Met Gala 2024: Highlights from ‘fashion’s Oscars’ as guests hit the red carpet

I’m Liz Guber, The Kit contributor, and your guide to this evening’s looks, inspired by the dress code: “The Garden of Time.” Let’s get into all the floral, time and fragility-themed fashion of the night.

9:20 p.m. She’s back! Zendaya returned to close out the carpet in a second showstopping look, this time a flower-topped hat and sweeping black gown.

According to stylist Law Roach’s Instagram, it’s by John Galliano for Givenchy circa Spring/Summer 1996, and the hat is by milliner Philip Treacy from Spring/Summer 2007.

9:15 p.m. That’s another Met Gala in the history books. Overall? Much like the recent red-carpet awards season, there were no giant misses but not a ton of whimsical winners. Most celebrities leaned heavy into florals or archival looks. My best-dressed goes to Lana Del Rey, Demi Moore, Zendaya and Elle Fanning.

9:05 p.m. Whither Met Gala regulars like Bella Hadid, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Blake Lively and Rihanna? Many expected Rihanna to arrive late as usual but per People magazine, she’s down with the flu and will be skipping this year’s gala. RIP to whatever iconic look she would have worn.

9 p.m. With the bulk of the red carpet behind us, it’s safe to say that most celebs took the “Garden of Time” theme literally, going heavy on florals — an easier, safer point of inspiration to work with than the concept of time or the ephemeral nature of fashion. Anna Wintour admitted as much in interviews, calling the theme “confusing.”

8:40 p.m. Now here’s one way to shut down the Met Gala carpet: By taking up all of it.

Cardi B’s black chiffon Giambattista Valli gown rivals Rihanna’s iconic yellow Guo Pei robe-gown from 2015 in size and show-stopper status.

Halfway up the stairs, she checked her phone, caught in the act by the livestream. 

8:30 p.m. Gigi Hadid handed out yellow roses to fans waiting outside her hotel on her way to the Met. Her charming gown is by Thom Browne, and features tumbling ruffles and yellow-rose appliqués.

8:20 p.m. Doja Cat emerged from her hotel wrapped in a white towel, but by the time she got to the Met, she had changed into a Vetements wet-look dress — the cool effect was achieved with a lot of hair gel. The dress references a John Galliano collection from 1986.

Still, nothing could top Doja’s cat prosthetics of Met Gala 2023, when she referenced Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, Choupette.

8:15 p.m. Hitting the sweet spot between costume and high-fashion, Lana Del Rey’s forest nymph look features a veil held up by antlers made of twigs. It’s Alexander McQueen, created by the brand’s recently appointed creative director Seán McGirr and referencing a look from McQueen’s “Widows Of Culloden” collection of 2006.

8:10 p.m. Kim Kardashian is wearing...a pilled sweater? Now we’ve seen everything. Otherwise it’s the usual Kim K fare, by way of Maison Margiela, designed by John Galliano: An extremely, concerningly snatched waist and a platinum dye job.

Meanwhile, Kylie Jenner is serving a 1950s throwback, complete with an exaggerated cone bra. It’s archival Givenchy—just like her sister Kendall’s.

8 p.m. Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph is wearing a custom denim gown made by Zac Posen for Gap. Posen, a beloved New York designer, closed his eponymous label in 2020. He was recently appointed as Gap’s creative director, and this is a great way to stir up some buzz around his new role. 

7:45 p.m. Kendall Jenner has gone the archival route with an Alexander McQueen for Givenchy Couture gown from 1999. The evening has lacked a ton of archival looks, so this one is nice to see for fashion history lovers.

“I’m the first human to wear this dress; it was shown on a mannequin,” says Jenner, adding she couldn’t tailor or alter the dress in any way. This recalls Kim Kardashian’s historic and controversial re-wear of Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress at the 2022 Met Gala.

Their mom, Kris Jenner, arrived at tonight’s event a little earlier, and joked that she hasn’t seen her kids in a while. So just a casual, run-of-the-mill family reunion.

7:35 p.m. Rita Ora is wearing a Marni look that resembles a beaded curtain over a full body stocking—she says some of the beads are thousands of years old. It’s Ora’s 10th Met Gala. “I just love having a companion now,” she says, as she turns to her husband, Taika Waititi, dressed in a brown leather suit.

7:25 p.m. Thank goodness for Demi Moore for bringing the drama! She’s here with Nina Ricci creative director Harris Reed, who designed her dress using archival wallpaper. “Fashion needs to be about risk-taking, having fun and celebrating beauty and creativity,” says the British-American designer, who is definitely a talent to (continue to) watch.

7:15 p.m. “How am I going to eat later?” asks Greta Lee in her Loewe dress, which features a high neckline that partially covers her face. Fashion people problems. (Incidentally, Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson is a co-chair of tonight’s gala.) 

7 p.m. There have been rumours going around that Anna Wintour thinks Lauren Sanchez, fiancée of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, has “bad taste” and personally helped her find a dress for this evening, to ensure she’d look the part. So did it work? Well, her mirrored, rose-themed Oscar de la Renta ball gown is fine, I guess?

6:55 p.m. South African pop star Tyla (“Water” is her breakthrough track) might be tonight’s sleeper red carpet hit. Her custom Balmain dress captures the time theme perfectly—it’s designed to look like it’s made of wet sand, complete with an hourglass handbag...

...but watching a video of her needing assistance to get up the Met steps in the stiff gown showed how much these stars sacrifice comfort for an iconic moment.

6:50 p.m. This, above, is not Katy Perry arriving at the Met Gala! But it is a fake AI image of Perry circulating on social media that many thought was real—it has 3.7 million views on X so far...

6:50 p.m. Sarah Jessica Parker, who showed up with Bravo honcho Andy Cohen, is no stranger to the Met Gala or a showstopping headpiece. She’s wearing a precious tea-length Richard Quinn number featuring a cage skirt and extra-long pearls. But the hat is the star of the show.

6:45 p.m. Mindy Kaling has arrived in a swirly, sculptural and shimmering dress by Indian designer Gurav Gupta, which has a name: The Melting Flower of Time. “It makes me really happy to rep talented geniuses from my community,” she says.

6:35 p.m. Colman Domingo was the best-dressed man of the recent red-carpet awards season and another hotly anticipated Met Gala guest. He did not disappoint with his brilliantly proportioned caped satin suit by Willy Chavaria, accessorized with a handful of calla lilies.

He says he’s sitting at the same table as Cardi B: “It’s going to be a vibe.” The seating chart is famously controlled by Anna Wintour and often completed mere hours before the gala begins.

6:25 p.m. The boho crew has arrived: Sienna Miller, Emma Mackey, Greta Gerwig and Zoe Saldana are all wearing Chloé. Their looks are designed by the brand’s new head designer, Chemena Kamali, who is attending with them. While the frocks (and Greta’s cape and trousers) are all pretty, they read more music festival than Fashion Olympics; something tells me this squad won’t be topping best-dressed lists at the end of the night. 

6:15 p.m. Co-chair Jennifer Lopez isn’t straying too far from her wheelhouse in a bodycon naked dress encrusted with crystals. But it’s custom Schiaparelli Couture and it works for her; I’m also into the low-key messy bun and understated makeup where a more traditional updo and heavy glam would have been the expected move.

Lopez tells live-stream host LaLa Anthony that her dress is made with two million beads and it’s inspired by butterflies. Asked what it means to be a co-chair, she says, “It’s not that bad—Anna calls you and it’s quite the honour.” We can safely assume that a BTS team of assistants did most of the heavy-lifting—shocker!

6:12 p.m. Zendaya—easily one of the most-anticipated guests and one of the evening’s co-chairs—is wearing a dreamy, whimsical custom Maison Margiela gown. The brand, helmed by John Galliano, is off to a very strong start at this year’s gala. Galliano referenced his own design from 1999 for this look—vintage made new. 

The gown is embellished with 3D beetles, feathers and fruit, complete with a fascinator.

6:05 p.m.

5:55 p.m. 

What is the theme of the 2024 Met Gala?