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In Met Gala 2024 'Garden Of Time' Theme, How Florals Dominated Red Carpet

From South African singer Tyla's Sands of time-inspired strapless Balmain gown to the hummingbird perched on Zendaya's neck, celebrities rightly set the tone at fashion's biggest night -- the annual Met Gala in New York.

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Aditi Bagaria
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zendaya | Reuters

Zendaya poses at the Met Gala in New York City, New York, U.S., May 6, 2024 | Reuters

On Monday night, some of the biggest celebrities, dressed in their finest and most outrageous couture, to assemble at the steps of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for the biggest red carpet event of the year. Florals, animals and vintage couture made up at the so-called Oscars of the East Coast, a mammoth fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. The Met Gala, which falls on the first Monday of May, purportedly celebrates the Anna Wintour Costume Center’s keystone exhibit every year.

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The Theme of Met Gala 2024

The official dress code for the 2024 Met Gala was "The Garden of Time," in honor of the Costume Institute's upcoming exhibition, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." It also draws inspiration from the 1962 short story of the same name, written by English writer J.G. Ballard.

About 250 rare objects from the Costume Institute's permanent collection will be on display. The designs, which span more than 400 years of fashion history, featured creations by Schiaparelli, Givenchy, Dior, and other designers.

Additionally, there were displays of clothing that were too delicate to ever be worn again, such as an 1877 ball gown designed by Charles Frederick Worth, using light projection, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, and other sensory stimulation techniques.

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Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Bunny hosted the 2024 Met Gala. They come after the glamorous group of last year, which included Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, and Anna Wintour of Vogue. Since 1995, the latter has been in charge of the Met Gala, transforming it into the beloved yearly festival of fashion that it is today.

Zendaya made a highly-anticipated appearance early on wreathed in jewel-toned lame, organza and satin designed by John Galliano, with vines crawling up her corset and arms -- and what appeared to be a hummingbird nestled into her neck.

Hours later she made a surprise second appearance -- this time in dramatic, Mexican Gothic-inspired black, her two outfits bookending the fashion parade.

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History of Met Gala

Eleanor Lambert, a fashion publicist, coordinated the inaugural Costume Institute benefit, the Met Gala, in 1948. It was claimed that the banquet tickets were $50 apiece.

The event has evolved over the years from an industry celebration held off-site at venues like Manhattan's Rainbow Room to an A-List phenomenon. The elite of New York society and the fashion industry were invited to the gala, which was positioned as the opening party of the Institute's major exhibitions in the 1970s by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland.

Her successor, Anna Wintour, has made the gala one of the most popular events of the fashion calendar and the year by favoring well-known performers, singers, and entertainers. 

fashion Met Gala 2024 Met Gala theme Sleeping Beauties
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