The best vintage and vintage-inspired fashion from the 2024 Met Gala
This year's red carpet was a lesson in archival dressing
With a theme like that, it was always going to be a great night for vintage fashion. In fact, the 2024 Met Gala was a lesson in how to tap into, or be inspired by, the archives of some of the best fashion houses in our history.
Dressing to the theme of 'The Garden of Time', which is inspired by the J.G. Ballard short story of the same name, and the accompanying exhibition of 'Sleeping Beauty: Reawakening Fashion' (which celebrates archival pieces of fashion that are too delicate ever to be worn again), a number of celebrities wore designs from memorable collections gone by, directly replicated these, or were inspired by them.
Zendaya wore a design by John Galliano for Maison Margiela, which was inspired by one of his dresses from his time at Christian Dior, while Jonathon Anderson at Loewe took inspiration from a dress from 1951 Charles James and Kendall Jenner dipped into the Givenchy archives, wearing a dress by Alexander McQueen that had never been worn by anyone else.
Below, we celebrate some of the best vintage and vintage-inspired moments from the 2024 Met Gala.
Zendaya in vintage-inspired Dior by Margiela
For her big Met Gala comeback, Zendaya wore a design by John Galliano for Maison Margiela, which was a floral masterpiece inspired by his era at Dior, specifically a gown from the spring/summer 1999 couture collection.
Zendaya in vintage Givenchy and McQueen
The actress later changed into a black gown from Galliano's era at Givenchy. She teamed the spring/summer 1996 couture gown with a flower-adorned Philip Treacy headpiece from the Alexander McQueen spring/summer 2006 collection.
Kendall Jenner in vintage Givenchy
Kendall Jenner also dipped into the Givenchy archives. The model chose this dress from Alexander McQueen's Givenchy from 1999, a dress that was seen on the catwalk on a mannequin, meaning that Jenner was the first person to ever wear the gown.
Iris Law in vintage Versace
Iris Law wore a beautiful gown from Versace's autumn/winter 2002 collection which featured an asymmetric neckline and sheer colourful panelling.
Brie Larson in vintage-inspired Prada
Brie Larson wore a custom Prada gown, which was inspired by a vintage design from the house. A dress from 2007 influenced the sunset colours of the design, while the sheer hoop skirt and sequin detail were added to embrace the theme of the passing of time.
Nicole Kidman in vintage-inspired Balenciaga
Nicole Kidman wore a replica of a Balenciaga gown from 1951, which featured a beautiful black ruffled skirt with a white silk overlay and elbow-length gloves.
Lana Del Rey in vintage-inspired Alexander McQueen
Lana Del Rey wore a Sean McGirr for Alexander McQueen design, which was inspired by the house's archives, specifically a dress from the autumn/winter 2006 collection.
Emily Ratajkowski in vintage Versace
Emily Ratajkowski embraced a little sheer fashion in her archival gown, which was from Versace's 2001 Atelier collection.
Ambika Mod in vintage-inspired Charles James by Loewe
Ambika Mod – who was attending her very first Met Gala – wore a Loewe design, which featured a 3D print of Charles James' Petal dress from 1951.
