Can sustainable fashion exist at the MET GALA?
The Met Gala, the biggest night of fashion took place last week, with a theme centered around the Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain from the time period between from 1870 to 1890. From vintage dresses to repurposed materials, this year’s gala witnessed a growing number of celebrities embracing the eco glam on the red carpet.
In this edition of Greenspiration, we’ve rounded up the biggest eco-glamorous moments from fashion’s biggest night-out! They may not have embraced the Met Gala’s assignment but they sure did the planet’s.
©Jason Schmidt / Courtesy of Thom Browne
The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City, which is also popularly regarded as the world’s most prestigious celebrity fashion event.
©Vanity Fair
The event isn’t usually a big one for sustainable fashion, purely because of the nature of the event, which asks attendees to dress to a set theme, and where brands tend to create couture pieces for this special night. But times are changing and there has never been more of a movement for vintage and up-cycled fashion than there is right now, especially on the red carpet, where celebrities have been dipping into the archive to create one-of-a-kind moments, than opting for something brand new or worn for only once. This is a great message for sustainability - and the eco-glam red-carpet fashion trend has also been seen in celebrities rewearing designs more than once and in designers choosing to repurpose old materials, in order to leave less of a footprint with their creations.
#01
Kim Kardashian
re-wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Jean-Louis dress
©Kim Kardashian
Kardashian channelled Marilyn Monroe, wearing the actual gown that the Hollywood icon wore for one of her most famous performances - which is also one of the most well-known pop-culture moments of all time.
©Getty Images
Kardashian hit the red carpet in the Jean-Louis dress that Monroe wore to sing 'Happy Birthday Mr. President' to John F Kennedy in 1962. Creating a huge stir at the time, the dress was covered in crystals but almost completely sheer, and Monroe is said to have been sewn into the dress moments before stepping on stage.
#02
Billie Eilish
Gen-Z icon rocks upcycled GUCCI
©John Shearer / Getty Images
“ I just wanted to be as eco-friendly as possible. ”
Sustainability was also on the mind of Billie Eilish, who wore a completely upcycled Gucci gown to the event. "I just wanted to be as eco-friendly as possible," she said on the red carpet.
Her Met Gala gown had been created for her by Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele, but made from entirely upcycled fabrics that are already existing, so as not to create any additional waste.
#03
Emma Stone
giving her wedding dress a second life
©Getty Images
When it came to deciding what she should wear to the 2022 Met Gala, Emma Stone looked inside her own existing wardrobe, giving her wedding dress (a garment that is typically worn once), a second life!
©Louis Vuitton
The stunning white feathery gown was a handmade Louis Vuitton design with intricate lace embellishments and silk.
#04
Emily Ratajkowski
Sizzles In Vintage Versace
©Emily Ratajkowski
Kardashian was not the only star to opt for vintage, either. Model Emily Ratajkowski also took the opportunity to wear something from seasons' past, rather than having something new made.
©Neville Marriner / ANL / Shutterstock
Ratajkowski's dress was last worn by model Yasmeen Ghauri on a 1992 Versace runway - making its Met Gala reappearance a moment around three decades in the making.
#5
Camila Cabello
channeling activism with her up-cycled
Prabal Gurung gown
©Camila Cabello
“ I feel like we are remembering now that the most valuable things are finite resources in the natural world. “
©Camila Cabello
Referring to the Met Gala’s theme this year, the Gilded Age, the pop singer Camila Cabello made a statement that the Gilded Age was a time of industrialization and values of materialism that had since led us to the climate crisis today.
©Getty Images
The singer took to Instagram saying, “I wanted to do something that was sustainable and upcycled and covered in flowers because I feel like we are remembering now that the most valuable things are finite resources in the natural world.” Cabello’s upcycled white and floral two-piece, designed by Prabal Gurung, featured high-collar, strappy detailing around the chest and waist, and a large train.
#06
Amber Valletta
shining in gold vintage Azzaro
©Getty Images
Model, actress and sustainable fashion activist Amber Valletta dipped into the archives for her 2022 Met Gala look, choosing this high-shine, pleated, 1980s design by Azzaro. Her stylist Karla Welch found this 1980s gold pleated lamé gown designed by Loris Azzaro from Los Angeles shop Aralda Vintage.
©Getty Images
The vintage Azzaro high-shine gold for a literal take on the gilded glamour theme. Valletta has spent the better part of the last decade as an advocate for sustainable and ethical fashion methods, and has been named as Fashion Institute of Technology’s first sustainability ambassador.
#07
Gabriela Hearst
refashioning luxury glam
©Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Chloé’s creative director Gabriela Hearst arrived on the carpet with her crew, stand-up comedian Amy Schumer, tennis player Venus Williams, and climate justice activist, Xiye Bastida all dressed in Chloé outfits made from deadstock (which are garments that did not sell or have never been worn).
©Getty Images
Hearst is a pioneer of sustainability and makes it a priority to create garments for her namesake label as well as Chloé using recycled materials and pre-existing fabrics.
#08
Adut Akech
wearing a vintage Christian Lacroix gown backwards
©Adut Akech
Adut Akech wore a vintage Christian Lacroix gown to the Gala. The dress was sourced from Shrimpton Couture, a vintage reseller. Adut Akech worn the emerald green gown backwards, giving it a whole new look. Adut Akech looked breathtaking in an off-the-shoulder, plunging, green gown for the event which was actually from Christian Lacroix's autumn/winter 2003 collection.
©Shrimpton Couture