The best images of the stars at the Met Gala 2024: Irina Shayk in her dress made of 84 thousand Swarovski crystals and Zendaya in Maison Margiela design

She just wrapped up the 2024 Met Gala red carpet. In its 76 years of existence, the Costume Institute Gala has grown from a charity dinner inviting members of New York’s high society to a global pop culture phenomenon with an impressive guest list. It is attended every year by American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who personally confirms). Half a century ago, Bianca Jagger, Jacqueline Kennedy, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and even Andy Warhol were shining at a charity event. And in the new millennium, they were replaced by trendsetters and influencers represented by the Karadashian-Jenner family, the Hadid sisters, Zendaya, Rihanna and many more.

The red carpet is now watched not only by fashionistas but by the whole world. Literally. The day after the event, the Internet is literally flooded with memes and glossy media compile all kinds of fashion ratings.

So what is this year’s exhibition about? The theme of the exhibition is “Sleeping Beauties: The Rebirth of Fashion”. But if you have thoughts about Disney princesses, we hasten to say that they have absolutely nothing to do with it. The exhibition focuses on garments that are too fragile to be displayed. In total, the exhibition will feature 250 rare outfits from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection. By the way, the dress code at the ball sounds a little different: “The Garden of Time.” And it refers to the story of the same name by British author James Baland. The work briefly tells the story of a married couple who live in a house surrounded by a beautiful garden full of unusual flowers. When you choose them, time will turn back for a short time. And this continues until there is not a single flower left in the garden. I agree, dress codes sound very interesting, which is why representatives of the fashion community are eagerly waiting for the first Monday in May to evaluate the looks prepared by A-list celebrities. Did they manage to surprise picky fashion critics? We tell you in our material.

Around midnight (Moscow time) the first photos of the carpet appeared on the Internet – this time it was partially painted green, implying that the focus would be on nature and unity with it. Despite the iconic Miranda Priestly quote (“Floral print for spring? How hipster!”), we were ready to see the variety of bouquets the stars had in store for us.

One of the first to appear on the red (that is, green) carpet was Gwendoline Christie in her Maison Margiela image at the latest couture show, followed by the hostess of the evening, Anna Wintour, in her custom Loewe jacket with floral appliqués. By the way, it is inspired by Charles Frederick Worth’s 1889 cape dress.

In fact, there were many references to historical images. Nicole Kidman, for example, appeared in a replica of a 1951 Balenciaga dress; Kendall Jenner chose Alexander McQueen’s 1999 Givenchy look that no one has worn before. And singer Charli XCX stepped out in a Marni look made from 1960s T-shirts. Isabelle Huppert also took advantage of the archive and appeared in a replica of Callot Soeurs’s 1930 dress. But the beads on Rita Ora’s dress are a real treasure. They are collected in different countries of the world and some parts are more than a thousand years old.

Of course, the flowers promised at the beginning of the material were also there. What does it have to do with very different readings? Amelia Gray appeared at the Met Gala wearing a rose-patterned dress from the latest Undercover collection. Lily James opted for a minimalist Erdem outfit with black tulips, while Gigi Hadid opted for a custom Thom Browne look with yellow flowers.

Another big Met Gala trend this year was nude dresses. And here it is worth noting that we are not surprised, given the global trend towards everything being transparent. JLo, Emily Ratajkowski, Rita Ora, Greta Lee and David Damiano relied on revealing visuals. In fact, there were so many “nude” images that we decided to prepare a separate material.

And of course, we should not forget that “time” and thoughts about it are an equally important part of the Met Gala theme this year. “Garden of Time” is also reflected in the photographs of South African singers Tyla and Sabine Harrison. The first one emerged wearing a sand dress (literally) and holding a watch in her hand. However, the latter appeared in a dialed corset dress.

There were so many worthy looks this year, so we decided to compile our personal rating of the best looks into a gallery. Spoiler: The Kardashian-Jenner sisters were there, but Rihanna missed the event for some reason.