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- SA's Tyla stole the show at the Met Gala in a jaw-dropping, form-fitting sculptural gown created entirely of sand by Olivier Rousteing of Balmain.
- Tyla made her debut at the Costume Institute celebration and said that the "Sands of Time" theme was referencing the gala's dress code "Garden of Time".
- The dress was so fragile and difficult to walk in that four male models from the gala had to carry the Grammy-winning artist across the carpet and up the stairs.
South Africa's Tyla was a vision of artistic perfection at the 2024 Met Gala celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The Water singer wore a skin-tight Balmain dress made from top to bottom of multi-shaded sand, to her first Met Gala, honouring the dress code "Garden of Time". Accessories were minimal, except for a silver diamond choker and diamond drop earrings by John Hardy. She carried a clear hourglass-shaped clutch filled with sand. Sand also graced her shoulders and hands in accents.
The dress was so fragile that she needed the assistance of four male models who were assigned to look after the celebrity guests. One of the men had to physically lift her up the cream-coloured carpeted stairs while three other men carried her voluminous train, unfolding and laying it out for photographs at different angles.
Tyla wore her hair in a layered bob with gentle waves. Ahead of her debut on the carpet, the Johannesburg-born beauty told reporters that her gown was inspired by "the sands of time" to reference the evening's theme "garden of time".
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Tyla said with a laugh: "I'm basically wearing sand. It was amazing working with Balmain. We really thought outside the box for this one, which is really exciting, and took hours to get ready."
When asked about her entire look, Tyla said: "So Pat McGrath did my makeup actually, so I mean, she's legendary. She killed it, and I just feel amazing." As for needing to be physically picked up on the Met Gala to get around, she said, "Guys, that's the only way I'm getting up these stairs. That's the only way."
Olivier Rousteing, Balmain's Chief Creative Designer, spent several months planning Tyla's Met Gala outfit with a strapless full-body cast gown. "We measured her a few months ago to make sure she could be covered by sand. The idea was that she can dress this dress once – and then it would become part of the museum (exhibition) – this was the concept of it," he said while showing off a sand face created on his torso.
In an interview with Vogue, Rousteing explained that the inspiration behind Tyla's creation was about redefining boundaries and creating something transient to everlasting. "The idea of sculpting a garment from something as ephemeral as sand ignited my imagination, and I could not be happier with the end result."
From the body cast sculpture, three different shades of sand were infused with micro-crystal studs to add sparkle at all angles, and the dress was draped down into an organza mermaid train, covered entirely in sand.
Dubbed the "Oscars of Fashion", the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has been one of the world's most coveted celebrity style invite-only events, with the dress code this year being "The Garden of Time".
Tickets were upwards of $75 000 (R1.38 million) per person, and a table of 10 was priced at $350 000 (R6.47 million). Each guest must be personally approved by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who chairs the benefit. This year's co-chairs included Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth.
