Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, and other stars sparkle at Met Gala in New York City
- Olympic medallist Chloe Kim made her debut in a feathered ball gown, while actor Riz Ahmed sported a tribute to the city’s immigrants
- The fundraiser returned to its May slot after coronavirus forced the cancellation of the 2020 event and delayed last year’s edition
Singer Billie Eilish attends the Met Gala in New York City on Monday, May 2. Photo: APCelebrities dressed to the theme of “gilded glamour” sparkled on the red carpet at the annual Met Gala in New York on Monday.
Co-host Blake Lively wowed at the “party of the year” in a beaded Versace gown with an oversized satin bow that unfurled to reveal a light blue train, while singer Billie Eilish wore an ornate Gucci bodice with green lace sleeves.
Actress Lively, whose husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, wore a brown velvet tuxedo, described her dress as an “homage” to New York City architecture, including the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Grand Central station.
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Some 400 famous names from the worlds of music, film, fashion, sports and strutted their stuff at the over-the-top costume parade on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s carpeted steps.
Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who oversees the philanthropic party that raises millions of dollars for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, was one of the first attendees to arrive.
The fashion icon matched a Chanel dress with a tiara as the fundraiser returned to its usual early May slot after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 event and delayed last year’s edition to the autumn.
Olympic gold medallist and snowboarder Chloe Kim made her Met Gala debut in a feathered tulle ball gown, while actress Michelle Yeoh sported a flowing green Prabal Gurung gown.
Actor Riz Ahmed took a different approach to the theme, wearing a black open shirt with a white undershirt underneath and leather boots.
“This is an homage to the immigrant workers who kept the Gilded Age golden,” he said.
The invite-only guest list is a closely guarded secret. Those in attendance included singers Jon Batiste, Shawn Mendes and Lizzo, tennis star Venus Williams and The Crown actress Emma Corrin.
Hillary Clinton, the former democratic nominee for president, wore a red Joseph Altuzarra gown. Embroidered along the neckline were the names of 60 women who had inspired her, including Rosa Parks.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker wore a Christopher John Rogers design that honoured Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley. As the dressmaker for Abraham Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd Lincoln, Hobbs was the first Black female fashion designer in the White House.
“The idea was to highlight the dichotomy between the extravagant, over-the-top proportions of the time period, and the disparity that was happening in America at the time,” she said.
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At last year’s event, held in September, democratic socialist politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir by wearing a dress emblazoned with the slogan “Tax the Rich.”
That struck a nerve at the celebration of fashion, where tickets cost US$35,000 (HK$274,6678) and tables go for up to US$300,000 (HK$2,354,297).
This time, New York City Mayor Eric Adams struck a political chord with a jacket that read “end gun violence” on the back.
On the red carpet, billionaire Elon Musk was asked about his US$44 billion takeover offer of Twitter.
“My goal, assuming everything gets done, would be to make Twitter as inclusive as possible and have as broad a swathe of the country and the rest of the world on Twitter,” he said.”
Last year, the gala brought home more than US$16.4 million for the Met’s Costume Institute.
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The dress code comes from the annual exhibit that the party coincides with. This year’s is “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” a retrospective from the late 19th century to the present.
The gala was first held in 1948 and was for a long time reserved for New York’s high society. Wintour took over the running in 1995, transforming the party into a catwalk for the rich and famous.