It wouldn't be the Met Gala without a Gigi Hadid sighting. This year, she hasn't made fans wait long to deliver her most dramatic gown yet.
Gigi Hadid ascended the Metropolitan Museum of Art's famed steps in a custom sculptural look by Thom Browne. The look featured an off-the-shoulder neckline, sweeping train, and trumpet hem. It's the first time she's worn the New York City-based label to a Met Gala event.
Hadid interpreted the evening's "Garden of Time" dress code, selected in honor of the exhibit "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" in a literal fashion with floral motifs. The model, whose dress featured a lace-up corset along the back bodice, was encircled with sunny yellow roses and green thorny vines.
Per Vogue, 70 people worked on Hadid's incredible gown, which took 13,500 hours to make by hand. Following tonight's gala, the gown will remain in Thom Browne's permanent archive.
Working with longtime stylist Mimi Cuttrell, Hadid accessorized with a sparkling 18k white and yellow gold necklace from Chopard featuring over 50 carats of diamonds, alongside drop earrings and rings, all from the jewelry houses' Haute Joaillerie and L´Heure du Diamant Collection.
The model and Guest in Residence founder embraced the evening's botanical dress code down to her fingertips. Celebrity nail artist Mei Kawajiri painted Hadid's Met Gala manicure in a remixed French style featuring 3-D yellow flower embellishments over a thick coat of nude polish.
In her beauty alone, Hadid's look is a 180-degree turn from her outfit from the 2023 Met Gala. Last year, she attended the event honoring the "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" exhibit in a moody deconstructed corset dress by Matthew Williams for Givenchy. The outfit featured a gothic black lace train and hip cut-outs, with a half-up topknot and vampy eye makeup to match.
Over nearly a decade of Met Gala appearances, Hadid has sampled everything from an armor-like silver dress by Tommy Hilfiger (for the 2016 installment) to a one-shoulder Versace gown beaded to resemble stained glass (for the 2018 Gala). Her looks have only gotten more detailed and dramatic with time: Hadid's first Met Gala, in 2015, was also her most understated. Then, she wore a simple Diane von Furstenberg column gown with rosette details along the bodice.
While the model is fearless enough to try a fully floral ball gown, she still gets jitters about another part of the Met Gala experience. "I think the scary part's the drive," she told Vogue last year. "You're standing up and swaying as [the drivers] make turns, and then I'm like, 'Can I sit down?'"
