Met Gala 2024 and ‘Sleeping Beauties’ exhibition: what to expect

Those with even a passing interest in fashion will know that the first Monday of May means the annual Met Gala – the so-called ’Oscars of fashion’ which gathers designers, fashion houses and a phalanx of A-list celebrities to celebrate the opening of the latest Costume Institute exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Led by American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour – whose name hangs above the Costume Institute wing at the museum – alongside her selected panel of co-chairs, the red carpet proceedings have a theme that guests must adhere to, usually related to that year’s exhibition. As such, themes have spanned ’In America: An Anthology of Fashion’, ’Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’, ’Camp: Notes on Fashion’, and ’Punk: Chaos to Couture’ – spawning some much-talked-about looks in the process.

Taking place this year on Monday 6 May, 2024, this year’s gala coincides with the opening of ’Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ (May 10 – September 2, 2024), which promises a re-exploration of the museum’s ’masterwork’ garments through ’smells, sounds, textures and motion’. 

Met Gala 2024 and ’Sleeping Beauties’ exhibition: everything you need to know

The date: Monday 6 May, 2024

As ever, the Met Gala takes place on the first Monday of May – this year, it falls on Monday 6 May, 2024. In preparation, we suggest a viewing of ’The First Monday in May’, the 2016 documentary which follows the preparations for the 2015 Met Gala and exhibition, ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’, directed by American filmmaker Andrew Rossi. The exhibition itself, ’Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’, will run from May 10 – September 2, 2024.

The theme: ’Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’

Following 2023’s ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’, ’Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ is the title of this year’s exhibition, which as in recent years is curated by Andrew Bolton, the curator-in-charge of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (we selected him as part of the Wallpaper* USA 300, the names defining America’s creative landscape, in 2023). Spanning 250 pieces, ’Sleeping Beauties’ promises a new look at some of the ’masterworks’ in the museum’s expansive collection through ’smells, sounds, textures and motion’ as well as through innovative new technologies, from X-ray to AI.

Spanish fashion house Loewe is this year’s sponsor, so expect a selection of Jonathan Anderson-designed looks to appear in the exhibition itself – including the Gerhard Richter-inspired silk dresses from the house’s A/W 2023 collection printed with ghost-like ’memories’ of garments from previous seasons – as well as on the red carpet. Other pieces will span a 1958 floral shift dress by Nina Ricci, a duo of Christian Dior gowns from 1949, as well as a ballgown by pioneering British couturier Charles Frederick Worth from the late 19th century, while a 400-year-old 17th-century Elizabethan bodice will be one of the oldest pieces on display.

‘Fashion is a living art form that requires most of our senses for its fullest appreciation and the greatest understanding,’ said Bolton this morning (6 May 2024) at the exhibition’s preview. You can take a first look inside as Tilly Macalister-Smith takes a tour of the exhibition for Wallpaper* here.

The dress code: ’The Garden in Time’

Unlike previous years, the dress code diverts from the exhibition itself, as Anna Wintour announced via a playful video which saw the American Vogue editor-in-chief ’texting’ the evening’s co-chairs (find out who below). Titled ’The Garden in Time’, it takes its name from a 1962 JG Ballard short story whereby protagonist Count Axel and his wife await the arrival of an approaching army in a villa surrounded by a garden of crystal flowers, which the count plucks one by one to keep the hordes at bay. As for how this will play out on the red carpet is anyone’s guess, though it’s safe to assume that florals will prove ubiquitous.

The co-chairs: Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez and Bad Bunny

An eclectic line-up of co-chairs joining Anna Wintour include actors Zendaya and Chris Hemsworth, and musicians Jennifer Lopez and Bad Bunny (last year, it was Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and Dua Lipa). Zendaya will likely garner the most column inches if her recent press tours for Challengers and Dune are anything to go by: expect her to adhere to the dress code in dramatic fashion, helped by her stylist, ’image architect’ Law Roach.

Around 600 other guests will join the co-chairs from the event, spanning the worlds of Hollywood, music, culture, art and more – though, as is tradition, the full guest list is yet to be announced.

Where can I watch?

Though the inside of the gala is kept strictly under wraps, Vogue will host red-carpet action on YouTube, hosted by Gwendoline Christie, La La Anthony and Ashley Graham. It will begin at 6pm EST.