Met Gala 2024
Known as the “Fashion’s biggest night out,” the Met Gala 2024 took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. This year’s exhibit was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” and it explored how technology can reimagine garments and bring life to the old and fragile ones. The guests attended the prestigious event wearing outfits that fit this year’s dress code “The Garden of Time.” This sartorial theme was inspired by a J.G. Ballad 1962 short story, where a count cuts a rose from his garden to slow down time until there are no flowers left. The story’s nightmarish undertone, along with the exhibit’s futuristic emphasis brought a lot of florals to techno-inspired fashion on the carpet of this iconic fundraising gala.
Alia Bhatt, attended the event for the second time this year and this time she made a stunning appearance in a custom Sabyasachi saree. The exquisite floral handcrafted saree along with the finely crafted Sabyasachi jewellery and mess hair bun perfectly synced with the theme. Her saree featured precious gemstones and a 23-foot-long train, taking approximately 1965 hours for a team of 163 people to make. Actress Zendaya owned the carpet with one of her boldest looks yet featuring a custom gown by designer John Galliano and a feather fascinator. She looked outstanding with her gothic makeup and very Carrie Bradshaw headpiece.
Singer Tyla made her Met Gala debut in a Balmain dress made of sand, with an hourglass purse, referring to the sands of time. Her look was absolutely stunning and the singer’s movement was so restricted that she had to be carried up the stairs. Purse stole the show in singer Camila Cabello’s outfit too, who carried a literal ice block with a frozen rose inside as her purse on the night. Another on-theme outfit was worn by singer Nicki Minaj, who showed up in a yellow Marni mini-dress, adorned with 3D flowers of different shapes and sizes.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid wore a Thom Brown gown which was the most innovative way to go floral without following any cliches. The corset top and falling jacket were decorated with yellow roses, embroidered with millions of beads. Actress Greta Lee looked like a futuristic white swan in the sheer white Loewe Dress with a structured silhouette. Demi Moore brought some arrows with her and delivered one of the best looks of the night wearing a velvet dress designed by Harris Reed.
A lot of attendees followed the goth theme to merge floral with futuristic combining both of the ideas of this year’s Met Gala. Lana Del Rey was a vision in a custom Alexander McQueen piece from nearly two decades ago. Her headpiece created with natural Hawthorn branches was the highlight of the outfit. Spanish singer Rosalía decided to go all black with a vintage Dior dress, gloves, and a headpiece. Bad Bunny looked dapper in a Renaissance-inspired custom Maison Margiela suit in navy blue and white threading resembling pinstripes. The rapper and singer carried a floral bouquet made to look like gothic flowers.
The biggest dress of the night was worn by Cardi B. Known for her dramatic entrance, the singer arrived in a black bespoke gown by Chinese designer Windowsen, with nine men helping her carry her dress. The huge emeralds on her necklace, earrings, and rings bedazzled her goth out. But it was the Swarovski girls who bedazzled the green carpet, with their outfits representing different elements. Irina Shayk, Karlie Kloss, Anok Yai, Imaan Hammam, and Giovanna Engelbert were covered in blinding crystals from head to toe showcasing air, flowers, water, Sun, and nature respectively.
Special shoutout to Mona Patel, an Indian entrepreneur, who stole the show in an Iris Van Herpen dress with moving butterflies, looking absolutely mesmerising.
Cannes Film Festival 2024
The 77th Cannes Film Festival, one of the most awaited and talked about events, took place this year from 14th May to 25th May in the city of Cannes, on the French Riviera. The 12-day-long annual event, also known as Festival de Cannes, previews new films of all genres from various film industries across the world. The festival hosts premieres and special screenings for long and short forms of international films, including documentaries, which compete in several categories. This year, the jury for feature films was led by jury president Hollywood filmmaker Greta Gerwig, deciding the winners in main categories.
This year’s Cannes was especially remarkable for the Indian film industry, even before the festival began. ‘All We Imagine as Light’, directed by Payal Kapadia, made history by becoming the first Indian film to compete for feature film awards in the last three decades. The film received an eight-minute standing ovation on the premiere, and the Grand Prix award, the second most prestigious award of the event after Palme d’Or. The cast of ‘All We Imagine as Light’ celebrated this historical honour by dancing on the red carpet, very Indian style, before the screening.
Another historical win for Indian cinema was brought by actress Anasuya Sengupta, who became the first Indian actress to win the Best Actress award at the esteemed film festival for her performance in the movie ‘Shameless’. The Palme d’Or, Cannes’ most prestigious prize, was won by American filmmaker Sean Baker, for the comedy-drama ‘Anora’. Three Honorary Palme d’Or were awarded this year to Hollywood legend Meryl Streep, Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, and Star Wars famed actor George Lucas for their exceptional contribution to cinema.
The star-studded celebration of cinema is incomplete without mentioning the stunning red carpet appearances. Like every other year, Cannes 2024 gave us unforgettable red carpet moments with numerous iconic looks by actors and filmmakers. Bollywood diva Aditi Rao Hydari walked the red carpet at the screening of the film L’Amour Ouf (Beating Hearts) wearing a black and white custom Gaurav Gupta couture. Kiara Advani wore a pink and black gown with a large bow to the Red Sea Film Foundation’s Women in Cinema Gala. Her gorgeous yellow gold Rs. 30-crore BVLGARI Serpenti necklace and a pink gold BVLGARI ring stood out in her vintage Hollywood glam look. Preity Zinta made a triumphant return to the Cannes red carpet after 17 years and stunned the fans in the bedazzling pink saree, designed by Seema Gujral.
Hollywood actress Anya Taylor-Joy shone in a nude strapless Dior gown covered in crystals, paired with a diamond-encrusted Tiffany necklace for the premiere of her movie ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’. Supermodel Bella Hadid chose a dramatic, clinched black Versace gown for the red carpet. Actress Cate Blanchett made a statement regarding the ongoing war in Israel showing up in a black dress by Jean Paul Gaultier, while the back of the dress was pale pink and had a green interior lining. Selena Gomez looked gorgeous in a black and white Saint Lauren gown for the premiere of her film ‘Emilia Pérez.
The Award Winners
Palme d’Or: ‘Anora’ (Directed by Sean Baker)
Grand Prix: ‘All We Imagine as Light’ (Directed by Payal Kapadia)
Jury Prize: ‘Emilia Pérez’ (Directed by Jacques Audiard)
Special Prize (Prix Spécial): ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ (Written and directed by Mohammad Rasoulof)
Best Actress: Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez for ‘Emilia Pérez’
Best Actor: Jesse Plemons for ‘Kinds of Kindness’
Best Director: Miguel Gomes for ‘Grand Tour’
Best Screenplay: ‘The Substance’, Coralie Fargeat
Camera d’Or: ‘Armand’, Halfdan Ullman Tondel
Camera d’Or Special Mention: ‘Mongrel’, Chiang Wei Liang, You Qiao Yin
Short Film Palme d’Or: ‘The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent’, Nebojša Slijepčević
Short Film Special Mention: ‘Bad for a Moment’, Daniel Soares
Golden Eye Documentary Prize: ‘Ernest Cole: Lost and Found’ and ‘The Brink of Dreams’
Queer Palm: ‘Three Kilometers to the End of the World’
Palme Dog: Kodi, ‘Palm Dog’
