On May 7, stars gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to showcase their outfits, often taking months of preparation to fit each year’s specific theme. With the MET gala dress code this year being “Garden of Time,” following the exhibition on display and theme being “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” a flowery array of ensembles covered the red carpet Monday night with looks ranging from head turning to eye sores. Overall, the event sparked a range of reactions online.
Since fans are often confused about the actual dress code given the vague theme description, magazines often discuss the understanding of the night. From what I took of the night, “Garden of Time” is a theme that represents vintage dress while also incorporating florals and nature; while the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” is superficially supposed to bring out older pieces, many of which have not been worn in years, such as Kendall Jenner, whose dress had never made it off a mannequin since creation in 1999. The theme seemingly will bring out many elements of nature, especially flowers, but many took the chance to include the theme and dress code which, to my surprise, created an “Alice and Wonderland” feel on the carpet.
Since not much description is given on what the stars are specifically expected to wear, fans are always left guessing what these household names — including the hosts of the night, Zendaya, Jenifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth and Bad Bunny — will show up in.
To tie in both the garden theme and the hidden element of time, many celebrities included nature and clocks in their wardrobe. Zendaya, with two outfits that evening, walked the carpet in a stunning blue and green sheer gown by John Galliano followed by an outfit change into a vintage Givenchy black gown with a colorful flower bouquet atop her head to complete the second look for the night. Both of her outfits made the entire night memorable, and not only followed the theme and dress code due to the garden-like appeal in her Galliano gown but also added in the element of time in the vintage Givenchy.
Although topping both her looks was difficult, Doja Cat missed the mark with her wet t-shirt-inspired look. Before entering the carpet, Doja Cat appeared in front of paparazzi sporting a towel dress by VETEMENTS and running mascara. Once inside, she appeared in what seemed to be a long “wet” t-shirt, also by VETEMENTS. While dressing according to the theme is not necessarily mandatory, it is in the guests’ best interest; the musician did not fit into either the dress code or theme. What clearly missed the mark was the lack of elegance in her look. The MET is a highly anticipated event, but with looks such as hers, it often gets laughed at for the outfits not meeting the standard.
Overall, the theme was a unique one leading to many extreme outfit choices, even with the few celebrities who may have fallen short, the event sure did live up to the months of anticipation.
