Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion – The 2024 Met Gala Experience
The Met Gala, fashion’s most illustrious evening, was held on a Monday evening in 2024. This prestigious event, a tribute to the Costume Institute’s spring showcase at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, highlighted a collection of 50 delicate and historically pivotal garments, deemed too delicate for wear. The theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” spanned from a 17th-century English bodice to modern contributions from designers like Conner Ives and Stella McCartney. Embracing vintage, celebrities at the gala turned to historical ensembles for inspiration, echoing the previous year’s homage to Karl Lagerfeld.
On May 6, 2024, New York City witnessed the Met Gala, an annual tradition since 2005, except for the 2020 cancellation and the 2021 postponement due to the pandemic.
The “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” spring exhibit showcased around 50 exquisite, fragile artifacts from fashion history, as described by Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu curator at The Costume Institute. Innovative curation and technology, including Pepper’s ghost illusion and multimedia enhancements, offered insights into these pieces, as reported by Vogue’s Luke Leitch.
Bolton emphasized fashion’s emotional resonance, rooted in its physical connection and sensory experiences. The exhibition aimed to ignite a sensory appreciation for fashion and was open to the public following the Met Gala until September 2, 2024.
February 15 marked the announcement of Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth, and Bad Bunny as co-chairs for the Met Gala, alongside Anna Wintour, with Jonathan Anderson and Shou Zi Chew as honorary chairs. Zendaya, a fashion icon and method dresser, returned to the Met Gala for the first time since 2019, showcasing a custom Maison Margiela piece and a vintage Givenchy ensemble.
The theme “The Garden in Time” drew inspiration from JG Ballard’s short story, reflecting his narrative style known from “Empire of the Sun.” The story, set in a paradisiacal villa, revolves around Count Axel and his wife, who face an impending threat to their idyllic existence, leading to a dramatic conclusion amidst their once-lush garden.
Since Anna Wintour’s stewardship beginning in 1995, the Met Gala has evolved into a beloved fashion festivity and a significant fundraiser for The Costume Institute, aligning with the opening of its yearly fashion exhibit and consistently generating substantial donations.
