gown. While Huppert’s liquid silk dress, complete with a 12 foot train, was inspired by the infamous 'Mermaid Bride' dress, designed by Callot Soeurs, with the 1930s original taking centre stage in the exhibit itself.
'As the sun died away behind the house a single ray of light glanced through a shattered cornice and struck the rose,' reads the final paragraph of Ballard’s story, an extract that seemingly struck a chord with guests. Sam Smith, Lana Del Rey, and Usher all carried a stem of their own, while Teyana Taylor and Gigi Hadid went full bouquet.
The to-be-expected barely-there dress was also in attendance, but with refreshing takes on a tried-and true-red carpet mainstay. Elle Fanning stunned in a frosted, body-sculpting crystal Balmain gown, with a pair of birds taking flight from either shoulder.
Rendered gowns and body-hugging looks also emerged as favourites. Taylor Russell, in Loewe, wore a custom-sculpted bodice made of wood, and Tyla’s Balmain ‘sands of time gown’ was rendered so exact to her form that she had to be carried up the stairs by a team of four.
If there are style notes to be taken from this year's Met, it's one of full bloom. This spring, it seems florals really are groundbreaking — it is all coming up roses. These are the trends to have emerged from last night's Met Gala.
1) Best In Bloom
Given the theme, it is no surprise some of the world’s most famous faces centered their looks around the story of Sleeping Beauty. Gigi Hadid wore a graphic Thom Browne gown with appliquéd yellow roses, structured skirting and off-kilter tailoring, which riffed off the American designer’s largely monochromatic autumn/winter 2024 ready-to-wear collection.
It was a big evening for Sam Smith, who attended their first Met Gala with partner Christian Cowan. Cowan designed contrasting matching suits for the pair, secured in place with English Roses that were cast in gold and sterling silver. Zendaya wore three looks created by John Galliano, the second of which was a vintage Givenchy couture gown made the year the star was born [1996], which was paired with a tilted bouquet of multicoloured stems worn as a headpiece.
2) Court Dressing
If you want to add some drama to your evening wardrobe, look no further than the court of Versailles. Think Marie Antoinette, corsets and panniers. Chloë Sevigny gives a masterclass in the style wearing Dilara Fındıkoğlu; her atmospheric autumn/winter collection nodded to corsetry and shapes of the 17th and 18th centuries and was given further dramatic flair to fit the evening’s theme.
Barry Keoghan made a case for the return of the top hat, attending alongside 'Espresso' star Sabrina Carpenter. While Sarah Jessica Parker added a contemporary, wearable sensibility to the hoop skirt when cropped just below the knee, created by Richard Quinn.
3) The Cape Crusaders
It wouldn’t be the Met Gala without the drama, and a surefire way to get the cameras flashing is a cape. Rebecca Ferguson took it further still, arriving in a now memed voluminous black number. The Dune star then revealed a sparkling column dress created by Thom Browne.
After turning heads at the grande finale of John Galliano’s couture autumn/winter 2024 collection, Gwendoline Christie, who co-hosted the Met Gala live stream, wore Maison Margiela – featuring a surprisingly wearable opera cape. Colman Domingo meanwhile also donned a cape flowing from the shoulders of his black and white suit, accessorising with a bunch of tulip stems, with the floral motif replicated on the lapel.
4) Out With The New, And In With The New Old
Given this year’s exhibition theme, there has never been a better time to head to the archive and make the old new once again. Lana Del Rey agrees. Working with McQueen Creative Director Seán McGirr, Del Rey, fresh off the back of headlining Glastonbury, returned to the Met Gala after a six-year hiatus, wearing a riff on an iconic look from a 2006 Alexander McQueen collection.
In a similar fashion, Nicole Kidman hand-picked her 1950s Balenciaga reference that resulted in a front-to-back monochromatic gown complete with plumage. Both were in good company with Youtuber-turned-fashion-It-girl Emma Chamberlain in re-worked Gaultier. Perhaps with the sun finally showing up, it's time to make like the Met and 'recontextualise' some of those pieces that have sat in the cupboard for a while.
5) A Sculpt In Time
Another key trend from the 2024 Met Gala was body sculpting looks. Elle Fanning wowed in Balmain, where saran wrap was made sheer excellence in a body-hugging gown that looked almost glass-like.
Doja Cat swapped her towel, who was pictured leaving her nearby hotel pre-arrival, for a wet-look t-shirt, joined by Charli XCX, who chose a form-fitting Marni dress made from vintage T-shirts – albeit a lot less wet.
6) High Shine
Opting for a mirror finish was the choice for some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Oscar winner, Michelle Yeoh, debuted a new shorter hairstyle paired with a dress that resembled, well, tinfoil. Which, as it happens, was the inspiration behind the sleeveless gown whose silhouette referenced 50s structuring.
Amanda Seyfried was also going full tinfoil-chic. Wearing a Prada gown featuring the Italian house's signature dropped waist, she continued her look with matching 1920s pin-curled metallic hair and a delicate crown made of silver leaves. Meanwhile, Serena Williams went for a gold finish in her high-shine, one-shoulder split train gown complete with opera gloves.
7) A Breath Of Fresh Air
Bridal whites and wisps of tulle offset this year’s Gala dramatics with a delicate glamour. Greta Lee wowed at her Met Gala debut in sculptural Loewe dress (of course), made from 3D Chantilly lace and an architectural bodice that obscured her face.
Elsewhere, Jodie Turner-Smith also opted for lace in an overlaid pearl and embroidered gown designed by Burberry while Sienna Miller gave a lesson in bohemian glamour perfect for summer dressing. Wearing a high-low babydoll dress, she joined the laid-back Chloé cool girls alongside Greta Gerwig, Zoe Saldana, Emma Mackey and the brand's Creative Director, Chemena Kamali.
8) Hips Don’t Lie
Given we are all still reeling from the Maison Margiela Artisanal couture show earlier this year, it was no surprise to see so much of it on the red carpet. Kim Kardashian, wearing a custom gilded gown with a grey cardigan, showcased the collection’s signature (very) nipped waist and exaggerated padded hips.
Brie Larson’s Prada look aired on the more wearable side and featured a glittering sleeveless dress topped with a sheer hoop skirt with volume at the hip.
9) Precious Materials
Rita Ora created an optical illusion with her Marni look, which featured hundreds of antique beads sourced from across the world draped over a nude bodysuit. Though the bespoke piece may seem a million miles away from Marni’s mainly monochromatic and animal print recent collection, it nods to the label’s innovative approach to colour and texture. For inspiration here, see Ora’s look as a glorified necklace and play with layering.
Naomi Watts in Balenciaga seemingly played homage to her character in Feud: Capote’s Women, Babe Paley (herself a Balenciaga fan), in a hyper-glamorous look featuring intricate beadwork. Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner also went all out beading in a never-worn-since-the-runway archival Alexander McQueen for the Givenchy gown.
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