It has come that time of year where Vogue director Anna Wintour invites the most elite stars, creatives, and partakers in the industry to the annual charity event held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The event is meant to serve as a fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute which marks the opening of its fashion exhibition as well. 

This year’s exhibition has been titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” to commemorate the 250 rare pieces of fashion being shown, spanning over the last 400 years. Certain items are much too fragile to ever be worn again but will be brought to life with light projections and video animations. 

The official dress code for the 2024 Met Gala is “The Garden of Time”,which refers to J.G. Ballard’s short story, allowing attendants to explore everything from literal natural elements to more abstract concepts of preservation and delicacy. Now let’s take a walk through the Garden of Time and see who nailed this theme. 

Lewis Hamilton in Burberry and Briony Raymond

Hamilton’s floral earrings and jacket embellishments were meant to pay homage to John Ystumllyn, the first black gardener in Wales, as a way to share a part of history that should be preserved. 

Zendaya in Maison Margiela/archival Givenchy by John Galliano

Zendaya presented not one, but two different looks. First in Maison Margiela, she modeled a peacock-esque gown with metallic birds, berries, and vines to take a more dramatic approach towards the “Garden of Time”. Then, in Givenchy, Zendaya rocked a headpiece composed of two dozen roses and a long, silky black dress. 

Tyla in Balmain

Tyla’s sand sculpture dress was made custom with sands and micro crystals fitted by the cast of her body, as if she was trapped in an hourglass. The dress paired with her Balmain hourglass purse embodies the theme of fragility and the passage of time. 

Kendall Jenner in archival Givenchy by Alexander McQueen

This beautiful sculptural gown was never worn before Jenner stepped out on the carpet, truly matching the archival aspect of the event. The glimmering shoulder fringes and body cutouts fit the model like a glove, never once being tailored. 

Bad Bunny in Maison Margiela by John Galliano

The jacket’s noticeable stitching was made to look inside out along with shoes to resemble the shape of a goat. His whimsical look was topped off with accessorizing a black Flor de Maga, the national flower of Puerto Rico, to symbolize both his heritage and nature’s resilience. 

Taylor Russell in Loewe and Fred Leighton

This gorgeous wooden corset was made using hydro sublimation and 3D molding to fit this actress perfectly for her Met Gala debut. The floral accents add to the natural and rustic feel to the dress in addition to being inspired by biomimicry. 

Elle Fanning in Balmain

The icy bustier gown is hand-covered with four layers of resin to resemble an illusion of glass-like fabric being lifted by two birds. It’s only fitting that the actress who played Sleeping Beauty herself stepped out in such a romantic and elegant ensemble.