BURBERRY [poem stitched inside Lewis Hamilton’s Burberry- designed suit]

“I hope the sun pours light upon our skin. And we melt into each other, into everything. Maybe the trees will speak, as they sometimes do. Whispers from the shade – 

Run, run away.”

“The Gardener”

by Alex Wharton

The fantasy of festivity hails the parity of nature. The bodies lured in are subservient to it. Obedience under hail, obedience to nature, is only dictated by time. 

In a utopia akin to nature, where nature begets freedom, the fools and the wise, the bankers and the brokers, exist under one unified law. Each facet enveloped in the garden of time: the birds, the flowers, the mermaids, myriads themselves as belonging to the exhibition. 

Fantasy, like festivity, reimagines the everyday; as the gala taunts creativity, each designer will present their celebrity as a spectacle for their work. But fantasy exceeds festivity. In it, the excess of material, the luxury of goods, becomes devalued and free. Couture, in its theatricality, doesn’t need to be joyful, doesn’t come tethered to happiness. It’s a night parading the halls in obscenity: a fantastical display of creativity.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art soon introduces the Costume Institute’s upcoming exhibition titled “Sleeping Beauty: Reawakening Fashion.” The guests, in correspondence, dressed in the theme “The Garden of Time,” inspired by James Graham Ballard’s short story of the same name. 

Where opulence meets artistry, and the coverage on haute couture temporarily blinds the universe with wealth, the symphony of the impoverished creep at the front of the gate. The onlookers can do nothing but watch. True festivity cannot be found in the trap of affluence or in the reserve of the few. This unusually honored tradition feebles the home of the barren and illusions a splendor in a critique of poverty. 

The encroachment of lux distilled in each gala parodies the theme of equality in nature. Where on the first of every May, the Costume Institute Benefit cloisters itself in utopian fancy, its hosts will stretch the boundary of excess and pull apart the disparity of rich and poor bodies in large displays of wealth.

PART TWO

Courtesy of Vogue.

Zendaya in Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano

The bodice of the dress is wrapped in tulle. The ensemble caricatures a hummingbird with a hand-embroidered corsage. It’s costume-like and fitted with a mermaid-cut skirt that stripes spirally below hand-painted metallic crin and iridescent organza. Her makeup follows Pat McGrath’s collection of faces at the Maison Margiela Winter ‘24 Couture Show in a steampunk, thin browed look.

Taylor Russell in Loewe and Fred Leighton Jewelry

Russell reaches the gala in an athenian ivory skirt. The “Bones and All” actress is plated in a custom Loewe wooded halter corset, painted with wreaths of simple flowers that don her head. The look itself is soft and bare and pretties the actress, playing with her natural beauty.

Courtesy of ELLE.

Gigi Hadid in Thom Browne and Chopard Jewelry 

The famed Victoria’s Secret model, Gigi Hadid, glamorizes the early 70s retro style. Her makeup is kept classic with a red lip and pearly blush. The white dress is coated with 2,800,000 micro bugle beads while the skirt is covered in 3D yellow rose embroidery that required seventy workers in making the dress. 

Courtesy of L’Officiel Ibiza.

Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga and Harry Winston Jewelry

Kidman’s simply coloured dress is strikingly cut with an undercurrent of black feathers. It is a portrayal of the white swan in transformation of the black. The white costume is more tame and feline as the black gives the entire look a rebellious spirit. 

Courtesy of Vogue.

Cardi B in Windosen and A. Jaffe Jewelry

The biggest look of the night is another play on black tulle. The female rapper hauled mounds of tulle, trudging close to avant-garde. Every year, the artist shows out in elaborate garments, this year, channeling a gothic take on the theme.

Courtesy of ABC News.

Donald Glover in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and Cartier Jewelry

Donald Glover wears a vintage dusty rose suit, muddied down with dark browns and black leather shoes. The color palette of his look is nuanced and tired, everything sort of seeps into everything else, making the look insubstantial and boring. The accessories donning his suit jacket and fingers however, provided the subtle statement he knew he needed.