​Grape-accented Zendaya leads garden-themed looks at Met Gala

Zendaya wore a dark blue gown adorned with grape clusters and Lana Del Rey donned a dramatic headpiece with tree branches, two of the eye-catching looks at this year’s garden-themed Met Gala on Monday.

Stars were told to dress in “Garden of Time” attire for the invite-only event, known for its A-list celebrities and extravagant outfits. Attendees walked a white and green carpet surrounded by lush foliage and white flowers up the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Film and TV star Zendaya, a host of this year’s event, sported heavy eyeliner and a blue lamé and organza bias-cut dress worn over a duchess satin corset. Designed by John Galliano, the gown featured clusters of grapes on a hip and arm, a large ruffle on one side and a blue hummingbird on a shoulder.

Zendaya later changed into a black Givenchy gown and large floral Alexander McQueen hat.

Lana Del Rey, the Grammy-nominated singer, stood out in a beige, corseted Alexander McQueen gown and a headpiece with natural hawthorn branches. The branches were draped with sheer tulle that fell below her face.

Natasha Poonawalla attended in haute couture created by John Galliano for Maison Margiela with white leather ‘faux-cul’ handmade interlaced platform pumps by Christian Louboutin.

Irina Shayk attended wearing “The Air”; a custom-made fully crystallised dress with over 70,000 white crystals and bespoke clear crystal jewellery by Swarovski.

A high-profile annual event, the Met Gala is a benefit for the New York museum and marks the opening of its Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit.

This year’s exhibit, called “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” will feature rare items that have been dormant in the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, including designs so fragile that they will be displayed only through animation and projections.

Jennifer Lopez, another Met Gala host, wore a beaded, see-through Schiaparelli gown and a butterfly-shaped necklace.

Elizabeth Debicki wore a Dior Haute Couture bronze silk velvet long dress and a Dior headpiece. She also wore RoseDior earrings with pink gold and diamonds and a RoseDior ring with pink and white gold, diamonds, pink sapphires and rubies of Dior Joaillerie.

Singer Rita Ora arrived in strings of long, colorful beads that swung as she walked and revealed a skintight, nude-colored bodysuit underneath. She was accompanied by her husband, film director Taika Waititi.

FKA twigs attended wearing Stella McCartney lab grown diamonds with an Autumn/Winter custom knit, and was styled by Georgia Pendlebury.

Many attendees chose a floral or nature-inspired look. Queen Latifah sported a black dress and jacket with large, orange bird of paradise accents. Demi Moore wore a black structured gown made out of vintage wallpaper that featured pink and white flowers.

Alexandra Daddario wore a Dior Haute Couture long burnished gold guipure dress with embroidered butterflies and a Dior headpiece.

Ariana Grande sparkled in an ivory gown with a mother-of-pearl bodice and posed with Cynthia Erivo, her co-star in an upcoming film adaptation of Broadway musical “Wicked.” Erivo wore a two-piece black outfit covered in pink petals.

Perhaps the most understated look was Willow Smith who wore a Dior Haute Couture black wool and silk jacket and Dior shoes.

Also relatively low-key, Rosalía wore a Dior Haute Couture black wool and silk bustier with a long train and skirt, shoes and a Dior headpiece. 

The high street was there too. Adwoa Aboah wore a one-of-a-kind two-piece H&M creation in red silk organza, with tulle ruffles resembling petals, worn over a bralette embroidered with rhinestones. It paired with a voluminous bubble-hem skirt in red silk taffeta.

Hari Nef wore a custom H&M gown in pale pink taffeta overlaid with translucent, mother-of-pearl paillettes and sequins. It was made by hand in a New York atelier.

Burberry dressed a variety of stars including Naomi Campbell in a dress designed using a process that takes more than 200 hours. It features between 500,000 and 1,000,000 straight fringes that have been hand-embroidered with approximately 50,000 sequins.

And Jodie Turner-Smith wore the label’s phantom tulle layered over a crystal pearl mesh underdress “to reference the delicate nature of the flower, while embroidery of British garden flowers – like daisies – links the story to Burberry’s British heritage”.

Among the men, musician Lil Nas X donned an ivory suit and jacket with 56,000 hand-placed Swarovski crystals arranged in large, gleaming swaths. The eight members of K-Pop boy band Stray Kids also walked the carpet, wearing custom Tommy Hilfiger suits in the designer’s trademark red, white and blue palette.

Chinese-owned TikTok, which faces a US ban unless its owners sell the social media app to allay security concerns, was among the sponsors of the event. TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew was named an honorary co-chair of the gala and was expected to mingle with guests.

Outside the event, pro-Palestinian protesters on Madison Avenue tried to draw attention to the Gaza war. Police made some arrests to contain the protests, the New York Times reported.

Copyright Fashionnetwork.com with Reuters