Who Is Mona Patel? Meet the Met Gala Guest Who Turned Heads with Her Butterfly Dress

The Met Gala included several standout looks this year, but one person who had everyone talking was Mona Patel. 

As soon as she stepped out on the red carpet, the entrepreneur had social media abuzz about her gorgeous butterfly dress by Iris Van Herpen.

Interpreting the Costume Institute exhibit's theme "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" and the dress code "The Garden of Time," Patel donned a form-fitting gown with a gorgeous scalloped train that looked like something straight out of a woodland garden. 

The biggest eye-catcher were the 3D kinetic butterflies that ran up her arms like opera gloves, which opened and closed throughout the night thanks to a motor incorporated into her gown.

So, just who is the “mystery" best-dressed guest that has everyone talking? Learn more about Mona Patel below. 

This was her first Met Gala 

Talk about going big! The 2024 Met Gala actually marked Patel’s debut at the fashion event. Though it marked her first time at the prestigious gala, she is no stranger to the event’s organizer, Vogue, having appeared in the magazine before.  

In November 2021, Vogue wrote a feature on a New York City dinner Patel hosted for her non-profit organization, Couture for Cause. According to the organization’s website, it “aims to drive positive change through fashion and inspire every woman to realize her highest self.” 

A year prior, she met with editor-in-chief Anna Wintour herself at a screening of Emma. She shared her excitement about meeting Wintour online, writing, “My first interactions with the legendary #AnnaWintour at the screening of EMMA last night will be a memorable moment in my life. Thank you @voguemagazine and the #vogue100 team for such an amazing evening❤” 

She was styled by Law Roach

It's no surprise Patel's look was such a standout; in addition to styling multiple looks for Zendaya, who served as a co-chair for the event, famed celebrity stylist Law Roach also worked with Patel on hers. 

According to Vogue, Roach traveled to India to put together Patel’s custom Iris Van Herpen gown, including visiting a factory in Mumbai to talk with members from the designer’s team and traveling across town to select jewels for the look. 

The butterflies in motion on her ensemble were her idea 

Patel was very hands-on when it came to crafting her Met Gala look. In fact, Vogue India reports that the fluttering butterflies that caught people’s attention were actually her idea! The publication notes that the addition to her look “was an accent that [she] collaboratively realised with her friend, kinetic motion artist Casey Curran, who began working on this piece months ahead, only finishing it the day before its red carpet debut on Patel's arms.” 

“I wanted my debut look to be something that celebrates my heritage and also combines my love couture, and when I heard of the theme, Iris Van Herpen seemed like the obvious choice,” Patel told Vogue India ahead of the Met Gala in March. 

She’s an entrepreneur from India 

Patel was originally born in Vadodara, Gujarat, before moving to the United States at a young age to pursue higher education at Rutgers University, according to Vogue India. She eventually settled in the U.S. in 2003 as she built her career as an entrepreneur, and currently resides in Florida, per Forbes. 

In addition to founding her non-profit organization, Couture for Cause, she also founded the health-tech startup radXai and the community group Haute Mindset, per her Instagram. In 2021, she was listed in Forbes’ The Next 1000 list for her achievements. 

She has some impressive degrees

Her impressive career aside, Patel also has quite the college background. On her Instagram, she lists herself as an alum of Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and MIT Sloan School of Management.