On the second Wednesday of November, the 2024 Met Gala theme has been announced as ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’. As is always the case, the red-carpet event’s theme is dictated by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spring exhibition, which in 2024 will contain fashion pieces spanning of 400 years of history.
According to Vogue, the curation ‘aims to unstitch and enlighten our understanding of the natural world through the fashioning of dress and textiles’.
‘This innovative show will push the boundaries of our imagination and invite us to experience many facets of a work, to learn more about its history, and, ultimately, to gain a deeper appreciation of its beauty,’ explained The Met’s Marina Kellen French, director and CEO.
The exhibition will include fashion pieces ranging from a 17th-century English Elizabethan-era bodices to pieces by one of London’s brightest young designers Conner Ives. In the mix will also be pieces from fashion’s most lauded names from across the 20th century, including Christian Dior and Elsa Schiaparelli, both of who often looked to the natural world for their work. Schiaparelli’s famous lobster dress springs to mind. Or Christian Dior’s fascination with flowers.
Yet to be announced are the evening’s hosts. Previous in recent years have included Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Michael Coel and Dua Lipa. The abstract theme leaves plenty of room for interpretation when it comes to the celebrity chairs, but the understanding that it will be supported by Loewe hints that we could anticipate an eclectic group of names traversing the famous steps.
Loewe, under the direction of Jonathan Anderson, has become known for casting a diverse group for his campaigns. Everyone from national treasures like Maggie Smith to fresh faces like Taylor Russell have fronted ads for the Spanish house, which, in the context of the Met Gala, could offer up a welcome, intriguing guestlist shake-up.
Jonathan Anderson at the finale of his most recent Loewe show at Paris Fashion Week.
Though the theme at first seems a little abstract by contrast to the more literal Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty or In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, its natural inspirations will allow attendees to not only embrace the beauty of nature but also no doubt nod to it in their looks’ sustainable credentials.