Like her fashion tether Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker will always dress to impress. And when it comes to the Met, she goes all out. For the 2024 Met Gala, Parker pushed the “Garden of Time” dress code to its sartorial limits in an extravagant Richard Quinn birdcage-esque number.
Parker got the idea to approach Quinn about the Met when And Just Like That… costume designer Molly Rogers floated the idea of the British designer contributing to the season three costumes. “Molly was kind enough to connect us with his team, we started a conversation, and here we are,” Parker tells Vogue.
The piece shares similarities with looks from Quinn’s spring 2024 collection. “His most recent collection coincidentally had pieces that, in many ways, communicated or inferred the Met theme as we understood it,” Parker says. “I had gone to the Sargent and Fashion exhibit at the Tate Britain and been inspired by a few works of art I saw there, but it was his collection that really seemed to instinctively interpret the theme.”
The foundational wire frame is essential to the look, and underscores the theme of ephemerality. “Hand-cut lace is appliquéd over the frame, appearing to grow around it and adding a subtle floral element to the design,” Quinn tells Vogue of the skeletal dress. “The crystals incorporate a level of hardness and unbreakability, glistening across the fragile lace below.” Quinn, for his part, was particularly inspired by the idea of preservation. “I have always been fascinated by the enduring beauty of archival clothing from times gone by,” he says. “With this dress, we wanted to play on the idea of preservation; the dress appears so fragile as to be almost ephemeral, but with care and consideration it has been built to last.”
Last night’s Met marks SJP’s 12th time attending since her first year in 1995, when she wore a thrifted black velvet dress. Over the years, she’s developed a reputation for being one to watch on the carpet, from her matching tartan with Lee McQueen to her ornate gold headpiece from 2018’s “Heavenly Bodies.”
When looking back at past Mets, perhaps the most memorable, in Parker’s eyes, is 2013. “[I had] to sit on the floor of a car the entire ride uptown, literally on the ground, with Hamish Bowles beside me sitting properly in a seat. That is a great memory. First of all because it was with Hamish which was so special,” she says, “but also because it was just the perfect example and illustration of the lengths you go to when the Met matters to you, and what you do to try to get it right and not disturb any of the details that have been [planned for] months—protecting every ribbon, every detail, every flounce, all of the architecture of a headpiece, and so on.”
Parker is keenly aware that the entire event is a product of great artists coming together. “Your own comfort, it becomes very low priority,” she says. “The priority is trying to present properly. It’s your responsibility to take care of the elements, on behalf of the designer, the milliner, hair stylist, makeup artist.”
But, she notes, “This year, I’ll be standing.”
See how Sarah Jessica Parker got ready for the 2024 Met Gala here:
See All of the Celebrity Looks From the Met Gala 2024 Red Carpet:
Met Gala 2024: See Every Celebrity Arrival, Read the Latest Stories, and Get Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Access Here
