Met Gala 2024: 10 Looks as Legendary Gardens, From Versailles to ...
After last year’s stream of black-and-white sartorial tributes to the late Karl Lagerfeld, the Met Gala 2024 brought a veritable bouquet of colorful, floral-inspired frocks. To celebrate its latest spring blockbuster exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” the Met themed its annual fundraising gala “The Garden of Time,” and on May 6, the celebrities, indeed, delivered their garden-party best. From Bollywood star Alia Bhatt’s sublime pastel sari to model Amelia Gray Hamlin’s light-up terrarium bubble dress, we couldn’t help but be reminded of some of our favorite gardens around the world. Ahead, journey from New York to Los Angeles, Paris to Marrakech, as we cheekily compare the best looks from the Met Gala red carpet to iconic outdoor spaces.
Jordan Roth as the NYBG’s Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, New YorkJordan Roth.
Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at The New York Botanical Garden.
Photo: Ilya S. Savenok / WireImage / Getty ImagesOut of the Met Gala’s many rose-inspired looks, one ensemble stole the show. Exemplifying “go big or go home,” Jordan Roth donned Pierpaolo Piccioli’s final Valentino couture piece. The dramatic custom gown transports spectators to the New York Botanical Garden’s Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, where from May through October, more than 650 varieties of roses are in peak bloom. Though the garden was designed in 1916 by landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, whose commissions included the White House and Dumbarton Oaks, it was only completed in the 1980s due to an iron shortage during World War I.
Tyla as Ryōan-ji Garden, Kyoto, JapanSinger Tyla.
Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty ImagesRyōan-ji Temple in Kyoto.
Photo: Frédéric Soltan/Getty ImagesUndoubtedly cemented in Met Gala history, breakout star Tyla wore custom Balmain in a look themed the “Sands of Time.” To create the dress, the French house made a plaster cast of the South African musician’s body and appliquéd it with sand and micro crystal studs. Completing the look, Tyla held an actual hourglass. When it comes to gardens, dry landscapes must not be forgotten. Among the finest examples of Zen temple gardens is Ryōan-ji, which consists of large rock formations, pebbles, and sand, carefully raked as a form of meditation. The temple and its gardens are official Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Karlie Kloss as Dumbarton Oaks’s Cherry Blossoms, Washington, D.C.Karlie Kloss.
Photo: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe gardens at Dumbarton Oaks.
Photo: David Coleman | Have Camera Will Travel / Alamy Stock PhotoEach spring locals and tourists flock to Washington, D.C., for its unrivaled cherry blossom season. Among the most magical places to enjoy the blooms is Cherry Hill at Dumbarton Oaks, a Harvard University research institute, library, museum, and garden in the heart of Georgetown. Beatrix Farrand designed the then-private gardens with a designated area for cherry blossoms in order for them to be enjoyed in their most pure, uninterrupted form. In her custom Swarovski gown (complete with 180,000 rose crystals), entrepreneur and model Karlie Kloss was a vision in pink, conjuring cherry blossoms at their peak.
Amelia Gray Hamlin as Huntington Gardens’ Corpse Flower, San Marino, CaliforniaAmelia Gray Hamlin.
Photo: Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty ImagesThe Corpse Flower in rare bloom at the Huntington Library.
Photo: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens encompasses nearly 130 acres with 16 themed gardens. With no shortage of natural beauty year-round, the summer is a particularly special time for the garden, as its most notorious resident blooms. The Corpse Flower, a rare tropical plant native to the equatorial rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, can grow to more than eight feet tall, and for one to three days each year as it blooms, it releases a pungent stench, hence its name. We are positive that model Amelia Gray Hamlin smelled lovely on the big night, but she did evoke the plant’s striking golden and purple hues in her Undercover by Jun Takahashi bubble dress. From the Japanese designer’s spring 2024 collection, the frock features a light-up terrarium with roses.
Amanda Seyfriend as the Gardens by the Bay, SingaporeAmanda Seyfried.
Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty ImagesGardens by the Bay in Singapore.
Photo: Tuul & Bruno Morandi / Getty ImagesConstantly innovating and a world-leader in harmonizing the city with nature, Singapore has a surprising amount of green spaces. Among its most iconic are Gardens by the Bay, consisting of three waterfront gardens adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The largest of the trio, Bay South, opened in 2012 and is most recognizable for its “Supertrees,” 11 of which are embedded with environmentally sustainable functions, such as harvesting solar energy and serving as air exhaust receptacles. With its metallic and floral hybrid design, Amanda Seyfried’s custom Prada gown shares the same futuristic aesthetic of Gardens by the Bay, as well as its emphasis on sustainability—the silver fabric was repurposed from Prada’s spring 2009 collection.
Alia Bhatt as Claude Monet’s Gardens, Giverny, FranceAlia Bhatt.
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesClaude Monet's gardens in Giverny.
Photo: LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty ImagesOne of the night’s most breathtaking looks came from actor Alia Bhatt, whose custom Sabyasachi sari was a magnificent Indian interpretation of the theme. Complete with three-dimensional flowers, hand embroidery, precious stones, intricate beadwork, and 1920s-inspired fringe, the look was a masterpiece, much like Claude Monet’s iconic Water Lilies series. The pastel hues and all-encompassing beauty conjure the French Impressionist’s home and gardens in Giverny, where, like Sabyasachi, he was endlessly inspired by the light, earth, sky, and sea.
Jennie Kim as Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, MoroccoBlackpink singer Jennie Kim.
Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty ImagesJardin Majorelle.
Photo: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesFew gardens can claim to be as inherently fashionable as the Jardin Majorelle, painstakingly restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Originally conceived by painter Jacques Majorelle, who began planting it in 1922, the garden was purchased by the French couple in 1980 to save it from destruction. The Art Deco-meets-Moorish garden features a bold blue and yellow color scheme. Blackpink singer Jennie Kim wore a custom Alaïa minidress whose electric-blue hue, too, channels the beloved Marrakech site.
Ayo Edebiri and Butchart Gardens, Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, CanadaAyo Edebiri.
Photo: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Getty ImagesThe Sunken Garden at Butchart Gardens.
Photo: Wolfgang Kaehler/Getty ImagesCreated by Jennie Butchart, and still privately owned and operated by the family, Butchart Gardens is a designated National Historic Site of Canada for good reason. At 120 years old, the 55-acre garden is utterly enchanting, especially its Sunken Garden, which took nine years to create. Aya Edebiri’s custom gown by Loewe, the Met Gala’s sponsor, calls to mind the fairy-tale-esque landscape of the Sunken Garden, sprinkled with vivid colors and bucolic views at every corner. The hand-painted and hand-embroidered floral guipure lace is covered in three-dimensional flowers, capturing the delicacy and dynamism of the garden’s countless blooms.
Jessica Biel as the Biltmore’s Azalea Garden, Asheville, North CarolinaJessica Biel.
Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty ImagesAzaleas in bloom on the Biltmore Estate.
Photo: Anne Rippy / Alamy Stock PhotoDesigned by Richard Morris Hunt, the Biltmore Estate offers 175,000 square feet of Gilded Age architecture and sprawling gardens. The French Renaissance Revival–style chateau is rightfully an American icon, and one of its most beloved attractions is its 15-acre azalea garden, one of the largest of its kind in the country. According to the Biltmore, the azaleas were part of the estate’s original plan: “This parade of color is a culmination of the passion of Chauncey Beadle, an avid azalea collector and horticulturist hired at Biltmore in 1890 who later became the estate superintendent.” With its vivacious watermelon hue, feathers, and crystals, Jessica Biel’s Tamara Ralph couture gown would feel right at home among the azaleas—and her Cartier jewels would certainly be at home in a Vanderbilt wardrobe.
Sarah Jessica Parker as Versailles, Versailles, FranceSarah Jessica Parker.
Photo: John Shearer / WireImage / Getty ImagesThe palace of Versailles.
Photo: Frédéric Soltan/Getty ImagesIt’s only fitting that one of the Met Gala’s legendary fixtures exemplify one of the world’s most legendary gardens—both manicured to perfection. This year, Sarah Jessica Parker wore a Richard Quinn appliquéd hand-cut lace dress, dripping with crystals. The silhouette seemed to nod to 18th-century panniers, while her Philip Treacy hat could give Marie Antoinette’s voluminous coiffure a run for its money. A grand yet timeless classic, much like Versailles, Parker’s French connection was solidified by her chandelier-esque handbag, designed by Benedetta Bruzziches, evoking the palace’s own light fixtures in the Hall of Mirrors.
