The dress code for the evening was “The Garden of Time,” and everyone got the memo. Celebrities showed up in full custome for the most famous fashion-forward fundraiser on the planet. It was the Met Gala, officially known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit, held yesterday, on May 6 in New York. And, this year, for the first time, both Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez served as two of the five V.I.P. co-chairs for the evening. Along with Anna Wintour, Zendaya, and Chris Hemsworth, the Latin music stars were selected to head up the event for a reason.
“Random as it may seem, co-chair selection is a delicate alchemy that seeks to telegraph the event’s appeal across age groups and creative industries, especially fashion, film, music and social media,” The New York Times explains.
“I was really honored to be asked to host it alongside ,” Lopez said at a star-studded dinner before the Gala.
And, by all accounts, Lopez and her co-chairs had an unforgettable time, and a financially successful event.
Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez Co-Chair
The Benefit (called The Met Gala all over social media and the press) takes place annually on the first Monday in May and marks the opening of The Costume Institute’s spring exhibition.
This year, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” had all the stars, especially the new co-chairs, Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, in a real life fairy tale.
A regular at the Met Gala, Bad Bunny’s costume did not disappoint. “Just like a prince from a story … — he arrived on the carpet with a floral bouquet in hand, made of the same material as his jacket,” Vogue writes. “The flora inside the bouquet tells a story all its own: there are Flor de Maga, the national flower of Puerto Rico; roses, a symbol of beauty and purity; and the flax plant, which Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on in the famed fairy tale.”
Jennifer Lopez, who made her debut at the Gala in 1999, embraced the see-through trend on the red carpet in a long sheer gown.
“Ms. Lopez’s gown, designed by Daniel Roseberry, was embroidered with silver pearls and over two million silver foil beads that took 800 hours of hand embroidery to complete … It was inspired by a butterfly, nodding to the evening’s dress code …” The New York Times explains.
Karol G and Shakira Debuts
Another Latina star who made headlines for her fairly-like elegance was Karol G.
“Karol G stunned in Marc Jacobs for her first-ever Met Gala. The Colombian hitmaker, who is currently on her Mañana Será Bonito Latin America Tour, wore a nude crystal-heavy, corset dress and traded her soft pink hair for super long blonde wavy curls,” Billboard magazine writes.
Then there was Shakira, who attended the event for the first time, but added a twist to the evening’s whimsical attire.
“On Monday, May 6, the Grammy-winner, 47, made her Met Gala debut in a spicy red gown by Carolina Herrera that gave off a flamenco vibe with its dramatic train and cape detailed with voluminous ruffled sleeves resembling an abstract rose,” People magazine writes.
For a Good Cause
Besides making headlines, the event actually is the Met’s Museum of Art Costume Institute’s primary source of funding for annual exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations, and capital improvements. To fundraise, organizers charged celebrities and V.I.P. attendees thousands to attend. Tickets for the Met Gala were rumored to cost around $75,000 and tables starting at $350,000.
This year was deemed a success, with the evening raising approximately $22 million for the arts.
As for the new exhibition promoted last night, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, it “will reactivate the sensory capacities of masterworks in the Museum’s collection through first-hand research, conservation analysis, and diverse technologies — from cutting-edge tools, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery to traditional formats of x-rays, video animation, light projection, and soundscapes.”
In the glow of the evening’s success, the Met Gala proved its power to blend art, fashion, philanthropy, and now, Latino pride, into an unforgettable spectacle.
