Who needs to go to the gym when you’re wearing a designer dress that weighs 100 pounds?
There was a new virus going around New York City last night. It’s name is Met Gala Stairs-itis and there’s no known cure (besides, you know, choosing an outfit and/or footwear you can actually walk in).
In case you missed it, on May 6, the biggest stars in movies, music and fashion hit the botanical green carpet of the 2024 Met Gala, outfitted with the evening’s “Garden of Time” dress code in mind. As expected, there were a lot of hits (yes, Mindy!), a few misses (really, Doja Cat?) and many celebs who were rendered temporarily immobile in the name of fashion.
Cardi B’s gargantuan gown required the help of eight burly men to maneuvre. Tyla went viral for being picked-up like a Barbie doll to get up the sprawling steps, as her dress wouldn’t allow her to bend her knees. Even Elle Fanning was captured breaking into a discreet side shuffle to get around.
But what is beauty, if not pain? Who needs to walk, breathe or eat when you look that good? (*Sarcasm*) Certainly not these stars. Scroll to see which other attendees were captured struggling in their Met Gala gowns.
Cardi B
@culted Cardi B said “idgaf about your personal space” with this huge @giambattistavalli gown at the Met Gala Wdyt of this look? 📸: @crfashionbook / @metmuseum #cardib #metgala #metgala2024 #fashion #celebrity #giambattistavalli #tiktokfashion ♬ originalljud – KC
How many people does it take to help one rapper climb the Met Gala stairs? If you’re Cardi B, the answer is eight! Closing out the red carpet, Cardi B arrived in an enormous black tulle creation by the up-and-coming Chinese-Belgian brand Windowsen.
Seemingly swallowing her whole, the gown required no less than eight handlers anytime the rapper needed to move, which, considering there are about 60 stairs at the Met main entrance, was a lot! No news yet on how she got to her seat for the dinner portion of the evening, but we’re praying she didn’t take out all the decadently decorated tables with her.
Tyla
@livinwithnic @Tyla looked absolutely STUNNING 😍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 #metgala2024 #metgala #metmonday #tylawater #tyla #tylametgala #metgalalooks #popculture #livinwithnic ♬ Barbie World – <3
For most people, being lifted by a series of strong men is a smut-like fantasy, but for South African singer and songwriter, Tyla, it was a logistical nightmare. Sporting a Balmain creation made entirely of sand (sands of time, get it?) the first-time Met Gala-attendee went viral when a video of her being carried up the stairs hit the internet. The dress was so fragile and form-fitting, Tyla was physically unable to bend her body enough to sit. So what did Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing do? Once inside, he took a pair of scissors and cut his own creation. How she actually ate food is yet to be determined.
Gigi Hadid
@met_gala.2024 Gigi hadid for the met gala . #gigihadid #viral #fyp #foryou #metgala #2024 #xyzbca ♬ original sound – star.felixx
Thom Browne knew what he was doing when he designed Gigi Hadid’s Met Gala gown. While it still took four grown men to help the supermodel up the red carpet, the dress actually had two layers. The first was a column-like gown that acted as the base and can be seen peeking through the top. And the second was a removable voluminous skirt that took a team of 40 people more than 8,500 hours to embroider. As a Met Gala veteran, Hadid has clearly learned to prioritize practicality. She wore a similar under- and outerlayer system for the 2022 event, with a removable coat by Versace.
Elle Fanning
There comes a time in every woman’s life when she needs to side step, and for Elle Fanning, her time was the 2024 Met Gala. After making her entrance in an iridescent Balmain gown, Elle Fanning was a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued from the Met Gala stairs. Ever the quick thinker, the Maleficent actress decided to side-saddle her way to the top, with the help of two possible princes in waiting (i.e. dreamy Met volunteers). But she clearly didn’t have a chip, or rather bird, on her shoulder, as Fanning was captured giggling through the whole experience. Consider her Disney Princess status cemented.
Kim Kardashian
@kardashianstan__ Kim Kardashian at the 2024 Met Gala! #kimkardashian #kardashians #metgala #viral #foryoupage ♬ original sound – kardashianstan__
The 2024 Met Gala was not Kim Kardashian’s night. First, it’s rumoured she had a last-minute wardrobe malfunction with her Maison Margiela gown, hence the grey shrug and her claw-like hand clutching onto it for dear life. Then, she had to play a one person game of dodgeball, as Lana Del Rey’s tree dress kept threatening to hit her during their joint Vogue interview. But the last straw was during dinner service. According to the latest podcast episode of “The Run-Through with Vogue,” Zac Posen had to come to the Skims founder’s rescue when she was stranded on another set of stairs. Struggling with her dress, Posen apparently “moved her like a chess piece,” so she could get where she was going. At least she managed to find some slippers later on that night.
Nicki Minaj
@voguegermany @Nicki Minaj at the #metgala 2024. #voguegermany #metgala2024 #nickiminaj #nickiminajchallenge #nickiminajedit #nickiminajvideos #metgalastyle #metgalalooks ♬ original sound – Stan 🙂
At first glance, Nicki Minaj seems to have outsmarted the system: wear something short but sweet and have heels you can actually walk in. But according to the Vogue podcast, the drama happened inside The Met, when it came time to sit for dinner. You see, the rapper’s Marni gown, made of painted satin fabric, actually featured a plethora of protruding metal petals. Because of this, she was unable to sit in a chair with a back. So the organizers of the event brought her a stool for the remainder of the night, and she apparently was one of the first celebs to stand after dinner was over, as the outfit was so uncomfortable to sit in. No pain, no gain indeed.
