Met Gala 2024: Where were all the women and POC designers?

Elsewhere, new McQueen creative director Seán McGirr scored a coup by dressing Lana Del Rey in a Widows of Culloden-inspired look, while Daniel Lee decked Barry Keoghan and Dazed cover star Little Simz out in bespoke Burberry. And Nicole Kidman, Rachel Sennott, and Michelle Yeoh all stepped into Balenciaga couture by Demna. But as the guests piled up and into the venue, the question arose: where were all the non-white, non-male designers? 

Of course, this is not a new problem and at this point seems almost redundant to even point out – it’s a question that has been asked time and time again. Fashion’s long-standing issue with diversity refuses to go away, largely because the industry’s biggest players refuse to make meaningful change within their ranks. 

Right now, just a tiny clutch of the world’s best-known houses are headed up by people of colour, among them Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams, Balmain by Olivier Rousteing, Ferragamo by Maximilian Davis, and Kenzo by Nigo. Even fewer of them are steered by women. Of the top 30 luxury fashion brands in the world, just one is led by a woman of colour: Sandra Choi at Jimmy Choo. 

With Louis Vuitton sitting out Met Gala dressing this year, and Kenzo and Ferragamo absent among attendees, there was a huge, gaping hole where any creative diversity might usually be on show. Rousteing dressed a number of guests, including “Water” singer Tyla, who was meme-ably carried up the stairs in a dress made from millions of grains of sand, but other designers of colour represented on the runway were limited to just a handful. 

CFDA Prize winner and LVMH Prize nominee Raul Lopez of Luar was behind a glittering lemon look worn by Lil Nas X, while rising NY name-to-know Willy Chavarria created a slick tailored suit that paid tribute to legendary late Vogue editor André Leon Talley for Colman Domingo. Cardi B opted for an enormous black confection care of Windowsen, while Precious Lee was transformed into a dark winged angel by Bad Binch Tong Tong, both of whom are of Chinese origin. But perhaps best of all was Erykah Badu, who called on Rei Kawakubo for a custom Comme look. 

With Rihanna missing from the green carpet, reportedly due to a last-minute bout of flu, there was also disappointment from in-the-know fashion fans across the globe. In the weeks leading up to the event, rumours swirled that burgeoning former Fashion East designer, London’s Jawara Alleyne, would be creating a custom look for the icon, after she was seen out in a succession of looks from his AW24 collection. Ri went on to tell editor Mel Ottenberg Alleyne was her “new favourite designer” in a conversation accompanying her internet-breaking Interview cover, so it seemed like a no-brainer. However, whether she intended to wear his work remains unclear.

Of course, the Met Gala in 2024 is less about creativity than it is shoehorning in the brands that have enough cash to fork out for a table and host the world’s biggest celebs (who themselves come with their own expensive lists of demands), and it’s this cash that continues to fund the stellar exhibitions put on by the Met. But it’s no surprise, when you consider the stats, that designers of colour don’t really stand a chance of being seen on the institutions’s steps when the first Monday in May rolls around. 

Since making false promises alluding to change within its ranks in 2020, as the Black Lives Matter movement picked up steam across the world, fashion has largely gone back to business as usual. The theme for the 2024 Met Gala was Sleeping Beauties. Perhaps it is time that the industry finally woke up and gave some of the world’s most slept-on designers the seat at the table they deserve – both when it comes to the glittering, annual event, and far, far beyond.