IN PICS | Celebs sparkle and dazzle at the 2021 Met Gala

Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X and Yara Shahidi wowed at the star-studded event, which celebrated American fashion

14 September 2021 - 08:52 By Benjamin Kellerman
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Billie Eilish stuns in an Oscar de la Renta gown.
Billie Eilish stuns in an Oscar de la Renta gown.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Actor Timothee Chalamet, singer Billie Eilish and rapper Lil Nas X kicked off a sparkling, youth-inspired Met Gala red carpet on Monday celebrating the best of American fashion.

Dune star Chalamet, one of the four Gen Z co-chairs of the so-called Oscars of the East Coast, sported a white silk suit with black lapels and white high-top sneakers.

Grammy-winner Eilish, 19, shed her trademark baggy clothes for a plunging Oscar de la Renta peach gown that she said was inspired by Marilyn Monroe.

Lil Nas X makes a grand entrance at the 2021 Met Gala.
Lil Nas X makes a grand entrance at the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: John Shearer/WireImage via Getty Images
Lil Nas X attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Lil Nas X attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Lil Nas X attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Lil Nas X attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Lil Nas X, 22, the gay Black musician behind hit song Old Town Road, wowed with a gold suit of armour that he took off to reveal a crystal-inspired bodysuit.

Poet Amanda Gorman chose a blue Vera Wang gown and crystal laurel crown headpiece that she said was intended to make her look like a “reimagined statute of liberty”.

Amanda Gorman attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Amanda Gorman attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Timothée Chalamet attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Timothée Chalamet attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Also turning heads was the daughter of late basketball star Kobe Bryant, Natalia, who made her Met Gala debut in a colourful Connor Ives frock.

Chalamet, Gorman and Eilish, along with tennis player Naomi Osaka, are all under the age of 25, reflecting an event intended to highlight young designers and celebrities.

“What's so exciting about this year is that we're really focusing on the future of American fashion,” Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, who organises the event, told Good Morning America ahead of the gala.

Anna Wintour attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Anna Wintour attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Natalia Bryant attends the 2021 Met Gala
Natalia Bryant attends the 2021 Met Gala
Image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

The invitation-only Met Gala is a fundraising benefit for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and also marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibition which this year is titled In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.

Osaka wore a Japanese-inspired blue-and-red gown with a dramatic headpiece, while Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams chose a dramatic black outfit with an elaborately sculpted headdress she said was inspired by the Matrix films.

Schitt's Creek actor Dan Levy opted for a bold, puff-sleeved creation featuring artwork on the front that showed two men kissing.

Dan Levy attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Dan Levy attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Naomi Osaka attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Naomi Osaka attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: John Shearer/WireImage

Met Gala regulars Rihanna, Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid also stunned as they made their grand entrances at the star-studded event.

Gigi Hadid attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Gigi Hadid attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: John Shearer/WireImage
Kendall Jenner attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Kendall Jenner attends the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
ASAP Rocky and Rihanna attend the 2021 Met Gala.
ASAP Rocky and Rihanna attend the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Many of the celebrities were first-timers at the Met Gala, including YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, Black-ish TV star Yara Shahidi, and Brooklyn Beckham, son of British soccer player David Beckham.

Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz attend the 2021 Met Gala.
Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz attend the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Yara Shahidi at the 2021 Met Gala.
Yara Shahidi at the 2021 Met Gala.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Last year's Met Gala was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Monday's gathering was about a third smaller than usual with about 300 guests, with proof of vaccination required, though they did not wear masks while posing for their entrances. 

• Additional reporting by Khanyisile Ngcobo.

Reuters


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now