Today, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue magazine announced the theme for its upcoming Met Gala is ‘The Garden of Time’ – so expect to see your favourite celebs in florals for spring. Like every year, the Gala is held on the opening night of the Met’s annual Costume Institute exhibit, where co-chairs Zendaya, J-Lo, Chris Hemsworth and Bad Bunny will welcome guests to Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. A reference to historical fashion so fragile that it can’t be moved from the Met’s archive, the exhibition will also feature more modern pieces alongside them that are “imbued with the same spirit”.
When announcing the theme, Vogue also reminded us that The Garden of Time is not just a reference to the Met’s old dresses that are growing moss, but the name of a J.G. Ballard short story about a count and his wife who pluck one petal from flowers in their garden every time an angry mob approaches the gates. Though the petal-plucking reverses time, and helps to slow down the mob, they eventually reach the gates and storm the mansion, but find the count and wife as statues in their garden.
While it’s quite a high-brow concept for a dress code, we’re worried it may be lost on the modern day celebrity. Met Gala guests haven’t always been the best at interpreting a theme, and many (mostly the men) don’t even bother. There’s also those who interpret it much too literally, and end up looking more fancy dress than art soirée. In our opinion, guests should check out the make-up at Shayne Oliver’s AW22 show, where Dame Pat McGrath covered the models in pollen eye shadow and elaborate petal masks. Or maybe have a look at Comme Des Garçons AW23 Return To Source show, where the florals actually were groundbreaking, and models arrived in extreme flower gowns. If that’s not your taste, head over to Marni SS24, where the flowers came as sticker book creations, or Schiaparelli AW22, where real life bouquets adorned couture gowns. Whatever it may be, there’s plenty out there to liven up this theme, so please don’t just stick on a floral frock and call it a day.