Not All The Fashion At The Met Was Luxury

“I love leaning into the theme, but I always want to feel completely like myself with the confidence to stand out from the rest,” Aboah said of why she signed up to work with the brand on “a look to mark a very special moment in [her] life.” In her bold red-carpet wear, featuring a tulle ruffled crop top resembling petals and a taffeta bubble-hem skirt, she was joined by fellow model Paloma Elsesser, in a 3D-printed metal bodice and champagne skirt; Hari Nef, in an old-school cream column gown; Awkwafina, in a wedding dress-inspired confection; Quannah Chasinghorse, in a forget-me-not-blue, ballerina-style dress; and Stefon Diggs, in top-notch affordable tailoring. “It was a moment for H&M to show off what we can do in terms of custom-made fashion,” said head of design womenswear and creative advisor at H&M, Ann-Sofie Johansson. The social outreach of its combined guests suggested that this was a job well done.

No one outside the industry expected to see Gap vying for attention next to its high-street counterpart. But with Zac Posen now at the helm, and tasked with rebooting the sleepy American basics brand, it was hardly surprising that the designer – who has been to the Met Gala no fewer than 21 times – wanted to bring his new baby firmly back onto the fashion agenda. Inspired by the sea view from his San Francisco bay office – “The movement of the water has a really beautiful femininity to me” – and the quintessential Gap fabric indigo denim – a “canvas for creativity” – he fashioned his date, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, a voluminous, carpet-sweeping gown that stood out in a sea of florals. Happily, he told Vogue of the “Garden of Time” dress code, indigo is a flower. For Randolph’s part, she said: “I’ve fallen back in love with denim”.

While we’re in no way suggesting that Khaite has the same workaday appeal as Gap, it’s interesting that Linda Evangelista chose a non-red-carpet brand for her Met Gala comeback after an eight-year absence. “I wear a lot of Khaite in my real life,” Evangelista said of wanting to wear something she felt like herself in. When founder Catherine Holstein agreed to create an impossibly chic cream organic silk gazar dress for the supermodel, she “nearly died”: “I was so excited!” There are fluid, draped designs in a similar vein for sale on Khaite.com.