The Met Gala is a time to think outside of the box and get your creative juices flowing. But for one celebrity, this made a lot of people cringe with ‘second hand embarrassment’.
However, they’re totally missing the point.
When South African pop star Tyla was seen being carried by a group of men to her photo op on the Met Gala 2024 red carpet, fans were left covering their eyes.
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The 'Water' singer was wearing a custom Balmain gown that was made of sand. Yes, you read that right!
One Met Gala fan wrote online: "Can we have like a planet wide meeting? cuz wtf are we doing?" while another said: "I am gonna get hate but this is ridiculous."
And a third added: "Anyone else get secondhand embarrassment from this?"
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art's famous steps are no small feat to climb, especially in a dress made of literal sand.
Tyla, who looked undoubtedly amazing in the unique gown, told reporters at the event: "So I'm basically wearing sand. It was amazing working with Balmain, we really thought outside the box for this one which is really exciting.”
The dress was entirely made out of sculpted sand, which was casted around the singer’s body, making it a structure which doesn’t have any flexibility to move.
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Her version of the theme, 'The Garden of Time', was inspired by the passage of time, which also featured her holding a little sand hourglass clutch.
But as the dress was so fragile, it meant that Tyla had to be lifted up the stairs by two people, with two more carrying the train of her dress.
The creative garment was created by Balmain's creative director Olivier Rousteing, who posted about the dress preparation: "Transforming the essence of time embodied by the simple hourglass, the Balmain Atelier devised a unique appliqué technique for the gown, which features sand and micro crystal studs pressed directly onto fabric shaped by a plaster cast of the star’s own bodice.”
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He said to Vogue: “The inspiration behind this creation stemmed from a desire to redefine boundaries and transform a transient material into an everlasting masterpiece.
“The idea of sculpting a garment from something as ephemeral as sand ignited my imagination, and I could not be happier with the end result.”
Due to the material and overall structure of the dress, some were worried about how the singer would be able to sit down for dinner, to which Tyla told E! News: "Who knows? They’ll figure it out. Who cares guys? I look cute.”
Hopefully there was a changing room to get into something a little more flexible!
Most memorable Met Gala themes
1985 - Costumes of Royal India
A celebration of Royal India’s fashions, the 1985 Met Gala saw a plethora of South Asian-inspired designs that featured stunning embroidery and extravagant embellishments.
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Pop icon Cher turned heads at the 1985 exhibition in a sheer, embellished Bob Mackie gown, truly making fashion history.
1996 - Christian Dior
The 1996 Met Gala paid homage to the late French fashion designer, who died in 1957.
This particular event is well noted for Princess Diana being in attendance wearing a navy Dior gown.
She had a close relationship with the fashion house - so much so that Dior renamed its 1994 handbag, previously known as Chouchou to Princese, to honour Diana, naming it Lady Dior.
1999 - Rock Style
The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland joined forces for the Met Gala to spotlight classic rock-'n'-roll performers and their pervasive influence on style.
Many will recall this Met Gala for Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney’s matching DIY T-shirts that read ‘Rock Royalty’.
2010 - American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity
2010 was the year to celebrate American women, and the Met Gala exhibition did just that.
Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry and Sarah Jessica Parker were out in full force showcasing flamboyant designs from the likes of Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney.
2013: Punk: Chaos to Couture
This year’s event benefited the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw celebs push boundaries with punk-themed designs.
From a fishnet-clad Madonna to a bleached blonde Miley Cyrus in a mesh ensemble, the 2013 Met Gala is certainly one for the archives.
2015: China: Through the Looking Glass
Arguably one of the most iconic Met Galas of all time, the 2015 event focused on China’s influence on Western fashion, making for some truly stunning theatrics.
Designs from the likes of Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Guo Pei, and Christian Dior Haute Couture were at the forefront, featuring stars like Beyoncé and Rhianna.
2018: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Alongside some stunning looks by the likes of Rhianna and Blake Lively, this theme also had hundreds of holy items on display, including dozens of artifacts sent over from The Vatican - many of which had never left Rome before.
2022 - In America: An Anthology of Fashion
This theme was the second part of the Metropolitan Museum's examination of American fashion - the first being 2021’s "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion".
Kim Kardashian being the first person to ever be allowed to wear Marilyn Monroe’s iconic ‘Happy Birthday’ dress was perhaps the most iconic look from this year’s Met Gala.
Britt Jones