It was a rather short break in between two Met Galas this time, with the 2021 edition pushed to September last year, showcasing the first half of the theme, ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’. The theme continued this year with the dress code on the invites specifying ‘Gilded Glamour’, an ode to the extravagance in fashion from Gilded Age New York (around 1870-1890).
Not everyone followed the memo, but the looks served by the attendees in terms of makeup and accesories were a lot to be excited about.
Several celebrities were seen sporting the trendy minimal, dewy look with nude lips. Model Kendal Jenner and actor Maise Williams made their bare-skin-nude-lips look edgier by sporting bleached brows. Model Gigi Hadid chose to go deeper on her lips with her glowing natural makeup to match her Versace outfit. Actor Sophie Turner and model Kaia Gerber (supermodel Cindy Crawford’s daughter) made a strong case for loving curls with Gerber making the photographers love her massive waist-length (extension heavy, Gerber naturally sports a blunt bob). Blinged hair accessories were also a thing; Natasha Poonawalla’s Indian interpretation of the theme in a Sabyasachi jewelled headband is one of our top favourites. TV show Euphoria’s presence was also felt with many stars such as musician Alicia Keys, and Fredrik Robertsson making face stickers the highlight of their looks. Actor Dove Cameron made her Iris van Herpen outfit look more surreal with water droplet stickers around the eyes.
Here are our favourite, easy-to-replicate looks from the red carpet.
Maude Apatow: Vintage glamour
Maude Apatow made up for all the no-makeup looks she mostly sported in the show Euphoria with classic old Hollywood glam created by artist Kelsey Deenihan Fisher. Vintage curls, delicate kohl-lined eyes with natural-looking fluttery lashes and deep red lips, Apatow kept the makeup subtle to let her multistrand Cartier diamond neckpiece get all attention. What makes this look fresh and millennial is that Fisher kept her brows brushed and full instead of the over-plucked skinny brows seen on yesteryear actors.
Quannah Chasinghorse: One-and-done shadow
Model Quannah Chasinghorse was the talk of the fashion world early this year having walked for the biggest fashion houses at fashion weeks. For her Met look, Chasinghorse opted for a floaty blue Prabal Gurung dress in blue which she matched her eyeshadow with. Makeup artist Carolina Dalí-Trites added just a little silver highlight to open the eyes more in the inner corner and centre of the eyes. You can also try this trend by opting for a contrast colour wash on your eyes, think yellow eyeshadow with a pink dress. Model Iris Law also used a similar colour combination to match her blue gown.
Paloma Elsesser: blurred cut crease
Insta girls have now made cut-crease a must-try look, especially since bright eye colours made a comeback last year. Model Paloma Elsesser perfectly paired her muted corset with a lace skirt by Coach (one of the few stars who got the fashion from the era right), with a muted cut-crease to match. The dark brown shadow in her crease is buffed to merge with the shimmery eyeshadow that covers her lids, and the same colour is used to gently create a corner for the eyes, which was only visible in certain photos.
Bella Hadid: Face-framing braids
Insta-favourite girls such as Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid have made face-framing braids an it girl's choice for a post. Little did we know that Hadid would end up adding those braids to do a modern take on Gilded Age hair.
Olivia Rodrigo: Purple haze
Pantone’s Very Peri has now become a fashion favourite, with purples and lilacs becoming a red-carpet hit too. Singer Olivia Rodrigo matched her purple Versace number with matching butterfly accessories, sheer gloves in the same colour and a smoky purple eye too. And still managed to look perfect, showing the matchy can be good too.
Lucy Boyton: Champagne lashes
Makeup artist Jo Baker decided that stickers aren’t just for the eyes but lashes too and created champagne lashes (inspired by bubbles in a champagne glass) for actor Lucy Boynton. She used tiny pearlescent beads and crystals to create the look, highlighting them with a strong liner on the upper and lower lashes.
