Just when it seemed like Zendaya left it all on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet, she had a fashion surprise up her sleeve—in the form of a secret, third look for fashion's biggest night.
The co-chair of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Benefit, this year honoring the exhibit "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," spoke to guests inside the event after quick change out of her second red carpet look. Image architect Law Roach styled Zendaya in a custom gown by Celia Kritharioti, featuring a deep, plunge neckline and hundreds of beaded embellishments.
After wearing an assortment of towering fascinators and bird-inspired accessories on the official carpet, Z let her third dress's dramatic neckline and all-over embellishments do the heavy lifting. She paired them simply with pink drop earrings and glowy, minimal beauty—plus the bleached brows she wore for her second lap up the Met steps.
Celia Kritharoti is a Greek couture designer who's gotten a lot of play in Zendaya's wardrobe recently. On the Challengers press tour, Z and Law Roach had two more custom looks created by the house: first a neon green after party dress embellished with a tennis ball, next a mini dress bedazzled to look like the movie's poster.
Zendaya's blush pink gown was her most understated approach to the evening's "Garden of Time" theme, relatively speaking. The Challengers star kicked off the red carpet in a dramatic blue Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano gown. Her piece, Roach confirmed on Instagram, was inspired by a Dior Spring 1999 dress designed by Galliano. For its "reawakening" on the Met Gala red carpet, the duo added a towering feather fascinator and hyperrealistic grape embellishments on the hip. Zendaya's beauty breakdown amped up the look's drama with red eyeshadow and dark burgundy lips. (Similar gothic looks were a big trend on the carpet.)
Hours later, Zendaya returned to shut down the red carpet in a vintage Givenchy gown, dating from John Galliano's 1996 tenure at the house and sourced from the boutique Lily et Cie. The diaphanous black ballgown featured an off-the-shoulder neckline, a corseted bodice, and a giant train—all emphasized by a giant Phillip Treacy bouquet fascinator originally designed for a 2006 Alexander McQueen collection.
Fashion fans can debate which of Zendaya's three outfits were the best looks of the Met Gala. Everyone can agree that no one did the "Garden of Time" theme quite like its co-chair.
