Mark your calendars, fashion’s biggest spectator sport is soon to take place once again. Here’s everything you need to know about the Met Gala 2024, from this year’s theme of choice to the co-chairs involved.
Occurring once every year without fail on the ‘First Monday in May’ as it is traditionally referred to, the world turns its collective attention to Fifth Avenue in New York City, where one of the most monumental occasions on the fashion calendar takes place on the steps leading into the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Met Gala 2024: The Garden of Time
This year is no different of course, with the organisers of fashion’s biggest soiree finally breaking the news on its theme of choice for 2024, alongside the event’s roster of celebrity co-chairs.
Slated to take place on May 6th, this year’s MET Gala will see the creme de la creme of high society take up “The Garden of Time.” as its theme. For those who don’t necessarily share a propensity for literature, the theme takes inspiration from the 1962 J. G. Ballard short story of the same name, which takes place in a garden overgrown by flowers capable of manipulating time.
Naturally, the dress code plays well in tandem with The Costume Institute’s exhibition of choice — “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”. Open to public viewing from May 10th onwards before closing on September 2nd, the exhibit will comprise a total of 250 historical fashion garments and artifacts that are deemed too fragile to be displayed on mannequins.
Instead, these elusive pieces will be laid flat and put on display in glass vitrines, suspended from time’s decay, for all to see, which will be no doubt complemented by the constellation of global stars that will be in attendance during the exhibit’s opening. With that said, tackling this year’s theme may prove to be a more considerable undertaking than the outgoing ode to fashion maverick Karl Lagerfeld in 2023, owing to its considerably conceptual and ambiguous nature.
Red carpet predictions range from more literal expressions of time, whether defined through a conventional lens or through the pages of Ballardian lore, to high-brow interpretations. But one thing is for certain, turning up with a show of on-the-nose florals won’t cut it.
As for the Costume Institute Benefit’s co-chairs, expect nothing less than an A-list coterie, comprised of actress Zendaya, pop star Jennifer Lopez, actor Chris Hemsworth, rapper Bad Bunny, Loewe creative director J. W. Anderson, as well as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. They will serve alongside the event’s main leadership, comprising of decorated media icon Anna Wintour and Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, Andrew Bolton.
Predictably, many of the names tapped to serve as this year’s Met Gala co-chairs are repeat attendees, with Jennifer Lopez having attended as many as 13 previous iterations.
(Feature and hero image credits: Valentino/Instagram, Thom Browne/Instagram)
This story first appeared in Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.
