Met Gala 2024: Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, more celebs at garden fashion extravaganza

NEW YORK — It’s Met Gala time and the fashion parade of A-listers included a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet surrounded by foliage. Jennifer Lopez went for silver leaves in a second-skin goddess gown and Zendaya was all vamp and fantasy in peacock goth.

Both are co-chairs of the annual fundraiser at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. And both received cheers from the crowd of fashion enthusiasts packed behind barriers outside.

Flowers were everywhere, in line with this year’s theme: “The Garden of Time.” Lopez (in Schiaparelli) was all va-va-voom in a near-naked gown that hugged like a second skin. She’s got the Meta Gala down: It’s her 14th.

Zendaya put on her fashion face in hues of blue and green, with a head piece to match and leaf accents. It’s been five years since Zendaya last attended the Met Gala. Her look, in peacock colors, was by Maison Margiela. Lopez went with Tiffany & Co. diamonds, including a stunning bird motif necklace with a diamond of over 20 carats at its center.

Mindy Kaling is sure to make the best-dressed lists in sand-colored swirls that towered over her head at the back. No worries about dinner. The back was removable. Her look is by Indian couturier Gaurav Gupta.

Gigi Hadid brought the drama in a look by the drama king himself, Thom Browne. Her white look was adorned with 2.8 million microbeads with yellow flowers and green thorns. She was high glam in a wavy bob and crimson lips.

A Met Gala queen, first timer and a special plus one

If there’s a queen of the Met Gala besides the evening’s mastermind, Anna Wintour, it’s Sarah Jessica Parker. The long-time attendee takes each year’s theme seriously, researching every detail. This year she was in an Alice in Wonderland dress with a lavender overlay and a Philip Treacy topper on her head. The dress was by Richard Quinn. Her long hair tumbled behind her back in beachy waves.

If Parker is a queen, Ayo Edebiri is a gala baby. It was her first one and she showed out in a youthful white look fading into a garden full of colorful flowers at the bottom by Loewe.

Colman Domingo donned a white jacket with a cape and extra-wide trousers, holding a bouquet of white calla lilies, while Tyla chose a gown made to look like sand. She needed help with the hourglass she held as she made her way up the museum stairs. Domingo’s designer was Willy Chavarria.

Sam Smith wore silver and gold metal roses tucked into the waist of a jacket, and Jack Harlow also channeled florals, but subtly with a silver and pearl floral boutonniere.

Wintour wore a black coat adorned with multicolored flowers. Her fellow co-chair Bad Bunny donned all black. A pregnant Lea Michele wore Rodarte, inspired by the brand’s 2012 spring/summer collection.

“I’m honored to be here and bring my baby with me,” Michele said. ”“I don’t think I was allowed a plus one, but I’m bringing” one, she said with a laugh. “I’m so grateful. I feel really beautiful, you know, in this pregnancy.”

How to watch the Met Gala

That’s tricky. Vogue has the exclusive livestream, which starts at 6 p.m. Eastern at Vogue.com. The feed will also be available on Vogue’s digital platforms, including TikTok and YouTube.

Tons of other media will be on site, too. Catch the action on E!, also starting at 6 p.m., with livestreams on X, TikTok, Instagram and Peacock.

The Associated Press will be live outside the Mark Hotel, where many celebs get ready before heading to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for their walk up the grand staircase. That livestream will begin at 4:45 p.m. Eastern and will be available on YouTube and APNews.com.

Only the event’s stacked red carpet is watchable—the gala’s cocktail hour and dinner are notoriously private events.

What’s this year’s Met Gala theme?

There’s a dress code each year tied to the museum’s spring exhibition. Some guests, not all, step up at the request of Wintour. This year’s theme is inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story of the same name. It’s a squishy fashion ask considering how specific last year’s theme was: all things Karl Lagerfeld.

What’s the point of the Met Gala?

It’s a party, for sure, with cocktails and dinner for about invited 400 guests, but it’s also a huge fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute, the only department at the museum required to pay for itself. Last year, the gala raised about $22 million. Wintour, a Met trustee for whom part of the institute has been renamed, organizes the whole shebang. No phones are allowed, adding to the allure.

It also promotes the museum’s exhibit, which this year is called “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” It includes 250 items from The Costume Institute’s permanent collection, including some garments very rarely seen in public and so fragile they need to be under glass. Curators wanted to engage all the senses, including smell.

The exhibit opens to the public Friday and runs through Sept. 2.