EXTRA: The Well-Read but Unfashionable Girls' Guide to the Met Gala
I got too excited to wait a week to write my next newsletter.
I’ve been thinking…
About fashion. I know that there are certain areas of culture with which I have more of a robust background and a steeped-in kind of life experience, but with many others, I lack the depth of understanding to converse on an elevated level. Some of my areas of weakness (that I often become aware of in comparison to others) are the fashion world and the restaurant scene.
I think one reason I’m not as well-versed in these areas is because of their lesser accessibility to people with fewer financial means. Now, everything is a game of priorities and balancing what your values are; no two people will have all of the same interests and levels of knowledge, and I acknowledge my privilege to pick and choose which frivolous entertainment I direct my funds to. In the arenas of haute couture and haute cuisine, I find myself having a bit of in-the-know-FOMO. So, as a general appreciator of art and beauty, I decided to try an educate myself a bit more in conjunction with tonight’s Met Gala. That being said, I allow myself and others to have opinions and admiration regardless of our depth of cultural and historical awareness. Life is meant to be enjoyed, so feel no pressure to be any certain way.
Every year, I love watching as the images from the Met Gala red carpet come out. A brief primer for those more uninitiated than I: New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts a gala each year as a benefit for the museum’s Costume Institute and in conjunction with Vogue magazine. This year, tickets cost $75,000, and the guest list was, as always, populated by the rich and famous, decked out in attire inspired by a designated dress code to honor the opening of the Costume Institute’s newest exhibition.
This year the exhibit was entitled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” which the Institute describes as “250 items from the permanent collection of the Costume Institute that will be displayed using AI and CGI with themes of sea, land, and sky as a metaphor for the fragility and ephemerality of fashion and a vehicle to examine the cyclical themes of rebirth and renewal.” The dress code itself draws inspiration from “The Garden of Time,” a short story by 20th-century English writer J. G. Ballard.
In order to be a more fair judge of who best addressed the theme, I read the story before I perused the red carpet photos, YouTube videos, and eventual memes that crop up after each first Monday in May.
What I noted after reading the story were:
a few clear allusions to outfits the two main characters (Count Axel and his unnamed wife) wore, which both evoked elegant evening wear—“a tall, imperious figure in a black velvet jacket, a gold tie-pin glinting below his George V beard, cane held stiffly in a white-gloved hand” and “an elaborate full-skirted dress”
the “time flowers” themselves—tall and slender glass-like stems with translucent, crystalline flowers that reflect and refract light in unnatural way
the themes of wealth inequality with the ultra-wealthy attempting to use the time flowers to protect their riches from an approaching “ragged” mob
A mini mood board of what the story evoked for me (thank you, Pinterest):
As I picked out some of my highlights from the red carpet, I looked for nods to the literary references, as I’m a girl who loves a good dress-up theme. I also reserve the right to love something if it ignores or butchers the theme. Stay tuned!
Knowing that I don’t have a deep mastery of the slew of designers represented, this will be, as noted, a well-read but unfashionable girl’s take on the evening.
The co-chairs and how they approached the theme
Zendaya, our Gen Z (zillennial? cusper?) fashion queen was the most-anticipated cohost this year, as she’s been tearing up red carpets with her very on-target tennis-themed looks for Challengers movie premieres over the last month or so. With this blue and green gown, she embodies the wildness of the overgrown Sleeping Beauty castle and some of the darker shades of both stories. She also turned back the clock a bit here, wearing a new interpretation of a 1999 Maison Margiela gown. My favorite part is the billowing back of the gown.
The notoriously out-of-touch J. Lo proclaimed that there were “All different kinds of people” at the event (including “people in private equity”—so rare! so unique!), which meant all different types of rich people? At first, I found her Schiaparelli gown a bit boring, but the butterfly wing details are quite beautiful. The crystals evoke the time flowers from the story, and I appreciate the jewelry’s nod to the story as well.
Music’s favorite Puerto Rican, Benito aka Bad Bunny, showed up in a matador-inspired getup that is a bit baffling in terms of theme, but I love the hat and glasses.
Chris Hemsworth, the final co-host, wore a simple but well-tailored Tom Ford suit as he attended the Gala with his stunning wife Elsa Pataky. I’m sure her gown was gorgeous in person with its shimmering gold. Sleeping Beauty… golden flax… gold dress?
Proved they actually read “The Garden of Time”
Mindy Kaling’s gown was named The Melting Flower of Time and clearly references the time flowers in the story. I always love Mindy’s Met Gala looks, and this year is no different. This dress’s translucency and volume are transfixing—I want to swim in it.
When I saw Barry Keoghan’s suit, a very audible “yes” escaped me. He absolutely nailed the story references, including the silk cravat, velvet suit, and a subtle note to time with a pocket watch. No notes!!!
Equally killing it with the on-theme Count Axel cosplay was Jeff Goldblum, seen here wearing an impeccably accurate suit and fabulous accessories. Here he is absolutely crushing the research and citing his sources.
Favorite pairings
Utterly charmed by Eddie Redmayne and Hannah Bagshawe in matching Steve O. Smith dresses.
Harris Reed dressed Demi Moore and look at the drama!
Most Disney-princess-reawoken-from-sleep
The gorgeous Disney princess (who’s scared for the 2025 Snow White? lol) Rachel Zegler in a jaw-dropping look reminiscent of old Hollywood. This blue!!
There are too many photos to share them all, but after my bit of research, I was actually surprised by how many ensembles fit the theme—lots of crystals and glassy elements, turning back the clock, and of course, way too much opulence and wealth than anyone should really ever have. Thank you for indulging the little side quest here, and if you’re a fashion person, let me know what I should study up on, please and thank you!!
xoxo
Nicole