Met Gala 2024 LIVE updates: Cardi B stops red carpet traffic, while Zendaya changes looks

Up until now, much of Sydney Sweeney’s look has been centred around her blonde hair – she’s the classic “girl next door”, but usually with a bit more nuance and depth. Well, all that seems to have changed.

The Anyone But You star debuted her jet-black bob at the Met Gala, creating a wonderful contrast with her powder-blue gown adorned with delicate flower detailing.

The new look is perhaps no surprise given her most recent role in the nunsploitation horror, Immaculate. But for anyone panicking about this apparent shift, worry not.

We’re fairly certain it’s a wig, meaning Sweeney’s golden locks will likely return soon.

So, the celebrities have done their interviews, taken a million photos and made it up the Met steps without falling over. Where do they go now?

What happens inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art on gala day remains murky since no one is allowed to snap pics on their phones or post to social media while isnide (though we all know that rule becomes a grey area in the museum’s bathrooms).

That being said, it’s largely reported that the invitees first walk through the special exhibition – in this case, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion – before making their way into the main room. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll refrain from touching the displays…

Once there, they presumably mingle with their fellow celebs while sipping on drinks, and find their carefully assigned seat (remember, everyone must sit in their Wintour-approved spot). A dinner follows, which is likely inspired by the theme of the evening. Last year, Vogue previewed the dinner, which was inspired by one of Karl Lagerfeld’s most famous gatherings, Paloma Picasso’s wedding reception.

This is often accompanied by a live performance of some kind. In the past, they’ve had Cher, Madonna, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Lizzo. Perhaps this year they’ll get a Wicked preview from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo? Or a new track from Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism album?

And, of course, it all ends with the famous Met Gala after-parties. Brands, designers and celebrities often host their own festivities, with The Standard Hotel’s “Boom Boom Room” a common venue. This is yet another opportunity for A-listers to show off their wares, as many opt to change into something (perhaps a little more scandalous) to party late into the night.

There have been some pretty cryptic interpretations of the theme so far, including singer Rita Ora and her husband, director Taika Waititi, who are both wearing Marni.

Ora’s body stocking ensemble with a multicoloured fringing is hard to decode. Maybe she’s hiding the themed part of the outfit under that curtain? Or perhaps her wet-look hair is meant to be a slow-drip irrigation system? Someone call our friends at ABC’s Gardening Australia for a clue.

As for Waititi, his all-brown leather suit screams just one thing: bark.

Bigger is always better for singer Cardi B who enlisted eight assistants to unfurl the gigantic tulle skirt of her black Met Gala gown on the red carpet.

The scale of this dress is designed to be immortalised in memes, complete with a black turban rivalling Marge Simpson’s hairdo in height.

How the dress fits into the event’s garden theme is difficult to identify, unless it’s made of shade cloth.

Australian actress Nicole Kidman, fresh from being honoured with a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, says she looked to the past to get into the Sleeping Beauties theme.

As an ambassador for Balenciaga, Kidman worked with creative director Demna on the couture gown, which is inspired by a dress from the label’s archives that was created in 1951 by Cristobal Balenciaga and famously photographed on model Dorian Leigh by the late Richard Avedon.

According to Vogue, the dress took 800 hours of hand embroidery to complete, including the application of 3000 feathers that were made from 150 metres of silk organza.

For all the looks at the Met Gala, head to our dedicated gallery of all the celebrity arrivals.

Pamela Anderson, god bless her, has made quite a thing lately about going make-up free, even for red carpet events. In fact, she was pictured arriving at a pre-gala dinner in New York City on Sunday doing just that.

The 56-year-old has been championing the bare-faced look for more than a year in response to Hollywood’s obsession with youth.

“Chasing youth is futile. All we can do is embrace who we are at the moment we are in, and be OK with where our feet stand right now,” the Baywatch star told People magazine in late 2023.

Despite her pledge, the model and actress appears to be wearing make-up to compliment her Oscar de la Renta gown for her first Met Gala appearance. Maybe the powers that be ruled that as much as they dig the activism, the first Monday in May is no time for a bare face.

Alexander McQueen creative director Sean McGirr is pushing the underwhelming reviews of his debut collection for the beloved British label into the background by creating a dramatic dress for singer Lana Del Rey.

The poetic strapless bone gown features a thorny trunk, an embellished rose and enough netting to keep a horde of bees at bay.

With thorns entwined in her hair, Del Rey’s head remained encased in the netting, offering an instant Instagram filter.

This is the drama people expect from McQueen, but we can’t imagine Princess Catherine, who was loyal to McGirr’s predecessor Sarah Burton, wearing this to Windsor Castle.

Kendall Jenner was only three years old when Alexander McQueen created her gown for Givenchy’s 1999 collection, with the model telling La La Anthony on the red carpet that it’s the first time the dress has been worn on a human (it was previously only fitted on a mannequin).

“It was a miracle we found it, it was a miracle that it fit,” she said. “I couldn’t do any tailoring, I couldn’t do anything [to it] … it was meant to be.”

Of course, Jenner’s half-sister Kim Kardashian caused a sleeping beauties scandal of her own at the 2022 Gala, when she wore Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Happy Birthday Mr President dress. Today, she’s wearing a gown by Maison Margiela, but it’s her cardigan – which appears to be pilling? – that’s getting all the attention online.

Speaking to La La Anthony, Kim said she was looking forward to catching up with her family, including mother Kris Jenner (wearing Oscar de la Renta), who all got ready separately for the night.

“I look forward to seeing my sisters,” Kardashian said. “We are all on a group chat before we get here.”

Kylie Jenner is wearing a cream dress that, while not at all on theme, will be on plenty of brides’ mood boards come tomorrow.

Australian actor Naomi Watts is following in Elvis star Austin Butler’s blue suede shoes. After Butler’s star turn in the Baz Luhrmann biopic, Austin found it difficult to ditch his Elvis image.

“I had been practicing one way of using the muscles in my mouth for a long time,” Butler told Esquire. “So it was a process of trying to unlearn those.”

Watts might be having the same issue following her starring role as socialite Babe Paley in the streaming series Feud: Capote vs The Swans.

In custom Balenciaga, one of Paley’s favourite labels, Watts looks ready for a 1960s soirée on the Upper East Side.

Even the net veil, the Botox of the fifties, belongs in the last millennium. It’s time to unlearn those fashion muscles.