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Best 50+ Looks at New York City’s 2024 Met Gala
Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Gabrielle Union and Sarah Jessica Parker brought their A-game to this year’s high-fashion event
(Left to right) Uma Thurman, Anna Wintour, Pam Anderson, Jennifer Lopez, Gabrielle Union, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gayle King, Nicole Kidman and Kris Jenner
Thurman, Wintour, Union, King, Jenner: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue; Anderson: John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images; Lopez, Kidman: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Moore: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Parker: Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue; Background: Getty Images
All the hottest designers, celebrities, models and influencers flock to New York City for one of fashion’s biggest nights of the year, the Met Gala, and AARP is laser-focused on the attendees who are 50-plus. The annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute turns the steps of the famed museum into an open-air fashion show — an intersection of high style, drama and more than a little bit of camp. The evening’s attire adheres loosely to an annual dress code chosen by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and her Met Gala cochairs, actress and fashionista Zendaya, singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, 54, rapper/singer/record producer Bad Bunny and Thor actor Chris Hemsworth. While last year’s outfits channeled designer Karl Lagerfeld, this year the dress code is inspired by a book — J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story The Garden of Time.
The theme for the event is culled from the museum’s newest exhibit that opens to the public this week: “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” The exhibition will showcase (reawaken?) approximately 250 fashions drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, some that have rarely been displayed.
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See all the head-turning fashions:
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Anna Wintour, 74
Longtime chairwoman of the gala and Vogue editor in chief Wintour looked regal in a Loewe by Jonathan Anderson ensemble. Wintour chose a long black dress coat adorned with beautiful blooms over a simple floor-length white gown. She told Vogue online that she was grateful for the “army” of people who put the event and exhibition together, but her favorite element of the exhibition “is always the pleasure of seeing the visitors that come into the show and understand the magic.”
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Sarah Jessica Parker, 59
Perennial fashion favorite Parker didn’t disappoint. The And Just Like That star pushed the envelope in a nude-colored Richard Quinn calf-length dress with boning. “It’s a piece of art — lace stretched over canvas,” said Parker about the trellis-like dress, inspired by the J.G. Ballard book. “It’s hand-embroidered and hand-stitched.” To complete the look, Parker wore Briony Raymond jewelry and a Philip Treacy hat. “I always feel very lucky that I can borrow things that are so beautiful … it’s sort of like an alternate universe for a moment — not unlike the theme.”
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez, 54
For her 14th appearance at the gala, Met cochair Lopez stunned in a sheer, body-hugging Champagne-colored Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown complete with silver beading and architectural neckline. The “Waiting for Tonight” singer/actress said her butterfly wing-inspired dress was created with 2.5 million bugle beads and over 800 hours of hand-embroidery. “It’s a beautiful night with so many artists coming together from different genres — from music, from film, from fashion,” she told Vogue online.
Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Gayle King, 69
CBS This Morning host Gayle King told Entertainment Tonight that the lime-green one-shouldered Marchesa gown was a stretch for her. “Listen, you’re not Zendaya. You’re not Jennifer Lopez. You want to be appropriate and not look like a fool. I am stepping out of my box.”
Uma Thurman, 54
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Thurman was aflutter in a sweeping periwinkle Tory Burch dress made of taffeta and adorned with 3D butterflies in an array of purples and blues on the shoulder. Burch explained to Vogue that “the construction of the gown honors old-world techniques, with a hand-molded corset bonded to hand-pleated, hand-pressed silk taffeta.”
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Kris Jenner, 68
The Kardashians’ “momager” sported an ultra-glam off-white ensemble with long train designed by Oscar de la Renta. Jenner paired the monochromatic look with emerald jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Gabrielle Union, 51
Union shimmered in a Michel Kors ombré mermaid-style sleeveless gown with hand-embroidered sequins. “We’ve been working on this with a very large team for months,” Union said to Vogue online, deeming the stunner, “my favorite Met look ever.”
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Penelope Cruz, 50
Cruz’s off-the-shoulder Chanel Haute Couture gown with silk tulle train was a stunning patchwork of eight different types of French floral laces in black and silver. Cruz, who was cohost of the 2023 gala, said she was most looking forward to catching up with friends like Wintour. “She’s an amazing woman, who I don’t know if everyone knows this about her but she’s extremely funny.”
Demi Moore, 61
Wallpaper? Yes, Moore’s stunning black column Harris Reed gown with pink-and-white floral design was crafted from vintage archival wallpaper. “It’s 11,000 hours of silk embroidery that we’ve repurposed into this idea of her blooming on the carpet,” Reed told Vogue online. We’d say mission accomplished.
Nicole Kidman, 56
Kidman and husband musician Keith Urban know how to make the most of an evening away from the kids. “Date Night at The @MetMuseum 🤍🖤,” Kidman posted on Instagram. For the big event, the actress donned a recreation of an iconic 1950s couture number by Cristobal Balenciaga: a white corset gown with a black ruffled skirt paired with white opera gloves. “The Met Gala’s ‘The Garden of Time’ theme is so beautiful, I think I just fell in love with the idea of kissing a Balenciaga couture gown awake,” she told Vogue.
Pam Anderson, 56
Anderson went full glam at her first-ever Met gala appearance. The Baywatch star — who has gained attention for rocking a makeup-free look — channeled her inner goddess with a nude Oscar de la Renta gown with flowing train and a Noel Stewart faux leather headpiece. And yes, her light, glowy makeup was courtesy of Pat McGrath.
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