Actress Tommy Dorfman and YouTuber Emma Chamberlain were among the celebrities who sported generation-old crowns. However, it was the editors of Vogue magazine – organizer of the fascinating annual fundraiser – who set the example.
Hamish Bowles attended the Met Gala wearing a 1950s gold feather tiara. Credit: Mike Coppola / Getty Images
The magazine’s global editor, Hamish Bowles, meanwhile opted for a gold feather tiara, giving her white tie suit a bit of sparkle. In an Instagram post he revealed that it was designed by Fulco di Verdura, an Italian duke and jeweler who worked with Chanel in the 1920s and 1930s.
Bowles explained that it was designed to be worn by philanthropist Betsey Whitney to a ball at Buckingham Palace in London in 1957 – and has not been worn in public since then, he added.
“I saw it (a) chez Verdura a decade or more ago, fell in love with it and never thought that one day I would have my Eliza Doolittle wear it,” he explained in the caption.
YouTuber Emma Chamberlain wore a vintage Cartier crown. Credit: Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images
The theme spanned generations, with Chamberlain sporting a tiara made by Cartier in 1911, nine decades before his birth. He completed the look with a Louis Vuitton crop top and a foot-length white shirt.
Elsewhere, Dorfman accessorized her daring Christopher Kane cut-out dress with a bag that read “Protect Trans Kids” and an elegant vintage tiara. He told People magazine that his crown was “nearly 200 years old, which is pretty sensational.”
There were plenty of other headdresses on display, with hats and fascinators seen throughout the evening. Among the most dramatic was model Winnie Harlow’s headdress, designed by Iris Van Herpen. Sarah Jessica Parker has meanwhile enlisted master milliner Philip Treacy for his impressive feathered design.
Tommy Dorfman said his tiara was nearly 200 years old. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum
One of the evening’s co-hosts, Blake Lively, took a more contemporary approach in a tiara custom designed by jeweler Lorraine Schwartz.
Blake Lively’s custom tiara honored the Statue of Liberty. Credit: Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images
“‘Who really counts the stones?’” She recalled Schwartz had asked her. “‘I’, she replied with a laugh.” I’m a Virgin. “
Image caption above: Anna Wintour at the Met Gala.