Kendall Jenner has become an impressive vintage collector, with a wardrobe full ofAlaïa and of Mugler impeccably preserved, but the Met Gala 2024 might just mark his most impressive archival catch to date.
“I made a dream list of people I would ideally want to go with, and I would die to wear something by Alexander McQueen,” says Kendall Jenner at Vogue. The model delved into her archives Givenchy to find the perfect look forMet Gala. (The late designer was creative director of Givenchy from 1996 to 2001). “The house of Givenchy is in the process of changing its creative director, and it is opening its private archives to Kendall at the Met,” explains Dani Michellethe stylist of Kendall Jenner. “We did a ton of research, including the work of the talented Alexander McQueen, who we remember, and Kendall and I both fell in love with this dress. Amazingly, they had it.”
She therefore becomes the first person to wear one of the fall 1999 looks ofAlexander McQueen for the haute couture collection of Givenchy. The collection was presented on mannequins and was never worn on the catwalk. Since its presentation, the look of Kendall Jenner was kept in the Givenchy archives, where it will return after the model wears it tonight. “He’s been sleeping for 25 years. He’s literally a ‘sleeping beauty,'” explains Kendall Jenner. “It’s such a special moment. I feel very honored that they let me wear it.”
The dress having been kept in impeccable condition, it was forbidden to cut it. “So the big moment of truth was knowing if it suited me, and it literally fit me like a glove,” explains Kendall Jenner. “The rest is history, and I kind of feel like it was meant for me.
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Kendall Jenner chose a never-worn collector’s item for the 2024 Met Gala
Made of nude and black tulle, the dress is covered in more than 100,000 black and brass beads and sequins, which were embroidered by hand for 500 hours. Not only is it an impressive piece of work, but the cutouts at the waist and sculptural, regal collar and shoulders make it a true work of art. “No matter what Kendall does with her style, it has to speak to her, make the look come to life,” says Dani Michelle. “We saw such a story behind the dress, and the darker queen of a Sleeping Beauty story.
Vintage was a particularly inspired choice – and great flexibility on the part of Kendall Jenner – for the exhibition “Sleeping Beauties”, which seeks to examine how we can engage with clothes we can no longer wear. As soon as Jenner learned about the theme of Met Gala 2024, she saw it as an opportunity to indulge her love of vintage and wear clothes that spoke to her. “For me, the theme evoked archives,” explains Kendall Jenner, adding that she also interprets it as “the beauty that has been overlooked.” Plus, “the cut in the back and the low butt – all these beautiful things suit me.”
