This year's Met Gala was one of the dreamiest and whimsical themes in a while. With the theme of “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” and the dress code of “The Garden of Time,” we were expecting romanticism and fantasy of fashion. The Met Gala has become a way for people to dress up (which is the best part of costume fashion) and attend the annual event. It is something most fashion fans look forward to seeing each year. The most exciting part is to see which celebrities fit the theme best, with this year’s being fairly successful.

The Met Gala, which occurs every year during the first Monday in May, pays tribute to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a fundraiser/gala event. This red carpet, exhibition viewing, and after party highlights talented designers, with the help of celebrities. Every year, there is a new theme for the event and a certain dress code, that allows celebrities to be dressed by designers in the most outrageous and theatrical of clothing choices. While this is an exciting part of the event, it allows the Met Museum to gain publicity and remain publicly funded (and receive donations from charitable donors). Celebrities in all fields, from film and music to pop culture and fashion, attend the event. This year’s honor to be the Met Gala Co-Chairs were Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, and (obviously) Anna Wintour.

*Met Gala Co-Chairs: (From Left to Right) Anna Wintour, Bad Bunny, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, and Chris Hemsworth - Vanity Fair*

One of the most notable parts of the Met Gala is the theme. This year’s theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” gives a nod to the exhibition's main focus of nature at its most pure. In an interview with Vogue the curator in charge of the Costume Institute stated that the exhibition will be, “… shaped around three main “zones” (Land, Sea, and Sky) “that pay tribute to the natural world.” As for the dress code, “The Garden of Time” is named a short story by J.G Ballard from 1962. If you haven’t read the story, it focuses on an upper-class couple who can move time through the flowers in their garden, as chaos ensues around them. It symbolizes humanity and its cycle of creation and destruction. The basic synopsis of the theme and dress code is an ode to nature in its purest form and the emotional poetics of fashion.

Whether the celebrities fully immerse themselves or give subtle nods to the theme, the subject of nature to be seen. Anything from floral designs, woodland animals, fairies, ocean elements, and any representation of nature would have sufficed. The dress code can also be achieved through archival looks, giving a nod to the “garden of time” and the concept of time as a whole in fashion. Let’s examine some looks that took to the theme, and why they did so.

Zendaya in Maison Margiela by John Galliano (Look #1) &
Givenchy by John Galliano (Look #2)

The first look worn at the beginning of the red-carpet event truly encapsulates nature's woodland element, with greens and blues, along with a range of peacock feathers. The second look was much more subtle, with the statement piece being the floral arrangement headpiece. Both of these looks highlighted different nature elements using archival pieces.

Mona Patel in Iris Van Herpen

This look created by Iris Van Herpen showed elements of nature through butterflies. The beautifully created dress gave a nod to the wing shapes, as well as wiring on the sleeves to make mechanical butterflies move. It is truly a look of “bringing art to life.”

Ariana Grande & Taylor Russell in Loewe

These two looks from Loewe were special, in my opinion, solely because of the materials used to make the bodices. Ariana Grande’s bodice for her dress was made of Mother of Pearl, moving into a mermaid, ocean elements concept. Taylor Russell’s bodice was created from a wood-painted body cast, taking inspiration from woodland nature.

Tyla & Elle Fanning in Balmain

Both of these Balmain looks decided to move towards sculpting for the looks. Tyla’s sand dress was created with organza mixed with micro crystals, with her look giving a nod to the “sands of time.” Fanning went in the opposite direction, paying homage to her role as Sleeping Beauty and how Disney princesses get dressed with help from their woodland creatures (hence the bird sculptures attached to the sleeves).

Lana Del Rey in Seán McGirr for Alexander McQueen

Lana Del Rey always steps out for the Met Gala. This time she paid homage to an archival Alexander McQueen look from Fall 2006. Dressed up like a woodland fairy, with roots growing from her head to her feet, she matched the theme successfully.

Emma Chamberlain in Jean Paul Gaultier

Another take, similar to Lana Del Rey, on the woodland aspects in nature is Emma Chamberlain’s look. With the lace details and sheer gloves, it embodies vines growing around her. With her look, she took a darker spin on it, creating more of a goth/grunge version for the carpet.

Mindy Kaling in Gaurav Gupta

Mindy Kaling’s dress was beautifully crafted, making this dress sculpture-like. It was revealed that the dress has a name, “The Melting Flower of Time,” which is perfect for the theme already. It was created to look like flower that once was blossoming

Naomi Campbell and Berry Keoghan In Burberry

Burberry showed that they know how to match a theme, in polar opposite ways. Naomi Campbell shimmers in the fringe dress, looking like she stepped straight out of the ocean. Berry Keoghan (whom I applaud for being one of the few men who didn’t wear a plain black suit) looks whimsical, looking like he came right out of the Alice in Wonderland fairytale.

These are some of the looks that took to the meaning of the theme. With the talented designers creating these incredible looks, they each put their own spin on the theme, elaborating on it in their own ways. This year’s Met Gala was a success for its theme and event, with its romantic and whimsical environment – just like a fairytale.

Article by Gabrielle Ramos, Contributing Editor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine

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