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No, you don’t have to wear Alexandra McQueen couture to look fab at the ultra-glam Met gala.
You just need to go to….H&M! The trendy brand collaborated with such fashionables as Ciara, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Hudson, Lucky Blue Smith, Pyper America Smith, and Amber Valetta for this year’s Met benefit— always the most photographed and reported on night in fashion.
Taking its cue from this year’s exhibition theme Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, H&M’s atelier created one-of-a kind looks for its special guests using both hand-crafted dressmaking traditions, like embroidery and feathering, and such new-age techniques as crystal pleating and laser cutting.
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Singer Ciara’s intricate and daring dress looked as if it might have been crafted by a jeweler. Pendants of Swarovski crystals hung from a diamond grid of leaf-like metal chain, with a choker neck and sporty racer back.
Actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld wore an emerald green gown that had a cool, clean-cut glamour: its corseted bodice was designed with navette sequins overlaid with silk organza, while the floor-length silk crepe satin skirt showed off a high central split.
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Amber Valletta, Teddy Charles
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“As a personal fan of H&M’s contributions to the fashion industry, I was especially proud to collaborate on a design that marries our tastes and highlights the theme of this year’s Met Gala,” said Steinfeld.
Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson wore a white bodice silk dress that showed the beauty of hand-embellishment with 3D bugle beads, French knots, and hand-melted sequins. The dress was finished by a four-foot train, which Hudson said made her feel “so glamorous.”.
Model Lucky Blue Smith looked sharp in an off-white Italian wool slim tuxedo blazer and white silk shirt, both fastened with Swarovski buttons. Model Pyper America Smith’s iridescent dress brought together machine and man-made techniques with laser-cut vinyl feathers and fringing, all hand-sewn onto a silk tulle base with a sequin bodice.
Model Amber Valletta wore a sleek gown made from sustainable materials. The deep blue silk taffeta dress was embellished with over 1,000 hand-cut and sewn organic silk petals and recycled plastic sequins. Her husband Teddy Charles wore a black wool tuxedo with silk satin wide lapels.
