The short story that the Met Gala used as an inspiration for this year’s theme, The Garden of Time, has sweeping themes of the ephemeral quality of love, life, wealth and nature. There are also crystal flowers in the story so I was happy to see that referenced in Vera Wang’s gown for Janelle Monae. Janelle was the perfect muse for this gown made of “hand strung crystalline beads and featuring sustainably recycled plastic bottles.” Also, this is a great example of a barely-there look that actually works. So many of last night’s gowns were sheer, cutout or see through for shock effect. Janelle’s gown makes it look like she’s molded into a crystal bouquet.
Update: Apparently Janelle almost fell on the steps last night but recovered quickly. This dress looks so amazing on camera!
Da’Vine Joy Randolph was there with Zac Posen, and they were so sweet to each other in their red carpet interview. Da’Vine was in a Gap denim gown Zac designed for her. Zac just landed a new role as the creative director for Gap and he brought it! I love to see Zac Posen’s Met Gala creations and he somehow made denim into a fairy tale princess gown. Da’Vine looks amazing!
Rebecca Hall was in the “Mariela” gown by designer Danielle Frankel. This features a split train, layers of what I assume are hand-painted florals, matching floral embellished gloves and she even has flowers painted onto her arms and back. This is dreamy and so on theme! Look at the back! She is shown with her husband Morgan Spector of The Gilded Age. (An earlier version of this story claimed he was the designer because I am exhausted.)
Last but never least, Lily Gladstone was in an ethereal Gabriela Hearst gown evocative of the night sky. I wrote that before I looked at Gabriela Hearst’s writeup for this gown – it has the constellations embroidered on it! They wrote “We decided on a dress and cape that represented her ancestors holding and carrying for [her]. The organza cape and silk wool dress had constellations embroidered as seen from the Great Plains on the summer solstice, including the Orion and the Pleiades. The Pleiades, specially requested by Lily Gladstone, is embroidered at the neckline of the cape as a custom closure.” It was constructed in collaboration with Kiowa jeweler Keri Ataumbi, who hand made each star. You can read more about the dress here.
photos credit Instar, Getty and via Instagram
Morgan Spector is a designer? I thought he was the Robber Baron in The Gilded Age? And his suit looks like it was inspired by Bertha’s closet (in a good way).
Rebecca is married to Morgan. I didn’t think he was a designer too?
Ok I screwed up. In my defense I have been up since 4am and only got a few hours sleep. Also I don’t watch The Gilded Age. I will edit it.
haha all good! Honestly the way he loves fashion I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a designer too!
I manage steam train lines AND design fancy dresses for my wife! That would be amazing.
These are probably my favorites of the night, bar one or two exceptions… On theme but not too on the nose, gorgeous and made the wearer even more gorgeous… amidst all the hype these were perfection 💋♥️
I loved JM’s dress, and it’s great to find out they used plastic bottles for the flower adornements.
Lily’s dress with that backstory of the constellations! Beautiful.
And I’m envious of Morgan Spector’s poppies.
Holy cow! I caught Da’Vine’s interview, but I hadn’t seen the full length of that dress. Stunning. I can’t believe it’s denim!
Da’Vine looks freaking amazing. The structure of the dress and that neckline is so flattering on her. It’s crazy how all that denim fabric doesn’t overwhelm her or make her looks bulky–beautifully-designed Posen dress.
Agreed. Da’Vine’s dress is fantastic.
I loved all of these looks!
I love CB Fashion posts. Thank you so much for this wonderful coverage!
Janelle Monae, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Queen Latifah, Alessandra Daddario, Naomi Campbell, Elle Fanning, Tyla, Alia Bhatt, Mindy Khaling, Venus Williams, and Gigi Hadid were my favorites. I also loved Kylie Jenner.
I go back and forth on which one is my absolute favorite between Mindy, Alia, Gigi, Elle, and Tyla.
It’s probably Gigi at the moment, but ask me again in 5 minutes.
JM and Da’Vine’s dress were my absolute favorites of the night. Just stunning.
I’m loving the fact that Janelle kept and flaunted her sexy curves and did not go the ozempic route! <3
Can’t believe that dress is denim. It’s so dreamy and she looks fantastic and gorgeous. Janelle Monae’s face is so unreal and she looks good too. Love Lily and the star concept is cool.
Lovely all around. The searing hotness of Morgan Spector. Omg.
Janelle Monae is one of the most beautiful women around today. She always brings it. And multi-talented as well. Love her.