Met Gala 2024: All the Fashionable Looks from the Costume Institute Gala

The theme of the charity evening – “The Garden of Time” – was inspired by the story of the same name by James Ballard. A-list celebrities walked onto the soft green carpet. We look at images that will be remembered for a long time.

It is unlikely that we will ever know what is really happening at the Met Gala: only official footage from the carpet is available to viewers, and the rest is prohibited from being photographed and published on social networks – it’s all about exclusivity. Although the charity event was not always so strict. It was first held in 1948 under the leadership of Eleanor Lambert – with his help, the publicist wanted to raise money for the newly opened Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A ticket to the social dinner could be purchased for $50.

The revolution occurred with the coming to power of Diana Vreeland, who changed not only the concept of the event, but also the fashion world as a whole. In 1972, she turned the Met Gala into a costume ball, creating a special theme for it every year. Then the price of an entrance ticket also increased – not every fan of style and beauty could afford it. In 1995, Anna Wintour became the curator of the evening. To this day, the Iron Lady strictly controls the guest list, adding the most deserving celebrities, top models and designers to it.

Met Gala 2024: All the Fashionable Looks from the Costume Institute Gala — Zendaya at Maison Margiela

A ticket to the ball costs from 40 thousand dollars, but being prepared to pay for admission is not enough. The editor-in-chief of Vogue doesn’t care so much about finances: she evaluates a person not only by his popularity, but also by his influence on the industry, as well as his values and views. Often, brands buy out entire tables, the price of which starts from 270 thousand dollars – in this case, the stars become ambassadors of the brand and wear outfits of the fashion house to the event.

Those who are closely associated with the word “fashion” and who can adequately represent it on themselves, remembering that this is, first of all, art, take to the carpet. That’s why we always see crazy images rather than laconic and elegant ones – every star wants to surprise the audience and get into the theme of the evening, although with the latter, as recent years have shown, more and more problems are appearing. Some celebrities turn into childhood princesses at the Met Gala, while others turn into cats (just remember Jared Leto’s appearance last year dressed as Karl Lagerfeld’s stuffed cat).

What awaited us this time? So, the theme of the evening is “The Garden of Time,” which echoes the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art “Sleeping Beauties: The Awakening of Fashion,” which runs until September 2. The curator of the Costume Institute, Andrew Bolton, is responsible for it – it is under his leadership that the theme of the main fashion event of the year is invented, which should both address current issues in the world and dictate trends. The exhibition features 250 items ranging from clothing to jewelry, including period finds such as a 1977 House of Worth ballgown and a 17th-century Elizabethan English bodice. According to Vogue, the topic has nothing to do with fairy tales and cartoons – it is about restoring the rarest wardrobe items.

On the carpet we saw a real scattering of flowers: the stars chose the most delicate images that will remain in our memory for a long time. We will show those who managed to get into the theme of the charity event and find the most beautiful outfits in the archives of fashion houses.