Make sure the first Monday of May is always marked in your calendars because it's the Oscars for fashion. Starting in 1948, the Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Musem of Art in New York, is the biggest event for fashion. Anna Wintour, famous editor-in-chief for Vogue, hosts the most extravagant night with celebrities from music, fashion, film and more. Eleanor Lambert, the founder of the Met Gala, started this fundraiser to encourage donations from the wealthy New Yorkers.
Now in modern times, the A-list celebrities are coming together to donate to the Met's Costume Institue and celebrate the newest exhibitions grand opening. The newest exhibition is what everyone dresses towards, with themes like "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" and "The House of Chanel" to "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" and "China: Through the Looking Glass", each year has the people wanting more. For the 70th anniversary of the event, the co-hosts of the event were Rihanna, Donatella Versace, and Amal Clooney.
The Met Gala was held at three different venues, the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the Met's main location which had the medieval galleries and the Cloisters which is further uptown. This year, before they sat down to eat dinner, the attendees attended a cocktail hour and walked the red carpet and got to see all the bits and pieces from the new exhibition inside. Madonna then surprised everyone and performed a unique rendition of "Like a Prayer".
Now, the biggest part of this event, besides the money that is raised, also happens to be the fashion. With this theme being Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and Catholic Imagination, it's understandable that we were left dreaming about the extravagant dresses and pieces we were going to see. Here are some of the nights best looks.
1. Amanda Seyfried.
Amanda Seyfried, the 32-year old actress, arrived at the Met Gala wearing a glowing, golden gown fit for a goddess. She was radiating in an off the shoulder, Renaissance-inspired gown and tiara made by Prada. What I thought was really interesting was, the yellow of her gown was the exact shade of yellow that is used in the Vatican City flag, showing how passionate she was to stay to the night's theme. The pleated gown had a slight train and her look was completed with winsome curls. She attended the Met Gala with her handsome husband, Thomas.
2. Alek Wek.
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Wearing a very unique and ravishing H&M gown, Alek Wek confidently walked the red carpet in a custom-made dress. The dress looked to be inspired my mosaics and stained glass windows, catching your eye the second she stepped out onto the red carpet. The dressmaking began at the beginning of the year and the final fitting for it was the day before the event, showing how precise and intricate the process was. The train of the dress (which is stunning, might I add) was "hand embroidered in India and took us approximately six weeks to make," says Sofie Johansson, the Creative Advisor for H&M. She goes on to explain that the inspiration for the dress was the mosaic designs in old Catholic churches.
3. Emilia Clarke.
Before even seeing what she was wearing, I knew that it was going to be stunning and unique. She was going to stand out in a crowd and show the world that she is the Dragon Queen. The Game of Thrones actress, walked the red carpet wearing a breathtaking gown made by Dolce and Gabbana Alta Mode. The dress was black and gold with portraits of cherubs along the skirt which properly embodied the theme of the night. Fittingly, she wore a crown (because we all know she is a Khaleesi) and showed off her beauty with beautiful and tasteful pink blush. Her entire ensemble was perfect, from the extravagant crown and platinum blonde hair to the perfect fitting down and elegant makeup, Emilia Clarke really knows how to work a red carpet.
4. SZA.
GiphyI am convinced she is a real-life angel. SZA took the theme of the night to a different level, choosing a more astronomical, saint level. The dress, made by Atelier Versace and Chrishabana, had a very precise beaded bodice and was paired with matching thigh-high boots to add to the distinct look. To top off the look, she wore a gold headpiece that reached to the sky with little stars extending out.
5. Lily Collins.
Lily Collins took a different aspect of the theme and decided to go more gothic. She owned the red carpet in a delicate gown made by Givenchy with her hair in a braided mold topped with (yes, you guessed it) a crown. Instead of going angel-like and innocent, she decided to go for the more grotesque and dark-arts look. Collins makeup artist for the night, Fiona Stiles, said they wanted to go for a more gothic look and "the crystals [under her eyes] were meant to be celestial tears, and the blood-red teardrop was a nod to Stigmatas and the tears of the virgins". This look was unusual but in a good way, taking the risk of going on a different route and choosing the gothic side of the Catholic religion.
6. Ariana Grande.
Bringing Rome to New York City, Ariana Grande, attending her first Met Gala, was stunning in a Sistine Chapel gown. The gown, created by Vera Wang, was inspired by the painting called "The Last Judgement" by Michelangelo which is inside of the Sistine Chapel located in the Vatican City. The painting was completed in 1541 and shows humanity awaiting their eternal judgment by God. To complete her look she changed it up and didn't follow in everyone's footsteps with a headpiece but instead chose a flowing ribbon around her well-known ponytail. I only wish that while she was walking around, there were angels following her and singing because she fully embodied an angel.
7. Gigi Hadid.
Attending the Met Gala once again, Gigi Hadid rocked the red carpet wearing a sunning stain-glass window inspired Versace gown. Her look was beautiful and made her stand out but with her simple hair and makeup, it wasn't too much. Hadid's look was tasteful but sexy with the thigh-high slit in the skirt. The one-shoulder dress fit her perfectly and showed off her incredible figure (which I am extremely jealous of) and also fit the theme of the night perfectly. If I had the money, I literally would go out, buy this dress and never take it off.
8. Blake Lively.
The queen of the Met Gala. The most extravagant look. The best gown of the night. Blake Lively. She has done it again. The beautiful 31-year-old actress made everyone at home or on the red carpet's jaw completely drop. She blew everyone away, but were we really expecting anything less? Her look was the one I had been waiting for ALL night, one because Blake is my favorite person on this earth and two because she knows how to work a red carpet better than anybody else. Her Versace ballgown had millions of jewels and a beautiful gold bodice that flowed out with a breathtaking wine-colored skirt. The gown had a lengthy train with gold embellishments along the entire dress. Lively decided to add a bit of sexiness to the dress with sheer cutouts to show off her legs. Her hair was put into a perfect updo that was paired with (of course) a headpiece, which completed the look.
Vogue said that it took 600 hours to embroider only the bodice of the dress and it was so big that she had to ride in a party bus because that is the only thing big enough to hold her dress.
The true lifestyle of a queen.
From first-time attendee Ariana Grande to veteran Blake Lively, this year's most controversial Met Gala was definitely not a disappointment.
If you need me, I'll be sitting in my room counting down the days til the next Met Gala.
