Met Gala Red Carpet Ideas—From Archival Lacroix to This Season’s Bottega Veneta—Here Are the 38 Looks We’d Love to See

We’re halfway through April which means the The Costume Institute’s new show “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its most iconic celebration—the Met Gala—is nearly upon us. This year the show’s theme is a little more esoteric than usual. The “sleeping beauties” in the show’s title refer to the rich collection of gowns that have been pulled from the depths of the Costume Institute’s vast collection, many of which are being displayed for the first time. As such, “the garden of time,” this year’s official dress code, is actually pretty open-ended; think about how a garden gets its beauty from many different flowers and plants, now imagine the garden is the Met and the flowers are the attendees in looks inspired by fashion’s many historical periods. While at the same time, the garden also nods to the fact that “nature” is one of the unifying themes for the garments in the show.

But that’s not all, as Vogue’s Lilah Ramzi pointed out, the dress code itself holds a clue; “The Garden of Time,” is a short story by JG Ballard about a couple who can only preserve their utopian surroundings against an encroaching mob by picking a flower from their garden every day “until there are none left.” You can guess how it ended. That means there is a sense of destruction and decay—the inevitable effects of the passing of time.

It’s a lot, we get it, but we love to be service-y! In the spirit of community, here are 37 gowns ready for the Met Gala red carpet, no matter your personality type.

If You Think Nothing Is More Romantic Than FloralsIf You Think the Only Thing More Romantic Than Florals Is (Fashion) History

If You Want to Do An Extremely Specific Archive FloralJil Sander, spring 2011

Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com

If You Want to Do Archive Florals, But SexyIf You Want to Do Florals, But You Love A Naked Dress

If You’ve Always Wanted to Say, “It’s Lacroix, Dahling!”Christian Lacroix, spring 1988 couture

Photo: Daniel Simon / Getty Images

If You Just Want to Look HotLudovic de Saint Sernin, fall 2024

Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

If You Just Want to Look Hot and Also You Are Kristen Stewart (Wear the Jacket Open, Remove the White Tights)Chanel, spring 2024 couture

Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

If You’re Doing a Floral, But You Want to Be Extra About ItIf Gardens Immediately Bring to Mind the Magical World of FaeriesPrada, spring 2008

Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images

If You’re Greta LeeLoewe, fall 2024

Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

If You Decide to Wear Something That Could Actually Be In the Show—Or At Least Channel the Period Clothes-VibesBalenciaga, spring 2024

Photo: Courtesy of Balenciaga

If You Decide to Wear Something That Could Actually Be In the Show—Or At Least Channel the Period Clothes-Vibes—And You Love PajamasRochas, fall 2024

Courtesy of Rochas

If You’re Really Into the “Ballardian” Aesthetics of It AllIf You’ve Spent Too Much Time Thinking About the Time Aspect of It All (“Passport Stamps Are Also A Marker of Time, If You Really Think About It!”)Bottega Veneta, fall 2024

Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com

If You’re Really Into Thinking About Time As a Bearer of Destruction and Decay In A Goth Sort of WayIf You’re Really Into Thinking About Time As a Bearer of Destruction and Decay But In A Hopeful Way Because “Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning’s End”