Happy Met Gala morning-after! The day when everyone complains about who got the theme right, who got it wrong, and who got it very wrong.
But we’re not here to judge. Well, we’ll judge just a little bit…the jewelry, anyway. We were glued to Vogue’s livestream of the red kinda-green carpet the evening of Monday, May 6, to see celebs on parade outside New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art—there to celebrate the latest exhibit of the museum’s Costume Institute, “Sleeping Beauties, Reawakening Fashion” (it opens to the public May 10).
The loosely related dress code for the evening’s gala: “The Garden of Time,” inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story of the same name. (It’s a bittersweet dystopian story about a couple of aristocrats surrounded by a protective, but wilting, field of flowers. Full of wonderful and depressing metaphors.)
So here are a few of our favorite jewelry looks from the evening—some subdued, some over-the-top, but all eye-catching in their own ways.
Ayo Edebiri
Making her Met Gala debut, the Emmy-, SAG-, and Golden Globe–winning star of The Bear wore a flowers-in-bloom halter gown by Jonathan Anderson for Loewe. (Loewe had a big night, dressing Vogue editor-in-chief and Met Gala mastermind Anna Wintour, among others.) Some might argue that Edebiri’s gown was a too-literal interpretation of the garden theme, but the white-to-rainbow ombré effect of the flowers—all hand-stitched and handpainted—and the 3D design of the blossoms was truly fresh. The finishing touch came from her Boucheron aquamarine jewels, including a Hopi, the Hummingbird ring. (Hopi had a busy night! Zoe Saldaña wore the yellow beryl version of the Boucheron classic.)
Alia Bhatt
This was the second time at the Met Gala for the Indian-born British actress (whose film appearances include the Oscar-winning RRR), but this look will be very hard to top. Everything—the sari, the headpiece, the cocktail rings, the earrings (tourmaline, morganite, and old mine diamonds)—is by Sabyasachi: In an interview with Gwendoline Christie and Ashley Graham, Bhatt revealed that it took 1,905 hours and 163 artisans to create all of this gorgeousness. The brand sent JCK a detailed statement: “Sabyasachi interprets ‘The Garden of Time’ with a couture sari and an exaggerated train, hand-embroidered with silk floss, beads, sequins, and semiprecious stones and fringed with glass beads. The handcrafted blouse is studded with emeralds, Basra pearls, tourmalines, and multicolored sapphires. The sari is complemented with Sabyasachi High Jewellery’s Bengal Royal collection in tourmalines, sapphires, emeralds, and old mine–cut and brilliant-cut EF VVS diamonds.”
Jennifer Lopez
We knew Lopez, as one of the evening’s Wintour–anointed cochairs—along with actors Chris Hemsworth and Zendaya and rapper Bad Bunny—would bring some major bling, and she didn’t disappoint. Her custom gown by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli Haute Couture contained 2.5 million (!) beads, and it was designed to resemble butterfly wings (a longtime Schiaparelli motif), she told Vogue interviewer La La Anthony. For jewelry, she turned to Tiffany & Co.’s nature-centric 2024 Blue Book Collection and, of course, the ubiquitous Schlumberger Bird on a Rock. If an event happens without a Bird on a Rock, did it really happen?
Cara Delevingne
Speaking with Vulture the morning of the gala, Tom Fitzgerald, of iconic fashion blogging duo Tom and Lorenzo, predicted that people were “gonna show up with flowers on their heads.” But there was no way to predict Delevingne’s look, was there? The hooded, backless bodice and bespoke diamond bracelets were a collaboration between lab-grown diamond brand Vrai and fashion designer Stella McCartney. (Yes, Delevingne is literally dripping in diamonds.) The garment, bracelets, and pavé ring total more than 500 carats of Vrai lab-grown diamonds. I’m not entirely sure how the look relates to “The Garden of Time,” but I’m thinking she represents—spoiler alert—the statue that the countess morphs into.
Elle Fanning
She really can’t go wrong, can she? Fanning, who recently made her Broadway debut alongside fellow Met Gala guest Sarah Paulson in Appropriate, almost looks frozen in time in a spun-sugar–like Balmain gown with birds perched on both shoulders. When someone on the carpet hollered, “What’s the dress made of?” she replied, “Resin!” (Let’s hear it for unconventional materials! Ariana Grande told Vogue that the bodice of her Loewe gown was made of genuine mother-of-pearl.) Like Delevingne, Fanning is also giving us statue vibes. The jewels, naturally, are Cartier, newer—earrings from 2007—and vintage (a pair of art deco bracelets).
Maleah Joi Moon
First she made her Broadway debut in the Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen. Then she got a Tony nomination for her lead role (she stars as Alicia’s sort-of alter ego). Now Maleah Joi Moon is at her first Met Gala, stunning in a ring and vintage diamond earrings by Briony Raymond, a Collina Strada gown with an impressionistic floral pattern that recalls the changing of the seasons, and a flower ring by With Clarity. Say what you will about florals for spring…sometimes they just work.
(Top photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP; all jewelry photos courtesy of the brands)
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