Woven between the intricate seams and fabrics seen on the Met Gala’s red carpets are stories. Just as the 2024 Met Gala theme was inspired by J.G. Ballard’s short story “The Garden of Time,” each ensemble told the story of either the celebrity wearing it, the designer creating it, or both.
While stars like Colman Domingo honored the legacies of the late André Leon Talley and Chadwick Boseman, Jodie Turner-Smith used her look to reflect on a new chapter of her life. In October 2023, the actress and her now ex-husband, Joshua Jackson, filed for divorce. Though Turner-Smith has been in good spirits following the split, the 2024 Met Gala marked her first time walking up The Metropolitan Museum of Art steps alone.
“This Met Gala was a very special one for me… my first stepping out on my own,” the actress wrote on Instagram, giving a behind-the-scenes look at her Met Gala look.
“The dress [Daniel Lee, the chief creative officer of Burberry] designed for me, full of English flowers, was deliberately bridal,” she added. “White representing a rebirth, a clean start, a recommitment to the most important relationship I will ever have, the relationship from which all others grow: my relationship with myself.”
While Smith-Turner’s custom Burberry gown was a deliberate crossover between the event’s dress code and the actress’ life experience, Lizzo’s look reflected her team’s creative interpretation of “The Garden of Time.” This year, the Grammy-award-winning singer stepped onto the carpet in a Victor Weinsanto gown styled by Matthew and Reginald Reisman. Wearing a custom rendition of a gown from Weinsanto’s Spring/Summer 2024 “Perfect Day” collection, Lizzo’s corset-inspired dress was customized to match her skin tone and altered to include a face opening in the headpiece.
“I didn’t want to be the designer responsible for a fall in front of the whole world,” Weinsanto told the Hollywood Reporter. “And honestly, now that the dress has been recreated for Lizzo, I like this version even better. It’s also perfect for showcasing her gorgeous body.”
“Harmony within nature was the biggest inspiration for this look,” the star’s makeup artist, Alexx Mayo, added. “I wanted the idea of florals and gardens, but not to be so literal. The gown features these sprays of dried flowers, so I wanted to play with the beauty of a rose through its lifecycle, using different tones and just mixing from my palettes to reflect the rosebud to a rose in full bloom to the point when it withers and dies, but it’s still beautiful.”
While Lizzo and her team thought she looked “Good as Hell,” many on social media had mixed reactions to her look. As some fans criticized her ensemble, comparing it to everything from a tree to a menstrual cup, the star clapped back at the negative commentary on Instagram.
“IF IM NOT IN UR BEST DRESSED UR FATPHOBIC 😝😝😝,” she captioned the post showcasing her look, to which at least one fan in the comments responded, “I’m not fatphobic the dress just looks like sh**.”
Another user added, “You can’t shame us into liking it.”
Ultimately, regardless of whether the red-carpet looks were well received, the first Monday in May is an evening dedicated to art.
“We made art. We showcased beauty,” Lizzo’s stylists wrote in their own Instagram post. “We created [an] opportunity for new to enter spaces we all dream of. We appreciate and honored the theme, fashion and craft. Thank you to our fearless leader, A STAR @lizzobeeating”