“The first Monday in May”

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First Monday in May, does it ring a bell?

To me, it sounds like Fashion, culture, influences, architecture and class. 2024 is not an exception, weather forecasts say it is a hotly anticipated event by celebrities, fashion enthusiasts, designers and the most prestigious Maisons who will be showcasing their best looks on the red carpet, or should I call it a “Magic Carpet” instead?

Let me start by the basics, what is The MET Gala?

The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts the annual Met Gala as a fundraiser for charitable causes. It has always been scheduled to coincide with the start of its yearly fashion exhibit. The party raises eight-figure sums of money each year. The real mystery is what occurs inside, as phones, cameras, and the media are not permitted, although Kendall Jenner covered a Vogue story filming from her own camera a few stages of the inside at the dinner and the exhibition, last 2021. This is a true VIP event, with a guest list of around 450 attendees that are hand-picked by Anna Wintour and her team, revealed just one day prior to the event to the public and press. The list includes invitations from industry members, designers, and the most prominent profiles of the year. Gigi Hadid, Pharrell Williams, Madonna, Beyoncé, and many more celebrities have graced the red carpet over the years. Designers attend with their muses, Nicolas Ghesquière and Emma Stone, Pier Paolo Piccioli and Julianne Moore, Michael Kors and Gigi Hadid.

This years event will carry a special host committee with acclaimed names such as Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, and the main host, Anna Wintour, they will all serve as this year’s official co-chairs; honorary chairs for the occasion include Loewe's creative director Jonathan Anderson and TikTok CEO Shou Chew. These individuals have a variety of professional backgrounds and distinct Met Gala style histories.

The 2024 Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be showcasing “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” This exhibition will feature around 250 drawn from the Institute’s permanent collection, many which have rarely been seen by the public before, we call it the archives from the vault.

The official dress code, expected by every guest to follow and very much looking forward to new proposals and trends that will come out of this event, “The Garden of Time.” Inspired by the short story by J.C Ballard, carrying the same title and written in 1962, interpreted in so many ways but expected to showcase a botanical, floral and graceful atmosphere.

Spreading over 400 years of fashion history, the pieces displayed in the exhibition will cover vintage Dior by Galliano, Schiaparelli, Givenchy, and more. A new way of displaying garments which are too fragile and old to be displaced, will be taken care of by AI. A video animation enhanced by a series of lights installations, a Charles Frederick Worth ball gown from 1877 will be part of these projections.

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Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, added "The exhibition will be shaped around three main "zones" that pay tribute to the natural world: Land, Sea, and Sky."

“An ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion.” - Andrew Bolton.

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