EMME BERNARD
The Met Gala is known for its designer outfits worn by the biggest A-list celebrities, and with this event comes criticism on if the outfits match the theme or were just trying to show off. This year’s Met Gala theme was “The Garden of Time.” When I envision this theme, I think of clocks and flowers, but the outfits this year disappointed me.
The outfits this year all seemed big and full but lacked the garden and the time. The old fashioned outfits gave an impression of time, but lacked the big time factor.
Big name female celebrities like Zendaya, Sabrina Carpenter, and Cardi B walked the Met Gala carpet. Cardi B’s big black feather gown lacked everything I envisoned when it came to the theme. I was incredibly disappointed. No flowers. No time.
Carpenter’s outfit disappointed me even further. The black and baby blue gown also gave no aspects of garden and time. There is a common theme of black, but it misses the theme completely. Baby blue also represents nothing with nature or time. Again, very disappointed.
With Zendaya, I finally got the flowers I had been waiting for. The dress was made in the 90s which adds to the time factor, but you can’t tell that from the eye. Zendaya did give me hope for the gala when I saw her big floral headpiece. Garden! This headpiece was the first glimpse of the theme that I got, and while I wish she did more with the time and garden aspect, she gave me hope, and of course looked stunning.
Some female celebrities did stay pretty true to the theme. GiGi Hadid walked out in a big white gown with flowers on the train. The black and white gave time vibes and the flowers tied it all together.
Actors like Barry Keoghan and Ryan Reynolds walked the carpet in brown velvet tuxedos which is more unique than the black tuxedos worn by majority of the other actors but still not very on theme. And while suits can’t necessarily have a long train covered in flowers, they can still have garden and time aspects, yet none of the pictures I saw took use of flowers.
I reserved this paragraph for the outfit that made me gasp because it was actually what I envisioned for the “Garden of Time” theme. Lana Del Ray wore a nude dress that had embroidery tha embodied branches. She also had a branch headpiece. She mastered the garden aspect! When I drew my Met Gala outfit, branches were a must, so I was so happy to see her dress.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed by the outfits that walked the Met Gala carpet this year. The lack of flowers and time made me sad, and the amount of basic tuxedos devastated me. Taking the theme out of the mix though, I was impressed by the design of the gowns and suits. The design work that went into them was so interesting and beautiful to look at. The amount of creativity that can go into the clothes we wear is so fascinating and makes me wish I lived in the era of gowns and corsets.
BIRDIE BRERETON
When one imagines a ‘Garden of Time’, what does one imagine? Flowers, weathered fabrics, clocks? That’s what I imagined at the very least. To say that the Met Gala outfits were a major disappointment would be an understatement. It was absolutely abysmal how absolutely off theme and boring these outfits were this year.
Many people took the ‘garden’ aspect of the theme and ran with it, which is fine, at the very least there was an effort to remain on theme, even if it wasn’t as grandiose as I would prefer. For example, Lily James had a very pretty dress, but it seemed as though she remembered the theme the day of and stuck on some black roses haphazardly. It’s not giving garden, it’s giving a school assignment you procrastinated on.
The men were even more disappointing, most of them showed up in a black suit with no embellishments whatsoever. I mean, Chris Hemsworth looked great, what a handsome man, but also WHERE IS THE GARDEN? WHERE IS THE TIME? He’s just a pretty man in a light suit. Not even a flower in the pocket. Is the watch the time aspect? If so, that’s pretty disappointing. Is the best we can get from men really Mike Faist with a turnip? Or Josh O’Conner with those ugly flower shoes.
There were some exceptions to the disappointing show from the men, like Barry Keoghan who looks like he is from a period piece, complete with a pocket watch to really scream ‘time’. And although there is no overt giving of ‘garden,’ I can imagine this man walking through a flower garden with his betrothed. Usher was also giving a little something. It’s giving a stylish undertaker. The contrast between the black outfit and the bright red rose was fun and interesting, it actually gives you something to look at. There’s dimension to it. And bonus points for the cape, because who doesn’t love a cape?
Maybe I’m a little biased, but Elle Fanning with the glass bird dress was stunning. It was giving glass bird bath. I appreciate the slight attempt at staying on theme. Another win for the theme was Zendaya who had a beautiful hummingbird-themed dress, it was unique, it was exciting, the makeup was exquisite. Then she changed into a much more toned down dress, but with a fun headpiece. This outfit was much less eye-catching, but it still had a bit of oomph that not a lot of outfits that night had. Overall, a great show from Zendaya.
The Met Gala is a place for glitz, glamour, and a dazzling display of grandeur. Sadly, this year, no one was really giving me the gross show of wealth that I wanted. I should be absolutely appalled by how much money you spent on this grand, deeply impractical outfit you’ll only ever wear once. And yet all these people are doing with the ludicrous amount of money they have is wear boring, yet very well-made, dresses and suits that only disappoint.
