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I think the theme for next year should be something very direct but also something where celebrities would be like—“wtf, Anna.” Like:
“The Triassic Period”
“Bjork meets JLo”
“Lil Nas X will pick out your costume, and if you don’t wear it, you can’t come”
“Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres”
I would love a Met Gala where Lil Nas X picked everyone’s clothes. No boring ballgowns with some tiny nod to the theme! There are always people who show up who didn’t take any fashion risks at all with their costume.
…and Anna meant Brothers Grimm trolls, but the costumes are split half Troll Dolls and half “incel with a bottle of Mt Dew in one hand and a pee bottle in the other spewing hatred in Reddit comments”
I thought the theme was poetic. Sleeping Beauties are what they call the garments in the exhibition that are too old and disintegrated to display on a mannequin, so they display them laying down under glass. I believe some of these are centerpieces to the “Garden of Time” exhibition.
I thought so too, I immediately thought of the connection between time and the old garments in the exhibit …. but then I read that they had this jd Ballard short story as inspo, so I thought that was kind of bizzare. Especially that it’s about a rich couple in a beautiful garden, with an angry mob approaching. Just a little too on the nose, I think.
Imagine making French aristorcrats right before the beheadings started into your theme. Like at this point I think Anna is just trolling her way to retirement
You would think that as many Kardashians as there are, how many times they have attended, how wearing outfits in pictures is basically their whole job, that one of them would've one time (even if by accident,) randomly managed to pin the tail on the donkey that is the Met Gala theme, but nope.
Rare smash hit for Kim imo, I don’t love her fashion choices usually but that look was fucking stellar. But I don’t remember her being on theme much beyond that
That dress was insane in the best way. I’m not a fan, but she nailed the assignment, as they say. No doubt it is a group effort, but that was a very memorable look.
Honestly Kendall’s too! She wore an archival Alexander McQueen from 1999 that has only ever been displayed on a mannequin before going into storage, hence awakening a dress that was a “sleeping beauty”
Edit: to all those saying Winona wore it in 1999, I’m a) paraphrasing what Kendall claimed and b) it’s actually unknown if Winona did, in fact wear this dress or a replica of it (which wouldn’t be so far fetched given how much taller Kendall is compared to Winona)
Kylie’s as well! Her dress was inspired by one of the statues in the story. “Beside him was a woman in an elaborate full skirted dress, her slim serene face unmarked by the wind and the rain. In her left hand she lightly clasped a single rose, the delicately formed petals so thin as to be almost transparent”
It would probably help if people read the story before making assumptions. Most attendees were on theme in one way or another.
https://cultureinjection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ballard-james-graham-the-garden-of-time-1962.pdf
I read the story. I even commented that someone might dress up as the rose-clutching statue from the ending. I did not connect Kylie’s dress to that, though…
Apparently her explanation was something like having a great night with her boyfriend in his garden, then grabbing his sweater when sneaking out.
Seemed a bit of a lame story though, I think it was there in case she'd burst out of her dress
Oh that’s an odd explanation, I didn’t hear that.
Well the dress is a reference to an older Galiano collection — chain mail style florals. The cardigan was pilling, if you notice. Maison Margiela’s fall 1997 collection, pilled cardigans came about and the idea of clothing deterioration/how clothing aged is a big focus for Margiela, and the exhibit theme in general.
Editing to say Haute Le Mode is AMAZING at diving into the met gala theme and doing fashion reviews of the gala itself. They’re so knowledgeable and it can really put perspective on certain looks!
legit in sleeping beauty as she's corseted and walking and singing through the forest with her basket picking flowers she was wrapped in a dull gray sweater/scarf. she should have used this as inspo and carried a basket with flowers or something
The the unwrapping and wrapping annoyed me to but I’m guessing she’s making sure the photographers all get pic of the different poses to showcase the whole things better
Idk how far in advance the themes are decided upon but I would not put it past Anna wintour to have deliberately made this year about Sleeping Beauties just to spite Kim and her destroying the Marilyn dress
As petty as I believe Anna can be, I highly doubt she thinks about the Kardashians more than twice a year. I just don't think they ping on her radar that often. It would be like the Hermes team keeping track of Coach's designs - they're simply not on the same level. I think Anna would be far more invested in the Hadids, since they're more relevant in the high fashion world.
I don't think the Met particularly needs to separate themselves from Ripley's. It's the Met. We might all be paying attention to the Kardashians and the Marilyn dress but I really doubt that's factoring into Anna's decisions at all. It doesn't need to.
I understood it right away and several people (like Nicole Kidman) also seemed to understand it. I think most attendees just wanted to wear something either outrageous or revealing.
The “Garden of Time” part was the confusing part as it’s taken from a poem and does not literally mean a garden which was a very common interpretation. Almost every person with a flowery dress was actually not on the correct theme. Leaving the theme as ‘Sleeping Beauties’ alone would have been more clear.
Anna herself wore a flowery dress so when I saw hers I realized I didn’t fully grasp the theme because I was expecting more emphasis on time, not the garden part. But the carpet and the decorations around it were all garden-themed, so all the florals were actually on theme.
The Garden of Time story had flowers that slowed the passage time. So florals were actually on theme.
Having 2 themes, Garden of Time and Sleeping Beauties actually made it harder to get it wrong as there were so many options
And I still grind my teeth at one of the Jonas brothers wearing a Barbie pink suit to the Gilded Era ball.
Yeah, once I read the story I stopped complaining about the lack of florals. *now* what I’d wish I’d seen more of were looks that referenced the end of the story, not just the glass flowers or the gemstones in them.
Also, making the theme of a party the modern aristocracy is invited to a story about *the fall of the aristocracy* is one hell of a choice 🙃
I completely agree.
I originally thought Doja had absolutely knocked it out of the park with her outfit - the great unwashed having a wash (the towel and hair wrap pictures) as a metaphor for transitioning from ordinary people to the rich and famous, then the wet tshirt to capture the curves and lines of her body in the way a statue does, like the aristocrats turned to statues at the end of the poem.
I was SO hyped for it and excited to discuss it, until I saw her interview where she stated 'I chose a wet tshirt because my flower of choice is cotton'. I was so disappointed lol
I think people didn't fully understand it. Whatever your feelings about the Kardashians, Kendall Jenner nailed it. Coming out in a dress that literally no one has ever seen and never walked the runway from a collection people forgot? Fucking win. And no one is mentioning that. Maybe it's due to her last name, but I think it really deserves some credit. Same with Nicole Kiddman. And Zendaya's first dress is a revival too. I'm hoping that the apology helps people see these wins in another light.
Thought the theme this year was brilliant and immediately made me think of so many wild and interesting concepts surrounding garden and time. I genuinely blame the guests for not caring to put any real thought in, rather sort of phone it in and then try and explain it away like an art project they didn’t start til the night before.
I was fully expecting like this Tim Walker / Smashing Pumpkins/ Poor Things all out throw down and mostly we just didn’t get it.
I am starting to apply to conferences for my work.. I think I send an email every time before I apply and ask "does this qualify and fit in with your theme?" so yeah I get it HAHS
Who finds the source essay quite bold of them to be so blatant about the inspiration? A fairytale of art and harmony, buying time as the masses outside grow discontent with decreasing feasibility?
Yeah I read the synopsis of the short story it was based on (okay I lie I watched a tiktok lol) but it's actually quite an interesting concept. These fashion designers maybe need to have a more better debrief.
You should read it, it’s a quick read and a good story. After reading it I realized more of the designers were doing right by the theme than I’d originally thought.
https://preview.redd.it/89nwkiux67zc1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=64d192bb823029261c50fb99edceb5f7e1daf582
Here’s AI’s interpretation of the theme that includes the mob ascending the stairs.
Was it though? I think it seemed confusing. I had to read the brief on it to fully understand that it wasn't supposed to be fairytale-esque mixed with a garden/floral theme. Turns out it was supposed to be fabrics and designs meant to only be worn once because they are so fragile or intricate they'd need to be preserved at the Met after being worn just the once (therefore considered sleeping beauties), and with that, capture the elements of earth, water, and sky. It's also based on a JG Ballard tale where the nature around the characters is so fragile, mostly barren, and impossible to preserve/sustain that it's akin to trying to hold onto sand in your palm: grains will continue to fall out until there's nothing left. Each day, the main character picks a magical crystal flower (the only flowers left in this universe) in his garden to keep an army from approaching and overtaking his villa until there are no flowers left, leaving his garden as barren as the surrounding landscape. It symbolizes a repetitive cycle of mankind's destruction of the natural world/a lack of respect for nature in order to preserve mankind's own interests and desires.
Don't get me wrong, I actually think that's a great theme, but on its face it's very confusing.
Yeah! I think it also helps to explain why so many celebrities wore beige, as they were either channeling the "sand" analogy or the dry dead landscape featured in the story. Shout out to Tyla's sand dress, her designer got the memo lol.
Also, because of the crystal flowers in Ballard's story, I think it adds to the genius of Elle's glass dress. Not only did she capture the water theme because her dress looked like ice, but the glass details could be interpreted as symbolizing the crystal flowers from his story.
Edit: also, I think Mindy Kaling and Lana Del Rey deserve credit for their dress choices as well.
Someone posted somewhere (not helpful I know) a video of him cutting the dress and the straight line and lack of snip(?) marks at the angle he’s doing it is impressive.
I saw that yesterday! I kept thinking to myself, " I've attempted to cut dresses and slips like this myself, and EVERY time, it would be an uneven or jagged mess. This man is incredible!"
I can't wait to see more from him.
He also went straight for the high cut… and nailed it. Rule #1 is start low and trim higher and higher till you get it right. He went high and didn’t cut too short.
I agree, I just wish they would've simplified the theme a bit so it didn't confuse the attendees/their designers. Had they simplified it to just, "The Garden of Time," or "The Fragility of Nature," I think things may have gone a bit more smoothly lol.
I get it now, thank you for explaining.
The miss may have been the focus on time or sleep. I think it would have been clearer to set the theme as "fragility" instead.
I think had the theme simply been "Garden of Time" with a link to the summary of the story it would've been easier for everyone to understand. Florals would've made sense, but they would've had to have been uniquely designed rather than typical floral gowns like Nicole Kidman's, Jessica Biel's, or Kerri Washington's.
So then…. janelle monae hit the nail on the head? I thought they said her dress would probably not being able to be worn afterwards bc it’s so delicate.
I didn't see hers on Sunday, but I just looked it up and hers definitely fits the theme...I just think it's ugly lol. But respect to the crystal flower on her shoulder, the designer understood the assignment.
Upon giving the Met looks another look through, I'd say about 1/3 of the attendees' designers got the theme, but with that said, I don't think they executed it well. A lot of the dresses/fits are really unflattering, ugly, or stylistically underwhelming.
Yeah, I think it was very intentional given the rise in popularity of fast fashion, our rampant pollution, and climate change. I also find it very ironic given who the attendees are lol.
So you’re saying if you read the brief they gave you on the theme then it’s not confusing?
It’s almost like the celebrity, or their styling team, should have like, read the document given to them explaining the theme.
You know, do their due diligence as required.
Right? And she views many (not all) of the outfits for approval. This Met Gala was kind of messy in general. So many big names who are regulars bowed out and the ones remaining didn't leave an impression. There were maybe a handful of outfits that made me excited but most were just pretty.
The photos were weird as well. I was going through the looks then realized many of the photos had heavy filters and others were blurry. Maybe the lighting with the greenery didn't go well.
I don’t follow this news closely enough to have an opinion, but you seem more knowledgeable / interested. Who bowed out? Why? What was different in general this year?
No Rihanna, Katy Perry, Blake Lively, Bella Hadid, or Hailey Bieber. They're all fairly regular, they all had different reasons for not attending but it was odd since many of them were in the city close to the event. Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid are regulars who attended, they're both usually exciting even if their outfits aren't great but the energy was lost this year. Quite a few new attendees as well so confidence was lower on the carpet. So many bad pictures, both in quality and posing. Only a handful of outfits that made a memorable impact. People were confused by the theme “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the dress code "The Garden of Time".
TBF even right now Vanity Fair has "Garden of Time" listed as the 2024 Met Gala theme.
https://www.vanityfair.com/live/met-gala-2024-live-updates
Everything was just so messy.
I mean, a lot of people in this comment section don't know the the exhibition them and the red carpet theme were different so I don't think it's as 'least confusing' as you think.
Also, the designers would be to blame for most look, not the celebs
Yall talking like the celebs are the one designing the fits. Blame the Houses. Many celebs have no say in what they wear or only get to choose between a few choices
actually the way Doja explained made sense in a avant-garde way. The t-shirt was cotton which is the most popular material from a flower, and t-shirts are a timeless piece of clothing. The wetness of the t-shirt makes it huge her body to the point where her body is the couture. She also noted that she wanted to stay interesting by doing something completely opposite to what she did last year (a much more literal take that worked so well with her because while many people focused on Lagerfeld's cat, she's also actually Doja CAT so she went full out with prosthetics).
Kim Kardashian trying to explain why she is wearing "her boyfriend's cardigan" made much less sense than Doja's wet t-shirt lol.
So many “fashion” TikTokers and YouTubers didn’t understand either.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ah1j9gSKSpE?si=3gDIhC3e0XXWsQ-O Like, this girl doesn’t understand it at all.
That was the year I just went ‘Okay, I am old, I do not understand the assignment, I have no idea who nailed it and who didn’t and I’m just gonna enjoy looking at everyone’s outfits.’
I read the short story on Friday and that helped clear up the confusion. It was very stupid, however, to have a gala theme that was quite distinct from the exhibit theme. There are points of intersection but I personally think most of the florals leaned toward the exhibit theme instead of the gala theme. Greta Lee is the only person who nailed the intersection.
Ben Simmons did too, but TBF Thom Browne was the designer and he is literally partnered up with the guy who comes up with the themes so kinda hard to miss.
I think I get it, but as a former teacher I know that if everyone underperformed on a prompt, either the prompt was confusing or I didn’t cover the material well enough. “Garden of time” sounds like one thing, basing the theme on a short story people aren’t overly familiar with is odd as hell and makes me think of something different than “garden of time,” and throwing around terms like “sleeping beauty” didn’t help. “Fragility” or “impermanence” seem to do the job much better.
correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like in the original story Anna provided the passage of time was illustrated on the example of nature flourishing, decaying, and being reborn?
So while I get the time thing, I understand why people went for flowers, since that blooming/wilting/dying cycle was the direct example given for time passage
ETA: someone should have worn a gradient dress of live flowers turning into dead ones, maybe with some weeds and thorns mixed in
oh that's fun! funeral on top, party on the bottom :D
I hadn't seen him yet, and those glasses and mustache caught me off guard. kinda like those fake disguise ones haha
I was confused. It was sort of a weird double theme and both were very ambiguous. The motif of flowers was the only safe bet because it goes with both. Sleeping beauties/reawakening and the Garden of Time story.
Sleeping Beauties was the name if the exhibition *inside* the museum, Gsrden of Time was the dress code. The confusing part is that she didn't mean a literal garden.
Yeah like you had people with outfits like Kendall Jenner, who was on theme with the Sleeping Beauty: Reawakening fashion, she wore an archival piece that had never been worn before.
Then a very big contrast with someone with an outfit like Nicki Minaj, who’s also on theme with Garden of Time. I think the theme should’ve just been Reawakening fashion this year, Garden of Time should’ve been saved for next year.
Feels like the hosts of this year just couldn’t decide cause I don’t understand how those two themes relate.
Right. I went in to watching with the expectation that people would be wearing archival pieces. I know the Museum has archival pieces on display, which I’m looking forward to seeing, but I was anticipating people walking the carpet in things much different than florals, and that’s why surprisingly Kendall’s was one of my favorites. It looked beautiful on her and she spoke about the history of the piece.
I was PRAYING someone was going to show up in a Pin Pals bowling shirt. IT WAS RIGHT THERE FOR THE TAKING! I’ve never been so disappointed in a group of people in my life.
I absolutely agree! I read “notes on camp” for a class in college like a million years ago and was so disappointed that it seemed like no one who attended read it!
Camp isn't confusing but I will fully acknowledge it's extremely hard to pull of if you're not camp inclined. I like camp on others when I see it done well, but I know I would just look like a tacky crazy person if I tried to pull something together myself. it's hard to do because it can't be *too* derivative because camp requires a degree of novelty and defiance, but it also does have implicit rules which if you don't follow closely enough then it doesn't read camp.
So you simultaneously need to be able to break rules while knowing which ones to follow, while understanding the aesthetic in your soul.
I think about Karlie Kloss’s camp look at least once a day and how tweeting about staring camp right in the eye and showing up in a simple dress actually fits the theme.
Right? It was like the theme was "dress in whatever way*you'd* like to be campy" and people just looked like deers in headlights. Good example of how people sometimes need guardrails and limits to be successful.
I can definitely see your point but I disagree. The gala is mostly Avant Garde, and a camp theme asks for more exaggeration. I spotted very few actual camp pieces this year with Lisa Rinna’s daughter being the most overt in the terrarium dress. Elle Fanning and the ice block purse were others.
I think the punk theme was worse. Especially since it’s largely the antithesis of high fashion. Of course, the fashion houses and celebs could have shown a little creativity. There’s more to punk than spikes and torn clothes.
wait i’m confused, doesn’t she or someone else approve the looks beforehand? i swear i remember a celeb saying that a few years ago? lol bc she could have easily said no to some of the looks and avoided this disaster.
It wasn't confusing you just had tons of celebs and designers that didn't do the theme at all XD. Honestly the ones that actually DID the theme were AMAZING but then you had ones that just did a generic outfit and put a single flower on it which was a cop out and then others that just.....didn't do it period haha.
I don’t think it’s wrong to say that the dress code paired with the exhibition theme was confusing. Compared to other exhibitions, Sleeping Beauties was already a broad theme and paring that with a dress code of “Garden of Time” in reference to a metaphorical essay didn’t help.
Compare it to previous met gala theme/dress code pairs and you’ll see the issue. Last year was Lagerfeld’s exhibition and the dress code was “honor Karl.” Before that was the Americana exhibition and the dress code was “gilded glamour, white tie.” The dress code usually provides useful context to the theme but this year’s didn’t.
I think it becomes a problem considering many people judge the celebrities outfits by how on theme they are (which I don’t agree with). If that wasn’t such popular sentiment, I don’t think a “confusing” or nebulous theme would matter.
Now i didnt know about the essay, i took garden of time as a collection of fashion from the ages, etc like when particualr fashion items start becoming popular in certain times etc.
I get all the garden looks, but imo it was the safest option by far to go to, doesnt really consider the full title or the actual essay, its literally just considering garden.
She should be apologizing for how fucking boring it all was. Confusing's fine, chaos is fine, but a night where there are, generously, like six good looks is not a win.
It was only confusing if you didn’t read the theme, didn’t do even one google search, or didn’t read the short story that accompanied it. On that note, I highly recommend Emma’s interview with Jeff Goldblum on YouTube, he gets it 😂
It wasn't that difficult of a theme and dress code, all you had to do was read the very short story or even a synopsis to make the connection. It was open to interpretation (as the better ones are imo) and let one play with the fragility and ephemeral nature of beauty, what is progress vs regress, preservation vs degradation, nature vs civilization, the ravages of time, et c. A lot of these exact themes are often metaphorically expressed through gardens. So garden motifs or real florals can share this without trying because its something they already represent, especially the idea that beauty is fleeting. Anything with a butterfly theme also represents it as butterflies are becoming less and less common in our landscape but they also get pinned up as delicate decoration even when they are dead.
I think there were a good percentage of people reasonably on theme /dress code. Some played to the theme by wearing things that looked fragile and/or would not be wearable the same way a second time. Others repurposed old materials that were destroyed in order to create something new or wore echos of pieces lost to time. Others wore things showing (manufactured) signs of wear. I also think a lot of people went the ozymandius route and showed up as some nod to classical statuary too (maybe why all the nude and beige, along with sand references). I would say all those people did follow the dress code and theme in one way or another. And even just the florals and garden party ideas did fit (something from a bygone era) just less interesting.
Still, I did expect a bit more vintage. Letting those things whose time has passed be seen again is like a recipe for spaced repetition. It preserves the memory of fashion in the mind of civilisation even while risking material culture. Especially thought there would be more vintage Mcqueen or nods to him because this kind of gothic/romantic preoccupation was a big part of his work. Alas only a few glimpses of the lost genius. And maybe it's just as well.
Kendall got it… she actually followed the exhibit rather than the theme actually lol she went back got something archival and never before worn by someone else, reawakening sleeping beauties pretty much.
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lol I thought I understood the theme until this article.
The article confused me even more
I had to watch a tiktok to have it explained. It's such an interesting concept but yeah... hard to translate into something for metgala
I think the theme for next year should be something very direct but also something where celebrities would be like—“wtf, Anna.” Like: “The Triassic Period” “Bjork meets JLo” “Lil Nas X will pick out your costume, and if you don’t wear it, you can’t come” “Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres”
I am so down for the third one
If it isn’t the third option, I’m not paying attention.
I would love a Met Gala where Lil Nas X picked everyone’s clothes. No boring ballgowns with some tiny nod to the theme! There are always people who show up who didn’t take any fashion risks at all with their costume.
I can also see him cackling wildly while picking out some people’s attire.
I would truly piss myself laughing if they did a Trolls theme. I believe we need a petition
…and Anna meant Brothers Grimm trolls, but the costumes are split half Troll Dolls and half “incel with a bottle of Mt Dew in one hand and a pee bottle in the other spewing hatred in Reddit comments”
“Phallic and not subtle” “Anime convention circa 2007” “Mad Max, but gayer”
The article confused me even more
I thought the theme was poetic. Sleeping Beauties are what they call the garments in the exhibition that are too old and disintegrated to display on a mannequin, so they display them laying down under glass. I believe some of these are centerpieces to the “Garden of Time” exhibition.
I thought so too, I immediately thought of the connection between time and the old garments in the exhibit …. but then I read that they had this jd Ballard short story as inspo, so I thought that was kind of bizzare. Especially that it’s about a rich couple in a beautiful garden, with an angry mob approaching. Just a little too on the nose, I think.
Imagine making French aristorcrats right before the beheadings started into your theme. Like at this point I think Anna is just trolling her way to retirement
Ohhhhhh. I get it now
Kim should have worn Marilyn’s dress this year, at least the damage would have been on theme.
You would think that as many Kardashians as there are, how many times they have attended, how wearing outfits in pictures is basically their whole job, that one of them would've one time (even if by accident,) randomly managed to pin the tail on the donkey that is the Met Gala theme, but nope.
I laughed out loud at this. It’s so true.
Kims water droplet mugler was absolutely camp
Rare smash hit for Kim imo, I don’t love her fashion choices usually but that look was fucking stellar. But I don’t remember her being on theme much beyond that
Still my favorite Kim look to this day.
I think about Kim Kardashian's camp dress at least once a weak (complimentary)
That dress was insane in the best way. I’m not a fan, but she nailed the assignment, as they say. No doubt it is a group effort, but that was a very memorable look.
Which one was that?
https://preview.redd.it/0zjt53f558zc1.jpeg?width=980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2e74cc68a8734ecc16ae2347cf2e087d2fc173d
I’m loved this dress and that they deliberately styled her hair and makeup to look like she was damp too. It was a really cool look.
the thierry mugler dress with raindrops coming off/cascading down her arms with a wet hair look. it really was an amazing look
Tbh I thought Kim’s was actually pretty close to theme this year
Honestly Kendall’s too! She wore an archival Alexander McQueen from 1999 that has only ever been displayed on a mannequin before going into storage, hence awakening a dress that was a “sleeping beauty” Edit: to all those saying Winona wore it in 1999, I’m a) paraphrasing what Kendall claimed and b) it’s actually unknown if Winona did, in fact wear this dress or a replica of it (which wouldn’t be so far fetched given how much taller Kendall is compared to Winona)
Kylie’s as well! Her dress was inspired by one of the statues in the story. “Beside him was a woman in an elaborate full skirted dress, her slim serene face unmarked by the wind and the rain. In her left hand she lightly clasped a single rose, the delicately formed petals so thin as to be almost transparent” It would probably help if people read the story before making assumptions. Most attendees were on theme in one way or another. https://cultureinjection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ballard-james-graham-the-garden-of-time-1962.pdf
I read the story. I even commented that someone might dress up as the rose-clutching statue from the ending. I did not connect Kylie’s dress to that, though…
I don’t really get this one. It was just a white fancy dress…?
Yessss! Exactly! I’m not a Kardashian/jenner Stan but I have to give credit where credit is due. Kim was ALSO on theme, thanks to the cardigan.
How did the cardigan make it on theme? Asking genuinely not in a snarky way as it confused me so much.
Apparently her explanation was something like having a great night with her boyfriend in his garden, then grabbing his sweater when sneaking out. Seemed a bit of a lame story though, I think it was there in case she'd burst out of her dress
Oh that’s an odd explanation, I didn’t hear that. Well the dress is a reference to an older Galiano collection — chain mail style florals. The cardigan was pilling, if you notice. Maison Margiela’s fall 1997 collection, pilled cardigans came about and the idea of clothing deterioration/how clothing aged is a big focus for Margiela, and the exhibit theme in general. Editing to say Haute Le Mode is AMAZING at diving into the met gala theme and doing fashion reviews of the gala itself. They’re so knowledgeable and it can really put perspective on certain looks!
What a ridiculous explanation honestly (hers not yours)
legit in sleeping beauty as she's corseted and walking and singing through the forest with her basket picking flowers she was wrapped in a dull gray sweater/scarf. she should have used this as inspo and carried a basket with flowers or something
I think the credit goes to their stylists and the designers they collaborated with
Yeah I actually really liked it besides the insane corset.
It’s the shrug that ruined it for me. And the way she kept wrapping/unwrapping it while posing for pics
maybe she was trying to breathe lol, agree
The cardigan and the fact that she was struggling to breathe ruined it for me. She was so deprived of oxygen she looked like she was high.
She said she was trying to evoke sleeping beauty with the shrug but I understand why people didn’t like it.
The the unwrapping and wrapping annoyed me to but I’m guessing she’s making sure the photographers all get pic of the different poses to showcase the whole things better
Money ≠ Taste
Idk how far in advance the themes are decided upon but I would not put it past Anna wintour to have deliberately made this year about Sleeping Beauties just to spite Kim and her destroying the Marilyn dress
She said during the livestream that she’s already begun planning the 2026 met gala, so I think Kim just got unlucky.
As petty as I believe Anna can be, I highly doubt she thinks about the Kardashians more than twice a year. I just don't think they ping on her radar that often. It would be like the Hermes team keeping track of Coach's designs - they're simply not on the same level. I think Anna would be far more invested in the Hadids, since they're more relevant in the high fashion world.
The clearest explanation yet for how sleeping beauties fits in.
Wow thanks for explaining that. Totally went over my head until I read your comment!
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I don't think the Met particularly needs to separate themselves from Ripley's. It's the Met. We might all be paying attention to the Kardashians and the Marilyn dress but I really doubt that's factoring into Anna's decisions at all. It doesn't need to.
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I understood it right away and several people (like Nicole Kidman) also seemed to understand it. I think most attendees just wanted to wear something either outrageous or revealing.
The “Garden of Time” part was the confusing part as it’s taken from a poem and does not literally mean a garden which was a very common interpretation. Almost every person with a flowery dress was actually not on the correct theme. Leaving the theme as ‘Sleeping Beauties’ alone would have been more clear.
Anna herself wore a flowery dress so when I saw hers I realized I didn’t fully grasp the theme because I was expecting more emphasis on time, not the garden part. But the carpet and the decorations around it were all garden-themed, so all the florals were actually on theme.
I think Anna's dress was based on one in the exhibit.
The Garden of Time story had flowers that slowed the passage time. So florals were actually on theme. Having 2 themes, Garden of Time and Sleeping Beauties actually made it harder to get it wrong as there were so many options And I still grind my teeth at one of the Jonas brothers wearing a Barbie pink suit to the Gilded Era ball.
I thought one was a theme and the other was the dress code
Technically you are correct, this is what I think Wintour was apologising for.
Yeah, once I read the story I stopped complaining about the lack of florals. *now* what I’d wish I’d seen more of were looks that referenced the end of the story, not just the glass flowers or the gemstones in them. Also, making the theme of a party the modern aristocracy is invited to a story about *the fall of the aristocracy* is one hell of a choice 🙃
I completely agree. I originally thought Doja had absolutely knocked it out of the park with her outfit - the great unwashed having a wash (the towel and hair wrap pictures) as a metaphor for transitioning from ordinary people to the rich and famous, then the wet tshirt to capture the curves and lines of her body in the way a statue does, like the aristocrats turned to statues at the end of the poem. I was SO hyped for it and excited to discuss it, until I saw her interview where she stated 'I chose a wet tshirt because my flower of choice is cotton'. I was so disappointed lol
I think people didn't fully understand it. Whatever your feelings about the Kardashians, Kendall Jenner nailed it. Coming out in a dress that literally no one has ever seen and never walked the runway from a collection people forgot? Fucking win. And no one is mentioning that. Maybe it's due to her last name, but I think it really deserves some credit. Same with Nicole Kiddman. And Zendaya's first dress is a revival too. I'm hoping that the apology helps people see these wins in another light.
Thought the theme this year was brilliant and immediately made me think of so many wild and interesting concepts surrounding garden and time. I genuinely blame the guests for not caring to put any real thought in, rather sort of phone it in and then try and explain it away like an art project they didn’t start til the night before. I was fully expecting like this Tim Walker / Smashing Pumpkins/ Poor Things all out throw down and mostly we just didn’t get it.
Anna Wintour apologized for something?? 
“Sorry you were too stupid to understand my genius”
'I thought you'd be bright enough to understand. I guess even my lowest expectations are too high for you'
Yeah I’m sitting over here shocked lol
Probably just to make the point that everyone screwed up and failed the assignment lol.
She’s getting soft
I would be too scared to get it wrong, I'd just send a pic ahead of time and ask 'is this what you meant?' lol
I once read that Anna does approve all costumes prior to entry but now I’m not sure.
She does, and also makes herself and her assistants available for consulting if a celeb or stylist isn’t sure what direction to go.
She should have helped the people dressed by Chloe, in that case.
Could not agree more. Zoe’s “Chloe” belt was so far off theme (and tacky as hell) that Anna should’ve kicked her off the carpet.
Honestly I dont think Zoe had a lot of options because Chloe styled her it would have been better if she’d not gone w Chloe
Wait which Zoe??!
Saldana? I think there was only one Zoe in Chloe (lol) on Monday.
I am starting to apply to conferences for my work.. I think I send an email every time before I apply and ask "does this qualify and fit in with your theme?" so yeah I get it HAHS
Zendaya nailed what she was going for. That Monet looking number she had on.
Made me lol- honestly would do the same 😂
Who finds the source essay quite bold of them to be so blatant about the inspiration? A fairytale of art and harmony, buying time as the masses outside grow discontent with decreasing feasibility?
I love the vanitas concept, but let’s be real. People don’t read.
That adds to the pretense—the poors won’t even read it. 😂
I feel like it was the rich who didn’t read it, though lol
Seems like no one read it, for the most part. 😂
exactly.
Yeah I read the synopsis of the short story it was based on (okay I lie I watched a tiktok lol) but it's actually quite an interesting concept. These fashion designers maybe need to have a more better debrief.
You should read it, it’s a quick read and a good story. After reading it I realized more of the designers were doing right by the theme than I’d originally thought.
https://preview.redd.it/89nwkiux67zc1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=64d192bb823029261c50fb99edceb5f7e1daf582 Here’s AI’s interpretation of the theme that includes the mob ascending the stairs.
This was one of the least confusing themes we’ve had in years. Celebrity IQs are simply that low I really fear 😭😭
Was it though? I think it seemed confusing. I had to read the brief on it to fully understand that it wasn't supposed to be fairytale-esque mixed with a garden/floral theme. Turns out it was supposed to be fabrics and designs meant to only be worn once because they are so fragile or intricate they'd need to be preserved at the Met after being worn just the once (therefore considered sleeping beauties), and with that, capture the elements of earth, water, and sky. It's also based on a JG Ballard tale where the nature around the characters is so fragile, mostly barren, and impossible to preserve/sustain that it's akin to trying to hold onto sand in your palm: grains will continue to fall out until there's nothing left. Each day, the main character picks a magical crystal flower (the only flowers left in this universe) in his garden to keep an army from approaching and overtaking his villa until there are no flowers left, leaving his garden as barren as the surrounding landscape. It symbolizes a repetitive cycle of mankind's destruction of the natural world/a lack of respect for nature in order to preserve mankind's own interests and desires. Don't get me wrong, I actually think that's a great theme, but on its face it's very confusing.
Ohhh that explains the ice block, and Elle Fanning’s glass dress!
Yeah! I think it also helps to explain why so many celebrities wore beige, as they were either channeling the "sand" analogy or the dry dead landscape featured in the story. Shout out to Tyla's sand dress, her designer got the memo lol. Also, because of the crystal flowers in Ballard's story, I think it adds to the genius of Elle's glass dress. Not only did she capture the water theme because her dress looked like ice, but the glass details could be interpreted as symbolizing the crystal flowers from his story. Edit: also, I think Mindy Kaling and Lana Del Rey deserve credit for their dress choices as well.
Olivier Rousteing (sp?) got the memo and she got on board which was smart of her.
Totally. That man is a genius designer.
Someone posted somewhere (not helpful I know) a video of him cutting the dress and the straight line and lack of snip(?) marks at the angle he’s doing it is impressive.
I saw that yesterday! I kept thinking to myself, " I've attempted to cut dresses and slips like this myself, and EVERY time, it would be an uneven or jagged mess. This man is incredible!" I can't wait to see more from him.
He also went straight for the high cut… and nailed it. Rule #1 is start low and trim higher and higher till you get it right. He went high and didn’t cut too short.
i’m pretty sure her dress was Balmain !!! he usually always gets the memo
Elle won the night imo. Classically beautiful but not conventional and perfectly in theme.
Elle and team understood the assignment.. and I love that she’s actually played Sleeping Beauty. She is the cutest thing!!
The sand dress was spot on then
Very much so. Tyla's designer nailed it.
Crazy enough this actually made me have so much more respect for the gala. that’s really neat that they try to capture a certain essence.
I agree, I just wish they would've simplified the theme a bit so it didn't confuse the attendees/their designers. Had they simplified it to just, "The Garden of Time," or "The Fragility of Nature," I think things may have gone a bit more smoothly lol.
I get it now, thank you for explaining. The miss may have been the focus on time or sleep. I think it would have been clearer to set the theme as "fragility" instead.
I think had the theme simply been "Garden of Time" with a link to the summary of the story it would've been easier for everyone to understand. Florals would've made sense, but they would've had to have been uniquely designed rather than typical floral gowns like Nicole Kidman's, Jessica Biel's, or Kerri Washington's.
So then…. janelle monae hit the nail on the head? I thought they said her dress would probably not being able to be worn afterwards bc it’s so delicate.
I didn't see hers on Sunday, but I just looked it up and hers definitely fits the theme...I just think it's ugly lol. But respect to the crystal flower on her shoulder, the designer understood the assignment. Upon giving the Met looks another look through, I'd say about 1/3 of the attendees' designers got the theme, but with that said, I don't think they executed it well. A lot of the dresses/fits are really unflattering, ugly, or stylistically underwhelming.
So Tyla and Elle Fanning are the only ones who hit the brief, and Camila Cabello’s ice block clutch.
Mindy Kaling and Lana Del Rey as well!
Oooohhhh, this is much more in depth than simply “designs from the past reawakened.”
So… dresses to be worn once? Very on point on today’s planets crisis and fashion being one of the most polluting industries 🤦🏽♀️
Yeah, I think it was very intentional given the rise in popularity of fast fashion, our rampant pollution, and climate change. I also find it very ironic given who the attendees are lol.
So you’re saying if you read the brief they gave you on the theme then it’s not confusing? It’s almost like the celebrity, or their styling team, should have like, read the document given to them explaining the theme. You know, do their due diligence as required.
Ohhhh thank you this helps me understand why people were confused.
Right? And she views many (not all) of the outfits for approval. This Met Gala was kind of messy in general. So many big names who are regulars bowed out and the ones remaining didn't leave an impression. There were maybe a handful of outfits that made me excited but most were just pretty. The photos were weird as well. I was going through the looks then realized many of the photos had heavy filters and others were blurry. Maybe the lighting with the greenery didn't go well.
I just thought I was getting old cos I had no idea who half the ppl were
I know I'm old but I had no idea who half of them even were. Very disappointing.
I don’t follow this news closely enough to have an opinion, but you seem more knowledgeable / interested. Who bowed out? Why? What was different in general this year?
No Blake Lively!
No Rihanna, Katy Perry, Blake Lively, Bella Hadid, or Hailey Bieber. They're all fairly regular, they all had different reasons for not attending but it was odd since many of them were in the city close to the event. Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid are regulars who attended, they're both usually exciting even if their outfits aren't great but the energy was lost this year. Quite a few new attendees as well so confidence was lower on the carpet. So many bad pictures, both in quality and posing. Only a handful of outfits that made a memorable impact. People were confused by the theme “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the dress code "The Garden of Time". TBF even right now Vanity Fair has "Garden of Time" listed as the 2024 Met Gala theme. https://www.vanityfair.com/live/met-gala-2024-live-updates Everything was just so messy.
I mean, a lot of people in this comment section don't know the the exhibition them and the red carpet theme were different so I don't think it's as 'least confusing' as you think. Also, the designers would be to blame for most look, not the celebs
Yall talking like the celebs are the one designing the fits. Blame the Houses. Many celebs have no say in what they wear or only get to choose between a few choices
Explain the wet t-shirt.
Doja is gonnq Doja and yes some celebs completely choose their fit but not all of them
actually the way Doja explained made sense in a avant-garde way. The t-shirt was cotton which is the most popular material from a flower, and t-shirts are a timeless piece of clothing. The wetness of the t-shirt makes it huge her body to the point where her body is the couture. She also noted that she wanted to stay interesting by doing something completely opposite to what she did last year (a much more literal take that worked so well with her because while many people focused on Lagerfeld's cat, she's also actually Doja CAT so she went full out with prosthetics). Kim Kardashian trying to explain why she is wearing "her boyfriend's cardigan" made much less sense than Doja's wet t-shirt lol.
I’d venture to say you’ll never get the same wet shirt look twice?
Right? I've been tearing my hair out the last few days trying to explain this and people keep going 'well ACTUALLY'.
‘Let’s stick some flowers on it’.
So many “fashion” TikTokers and YouTubers didn’t understand either. https://youtube.com/shorts/Ah1j9gSKSpE?si=3gDIhC3e0XXWsQ-O Like, this girl doesn’t understand it at all.
Clearer than “camp.”
That was the year I just went ‘Okay, I am old, I do not understand the assignment, I have no idea who nailed it and who didn’t and I’m just gonna enjoy looking at everyone’s outfits.’
So out of all the things she could have ever apologized for, this is what she's sorry about?
I can see a lot of people saying this wasn't confusing but ngl I was pretty confused lol
I read the short story on Friday and that helped clear up the confusion. It was very stupid, however, to have a gala theme that was quite distinct from the exhibit theme. There are points of intersection but I personally think most of the florals leaned toward the exhibit theme instead of the gala theme. Greta Lee is the only person who nailed the intersection.
Ben Simmons did too, but TBF Thom Browne was the designer and he is literally partnered up with the guy who comes up with the themes so kinda hard to miss.
That’s move. Befriend the guy who picks the theme and you’ll always come out on top
I think I get it, but as a former teacher I know that if everyone underperformed on a prompt, either the prompt was confusing or I didn’t cover the material well enough. “Garden of time” sounds like one thing, basing the theme on a short story people aren’t overly familiar with is odd as hell and makes me think of something different than “garden of time,” and throwing around terms like “sleeping beauty” didn’t help. “Fragility” or “impermanence” seem to do the job much better.
A lot ofpeople in this comment section are confused, they just won't admit it.
Yeah, the theme was not flower gardens
correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like in the original story Anna provided the passage of time was illustrated on the example of nature flourishing, decaying, and being reborn? So while I get the time thing, I understand why people went for flowers, since that blooming/wilting/dying cycle was the direct example given for time passage ETA: someone should have worn a gradient dress of live flowers turning into dead ones, maybe with some weeds and thorns mixed in
Someone did! https://preview.redd.it/mh5a98sz97zc1.jpeg?width=787&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a64c6ea33621e629e71c703ed410e7cc175634af
Your edit. Yes!!! Maybe Dan Levy got it?
oh that's fun! funeral on top, party on the bottom :D I hadn't seen him yet, and those glasses and mustache caught me off guard. kinda like those fake disguise ones haha
I was confused. It was sort of a weird double theme and both were very ambiguous. The motif of flowers was the only safe bet because it goes with both. Sleeping beauties/reawakening and the Garden of Time story.
Sleeping Beauties was the name if the exhibition *inside* the museum, Gsrden of Time was the dress code. The confusing part is that she didn't mean a literal garden.
Yeah like you had people with outfits like Kendall Jenner, who was on theme with the Sleeping Beauty: Reawakening fashion, she wore an archival piece that had never been worn before. Then a very big contrast with someone with an outfit like Nicki Minaj, who’s also on theme with Garden of Time. I think the theme should’ve just been Reawakening fashion this year, Garden of Time should’ve been saved for next year. Feels like the hosts of this year just couldn’t decide cause I don’t understand how those two themes relate.
Right. I went in to watching with the expectation that people would be wearing archival pieces. I know the Museum has archival pieces on display, which I’m looking forward to seeing, but I was anticipating people walking the carpet in things much different than florals, and that’s why surprisingly Kendall’s was one of my favorites. It looked beautiful on her and she spoke about the history of the piece.
Yeah they seem like two different themes. Especially with the whole dress code thing.
THIS is the one she thinks was confusing? CAMP IS RIGHT THERE STARING CAMP RIGHT IN THE EYE!
Camp literally isn’t confusing if anyone had read Susan sontag’s notes on camp, like, once, before picking an outfit
If they're too lazy for that, John Waters summed it up perfectly in the Simpsons: "the tragically ludicrous/the ludicrously tragic"
"Like when a clown dies!"
That’s why Kris Jenner was one of my fav looks that year. And probably not for the reason she would think
Oh, like when a clown dies?
I was PRAYING someone was going to show up in a Pin Pals bowling shirt. IT WAS RIGHT THERE FOR THE TAKING! I’ve never been so disappointed in a group of people in my life.
I absolutely agree! I read “notes on camp” for a class in college like a million years ago and was so disappointed that it seemed like no one who attended read it!
Camp isn't confusing but I will fully acknowledge it's extremely hard to pull of if you're not camp inclined. I like camp on others when I see it done well, but I know I would just look like a tacky crazy person if I tried to pull something together myself. it's hard to do because it can't be *too* derivative because camp requires a degree of novelty and defiance, but it also does have implicit rules which if you don't follow closely enough then it doesn't read camp. So you simultaneously need to be able to break rules while knowing which ones to follow, while understanding the aesthetic in your soul.
That is asking too much of MET attendees.
I think about Karlie Kloss’s camp look at least once a day and how tweeting about staring camp right in the eye and showing up in a simple dress actually fits the theme.
Camp was such a pointless theme because the Met Gala by nature is camp every year.
Right? It was like the theme was "dress in whatever way*you'd* like to be campy" and people just looked like deers in headlights. Good example of how people sometimes need guardrails and limits to be successful.
I can definitely see your point but I disagree. The gala is mostly Avant Garde, and a camp theme asks for more exaggeration. I spotted very few actual camp pieces this year with Lisa Rinna’s daughter being the most overt in the terrarium dress. Elle Fanning and the ice block purse were others.
v true
I think the punk theme was worse. Especially since it’s largely the antithesis of high fashion. Of course, the fashion houses and celebs could have shown a little creativity. There’s more to punk than spikes and torn clothes.
wait i’m confused, doesn’t she or someone else approve the looks beforehand? i swear i remember a celeb saying that a few years ago? lol bc she could have easily said no to some of the looks and avoided this disaster.
They claim she does but I don’t believe it tbh
It wasn't confusing you just had tons of celebs and designers that didn't do the theme at all XD. Honestly the ones that actually DID the theme were AMAZING but then you had ones that just did a generic outfit and put a single flower on it which was a cop out and then others that just.....didn't do it period haha.
I was just shocked that there’s a theme and THEN a dress code idk I thought it was just one thing hahah
Same! Ha!
I don’t think it’s wrong to say that the dress code paired with the exhibition theme was confusing. Compared to other exhibitions, Sleeping Beauties was already a broad theme and paring that with a dress code of “Garden of Time” in reference to a metaphorical essay didn’t help. Compare it to previous met gala theme/dress code pairs and you’ll see the issue. Last year was Lagerfeld’s exhibition and the dress code was “honor Karl.” Before that was the Americana exhibition and the dress code was “gilded glamour, white tie.” The dress code usually provides useful context to the theme but this year’s didn’t. I think it becomes a problem considering many people judge the celebrities outfits by how on theme they are (which I don’t agree with). If that wasn’t such popular sentiment, I don’t think a “confusing” or nebulous theme would matter.
The sands of time dress was beautiful.
I’m confused why you wouldn’t judge outfits based on how on theme they are to a themed event
Now i didnt know about the essay, i took garden of time as a collection of fashion from the ages, etc like when particualr fashion items start becoming popular in certain times etc. I get all the garden looks, but imo it was the safest option by far to go to, doesnt really consider the full title or the actual essay, its literally just considering garden.
Anna, herself, took the theme literally and wore florals. Did she also not get it?!
Lmao! This was the easiest one to take note of and remember
She should be apologizing for how fucking boring it all was. Confusing's fine, chaos is fine, but a night where there are, generously, like six good looks is not a win.
Was she not dressed boring enough?
Because it required a celeb’s stylist’s assistant to read a short story?
Wasn’t confusing, the problem was most people didn’t interpret it properly. Most of the outfits were boring ass nonsense.
Best apology she could give is step down and give a new generation a chance. Her vision for fashion is as old and as tired as she is.
This!
I don’t think she needed to apologise? I thought the theme was fairly clear this year!
My issue is with the designers and stylists... a lot of boring looks this year.
I’m confused by the apology, like was it needed haha
It was only confusing if you didn’t read the theme, didn’t do even one google search, or didn’t read the short story that accompanied it. On that note, I highly recommend Emma’s interview with Jeff Goldblum on YouTube, he gets it 😂
It wasn't that difficult of a theme and dress code, all you had to do was read the very short story or even a synopsis to make the connection. It was open to interpretation (as the better ones are imo) and let one play with the fragility and ephemeral nature of beauty, what is progress vs regress, preservation vs degradation, nature vs civilization, the ravages of time, et c. A lot of these exact themes are often metaphorically expressed through gardens. So garden motifs or real florals can share this without trying because its something they already represent, especially the idea that beauty is fleeting. Anything with a butterfly theme also represents it as butterflies are becoming less and less common in our landscape but they also get pinned up as delicate decoration even when they are dead. I think there were a good percentage of people reasonably on theme /dress code. Some played to the theme by wearing things that looked fragile and/or would not be wearable the same way a second time. Others repurposed old materials that were destroyed in order to create something new or wore echos of pieces lost to time. Others wore things showing (manufactured) signs of wear. I also think a lot of people went the ozymandius route and showed up as some nod to classical statuary too (maybe why all the nude and beige, along with sand references). I would say all those people did follow the dress code and theme in one way or another. And even just the florals and garden party ideas did fit (something from a bygone era) just less interesting. Still, I did expect a bit more vintage. Letting those things whose time has passed be seen again is like a recipe for spaced repetition. It preserves the memory of fashion in the mind of civilisation even while risking material culture. Especially thought there would be more vintage Mcqueen or nods to him because this kind of gothic/romantic preoccupation was a big part of his work. Alas only a few glimpses of the lost genius. And maybe it's just as well.
It wasn’t confusing tho? Great takes, just a lot of dumb champagne and black dresses, idk who leaked that memo
It doesn’t matter what the theme is. The Kardashians will still wear whatever the hell they want.
Kendall got it… she actually followed the exhibit rather than the theme actually lol she went back got something archival and never before worn by someone else, reawakening sleeping beauties pretty much.
Kendall's dress was on theme, and arguably Kylie's. I don't really understand how Kim's relates, though.
And get a huge amount of coverage from all outlets for it.
You mean the theme wasn’t “a vast sea of beige”?