From the moment the Met Gala carpet commenced, outsiders were confused about just what the theme meant and how celebrities were interpreting things. The Costume Institute’s exhibition this year is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and Wintour was very specific about the theme being “The Garden of Time,” based on the JG Ballard story. Personally, I was not confused about the theme because I remembered this cute Vogue video from a couple of months ago:
Just in: This year, #BadBunny, @ChrisHemsworth, @jlo, @Zendaya, and Anna Wintour will serve as this year’s official #MetGala co-chairs! Tied to the aforementioned exhibition, the dress code is “The Garden of Time.” https://t.co/69FO7LdvIV pic.twitter.com/fjCSQVpID8
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) February 15, 2024
It felt like Wintour was making an edict: florals, dress up like actual flowers, the operative word is GARDEN. So it was really weird to see so many women march straight towards all of those metallics and beige/sand dresses. There was actually a several lack of florals overall. Just ahead of the gala, Anna Wintour admitted that the theme had already gotten away from her:
Anna Wintour has one regret ahead of tonight’s 2024 Met Gala. The Vogue magazine chief, who has presided over the star-studded fashion fete since 1995, apologized for any “confusion” over the theme of this year’s event.
The exhibit’s theme is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” while the dress code is “The Garden of Time” — and Wintour admits that may have unintentionally opened the door for any and every kind of interpretation.
“This exhibition broke my cardinal rule,” Wintour told the “Today” show on Monday. “When we came up with the title ‘Sleeping Beauties,’ it’s wonderful and poetic and romantic, but actually, it could be many, many things.”
She sought advisement from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, about the dress code.
“I said, ‘What are we gonna say to people to wear to this night?’ And he said, ‘Well, what about ‘Garden of Time?’” Wintour shared. “So, I fear that we’ve unleashed a lot of confusion out there, and for which I deeply apologize.”
The 74-year-old fashion doyenne added: “I imagine we’ll see a lot of flowers,” teasing she could “possibly” be seen wearing some.
She was really hoping to see a lot of flowers! It’s downright fascinating to see how few people went for anything garden-themed or floral or anything like that. Now, that being said, I think a lot of women leaned into what the exhibition was about – “Sleeping Beauties,” and the idea of using vintage or archive pieces as inspiration for modern fashion. Many women wore gowns directly inspired by archive pieces and they were doing some really fascinating callbacks for many different designers. That was cool. I’m begging Wintour to actually make a stricter theme for next year’s gala. I still remember the concerns about 2015’s gala, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” and the legitimate fears that celebrities would go to offensive places with how they interpreted the theme. But that ended up being one of the best galas and best themes, with celebrities really doing deep dives on Chinese history, fabrics, design, jewelry, etc.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.