(Please note that most comments in this article are my opinions and are not given with the intention of attacking the character of others)

(Photos belong to Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, W Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and Billboard)

The Met Gala was hosted on May 6th, 2024, celebrating the opening of their newest exhibition: Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. The dress code of the evening was ‘The Garden of Time,’ after J. G. Ballard’s short story of the same name.

Each year, I follow the Met Gala rabidly. It’s the culmination of all of my personality traits: history, fashion, and being judgmental. Like most of the internet, I always try to guess what the dress code is or how celebrities will interpret it. It’s the highlight of my May. Because of all of that, going into this event, I had high expectations. As I discussed in an article that came out in December, this theme was easy to conform to, or at least, easier than the past few years. There were so many directions attendees could go, while still being on theme. 

Nature, of course, would be the easiest and most direct. Flora and fauna are nothing if not garden-esque. Ideas of time and decay could serve as inspiration from the exhibition’s central theme of conservation. Pulling designer’s archival pieces, or making a fashion history reference would also have tied into that. And that’s just a few.

I was disappointed, to say the least, when I got my first glimpses of this year’s gala. It wasn’t that there were many truly egregious, completely off-theme looks, just that in the hype and speculation, expectations were sky high, my own included. To sum it up: this Met Gala was just fine. It was just whatever. But rant over, let’s get into some of the looks.

Starting off strong, we have Tyla in a Balmain dress made out of actual sand, sculpted to fit her body. I also thought the dress was lovely, and the addition of the hourglass purse was a nice nod to the theme.  

I desperately, desperately wanted to love Sabrina Carpenter’s look, but something is just kind of holding me back. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a beautiful dress, but it’s just that if you told me that she wore this to any of the past three galas, I would believe you. It doesn’t scream “The Garden of Time” at all.

I adored Demi Moore’s structural gown. The heart shaped back with all of the spikes was gorgeous. The florals weren’t overpowering the garment, and the craftsmanship took it a step higher than simply putting some flowers on a different dress. This is the level of artistry and drama we need at the Met Gala.

Camila Cabello’s dress, on the other hand, did not impress me at all. I do think it’s nice, but not for this event. I did love her clutch, which was just a block of ice that slowly melted over the evening, was right on the theme of impermanence. I wish that same energy was brought to the rest of the outfit.

At first glance Ariana Grande’s Loewe gown is simple, but upon further inspection, it’s truly stunning. The bodice is made entirely of mother of pearl, with a beautiful opalescent sheen. Her makeup was also gorgeous, with the little floral details around her eyes.

I wish I liked Gigi Hadid’s Tom Browne dress more, and don’t get me wrong, I think it’s nice. It bothers me, because I know so many people thought she killed this. Yes, she looks great, but I can’t move past the jarring black outlines. The colors just feel a little unbalanced. However, I think the base dress, after she took the jacket/skirt off, was magnificent.

Brie Larson’s Prada ensemble missed the mark for me. I liked where her stylists were going, but it fell with execution. I think if they stuck closer to their original plan of having a larger crinoline, it would have a bigger impact. It just doesn’t have the drama it needs.

Lana Del Rey wore an Alexander McQueen dress, a bramble crown, and gauzy veil to top it off. It was definitely one of the more adventurous looks of the night. I’m still on the fence about whether I like it or not. Part of me adores the Sleeping Beauty reference, but another part of me wants more brown tones to balance out the lighter tones.

I… didn’t hate Doja Cat’s Vetements look. I thought it was one of the night’s more abstract looks. She did tell Entertainment Tonight that she was making a reference to cotton plants in a classic, white cotton t-shirt. While I appreciate the sentiment, I wouldn’t have put that together unless I was told.

Alia Bhatt’s magnificent sari was an unexpected highlight of the night, and the level of craftsmanship needed to make such a garment still astounds me. While it is a bit on the nose with the theme, the execution was enough for me to put that aside.

To be perfectly honest, when I first saw Kim Kardashian’s look, my immediate thought was ‘take off the T.J Maxx cardigan.’ My opinion hasn’t improved from there. I understand that she was going for a midnight garden rendezvous vibe but it just feels messy. The dress on its own looked lovely, so I don’t really understand this choice.

I wasn’t in love with Sarah Jessica Parker’s look. She’s absolutely a Met Gala veteran, having attended 12 times, but this look didn’t hit home for me. She was apparently taking inspiration from bird cages, but I think the detailing on the dress detracted from that point.

I loved Elle Fanning’s sculptural Balmain gown. I thought the bird pieces were so creative, lending to the overall resemblance to an ice sculpture. I felt this was right on theme, without being too direct.

Now, did JLo look magnificent in her Schiaparelli gown? Yes, absolutely. However, I’m bored. It’s just nothing new. I feel like we’ve run the ‘see-through dress with jeweled embellishments in fun patterns’ thing into the ground. I’ve seen it so many times in the past few years that it really has no effect anymore. 

Emma Chamberlain’s Jean Paul Gautier ensemble had to be my favorite look of the night. Taking a different approach to the theme with thorns instead of flowers and bringing a more moody tone to her look was so creative, and to top it all off, she looks phenomenal.

I thought Anok Yai’s look from Swarovski was magical. She was one of a group of four, each representing one of the four elements, with Yai obviously representing water. Her embellished bodysuit was just stunning, and, in my opinion, the best look out of the four

Now Cara Delevingne’s Stella McCartney look, on the other hand, I was not a fan of. It’s not very interesting, and I couldn’t find anything that inspired her look which might have redeemed it. However, disliking it doesn’t really surprise me, considering I haven’t enjoyed any of her Met Gala looks in the past few years.

Zendaya’s first look of the night was custom made by John Galliano based on a previous work of his from 1999. I really liked this look. I thought the colors were stunning, and it fit the theme very well. Some thought it looked cheap, but in my opinion, it’s just the shine on some of the fabric, and it adds to the appeal.

Zendaya walked the red carpet for a second time, now in archival Maison Margiela, also by John Galliano. I thought this look was lovely, with the headpiece clearly being the star of the show. While I, personally, would take her first look over this one, this ensemble is definitely leaps and bounds above most other looks of the night.

And these were just some of the nearly 200 looks worn on the red carpet that evening. I obviously couldn’t include all of them for the sake of space, but I could definitely go on. However, looking back again at my earlier article in December, I said that I thought that this theme and dress code would ‘reawaken the Met Gala’. Clearly, like its predecessors, it did not. 

It was another year of a few highlights and overall mediocrity. This year’s gala truly makes me wonder if we’ll ever get to see another as iconic and well-loved as 2018’s Heavenly Bodies or 2019’s Camp. That, however, will remain a mystery until the next first Monday in May.