Almost as soon as Anna Wintour stepped onto the Met Gala red carpet, The Devil Wears Prada memes started to flow.
Florals, for spring? Groundbreaking. Yada, yada.
Nicole Kidman with Keith Urban at the Met Gala.Credit: AP
Still, in making the theme of this year’s Gala, “The Garden of Time”, Wintour and her co-chairs – Zendaya, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth and Jennifer Lopez – ensured florals were what we’d get.
Here are the stars who delivered best on the theme – and a few who just nailed event dressing, even if you needed a microscope to find the references.
The Rihanna award for shutting down the carpet: Zendaya
You have to hand it to the Challengers star who has kept up the momentum of the film’s press tour, for which she was clothed by Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson and proceeded to own the Met Gala red carpet from early in the innings in her role as event co-chair.
Her first look was a recreation of a 1999 haute couture look by John Galliano for Christian Dior, the event serving as a kind of red-carpet redemption for the once-outcast designer who now helms Maison Margiela.
Two for the price of one … Zendaya in two John Galliano creations on the Met Gala red carpet.Credit: Getty
Not to be outdone – and perhaps because Rihanna was a no-show – Zendaya walked the red carpet twice, the second time in another Galliano look, this time from his time at Givenchy.
Not since Rihanna appeared as a cardinal at the 2018 gala has a star made as big an impact on the carpet.
The Edward Scissorhands award for edgy florals: Cynthia Erivo
The abundance of florals was sure to create a surplus of pretty looks (see Rebecca Hall, Ayo Edebiri and even Nicki Minaj, as a walking flower pot), so it was left to some of the entertainment world’s edgier stars to make the case for “no wallflowers allowed”.
Punk princess … Cynthia Erivo in Thom Browne.Credit: Getty
Enter Cynthia Erivo, who arrived with her Wicked co-star Grande – who did her best Glinda the Good Witch impersonation in custom Loewe – and channelled Elphaba, if she were to attend a rock concert, in a Thom Browne two-piece suit with a bare midriff and collar and tie for just enough punk to offset the princess florals.
As if that weren’t enough, Erivo fastened a brooch – another one of the night’s micro-trends – to the back of her head. Kids, do not try this at home.
The Best Western award for cowboy couture: Lil Nas X
Given Cowboy Carter singer Beyonce and Flowers singer Miley Cyrus were notable no-shows at this year’s gala (she last attended in 2016), it fell to rapper Lil Nas X to bring a little country to the carpet. Because, let’s face it, Keith Urban is never going to make a fashion statement.
Lil Nas X in Luar at the Met Gala.Credit: Getty
“I wanted to be like a blossoming flower,” he told reporters about his look, which was a collaboration with Luar’s Raul Lopez.
The suit featured 50,000 Swarovski crystals and 2000 covered buttons. And, while it wasn’t as on theme as last year, when he dressed as a crystal cat in honour of Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved pet Choupette, it was a lot less costume-y, and a lot more fashion.
The Glad Wrap award for the freshest take on ‘naked’ dressing: Greta Lee
While the Met Gala isn’t generally a forum for setting trends – though expect searches for “grey (pilled) cardigan” to spike after Kim Kardashian’s outing – there were some common threads on the red carpet.
Naked, but make it modern: Greta Lee in Loewe.Credit: Getty
Though the naked dress trend beloved by the aforementioned Kardashian-Jenner clan, as well as by Australia’s own Kylie Minogue, and model Emily Ratajkowski – whose “g-string” Atelier Versace dress gave Tania Buckley at the 2001 Brownlow vibes – many agree it’s a look that should be retired.
And then comes Past Lives actress Greta Lee in Loewe and suddenly all our worst naked dress associations are reframed. She may have missed out on an Oscar nomination, but she definitely deserves a statuette for this fresh take on a tortured trend.
The ‘you won’t see this at the Oscars’ award: Taylor Russell
At the end of the day, the Met Gala is the event where celebrities are invited to cut loose and bring their fashion A-game, which made awarding the last of the best-ofs a torturous task.
Only at the Met: Taylor Russell in Loewe.Credit: Getty
Runners-up included Nicole Kidman in a re-make of a 1950s Balenciaga gown, and Mindy Kaling, whose Gaurav Gupta gown deserves a mention for not only being the best Kaling has ever looked, but also for the exquisite pleating and corsetry.
Still, in deciding who wins this award, care must be taken to hand it to someone whose outfit would not be seen anywhere else.
On that basis, actress Taylor Russell wins for her Loewe creation, complete with a bodice crafted from wood, which spoke perfectly to the theme and pushed fashion’s boundaries in new and exciting ways.
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