Gigi Hadid’s stunning Thom Browne creation for Monday night’s 2024 Met Gala is so detailed, it belongs in a museum. Which is similar to where the designer will put it, telling Vogue that the model’s gown will live in the Thom Browne permanent archive now that the Met Gala 2024 is over.
Custom and couture looks are the standard at the uber-exclusive event, but there’s custom, and then there’s “2.8 million micro bugle beads hand-embroidered by 20 people.” Hadid’s Met Gala 2024 look falls into the latter category.
Hadid, who chose an Old Hollywood-style wavy blond bob and bold red lip for beauty to accent her dramatic gown, wowed when she arrived on the event’s green carpet with her take on the night’s “Garden of Time” dress code. Her gown was white, featuring off-the-shoulder straps and a voluminous skirt bursting with hand-beaded thorns, vines, and yellow roses adhered to a multi-layer train trimmed in black duchesse satin.
In fact, Hadid’s outfit was comprised of two pieces: a sleek white figure-hugging column dress adorned with a single yellow rose, underneath the playful overskirt and train, which, if you look closely, is in the shape of a tuxedo jacket slipping down over the 29-year-old’s hips. Browne is known for his suiting-inspired looks, and this may be the most glamorous iteration of the signature motif yet.
The dress, which shimmered with Hadid’s every move thanks to those nearly 3 million tiny bugle beads, took 20 people 5,000 hours to embroider, while the overskirt and train, which required five handlers to manage as Hadid made her way through the gala, took 40 people a total of 8,500 hours to embroider. More than 70 people were involved in the design and creation of the dress.
In conversation with Vogue, Browne called Hadid “a true talent.”
“I wanted her look to embody the fragility and immense work that you see in Andrew [Bolton]’s exhibit, blooming on the carpet and into The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” he said.
Hadid herself marveled at the craftsmanship and time that went into her look as well, telling Vogue, “Just one rose on my outfit in itself is a work of art, and the amount of hours and people’s work that went into this dress is just incredible. It’s an honor for me to be able to present this for them, and I always walk the carpet with that in mind. I’m very proud of their work.”
Relive all the looks and the best-dressed guests, see who won the evening’s theme, and catch up on all the details from fashion’s biggest night with Vanity Fair’s coverage of the Met Gala 2024.
