Swarovski X Met Gala? It’s the collab we always wanted, and most definitely needed.
Swarovski literally shone on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet last night with one-of-a-kind couture looks envisioned by Swarovski Creative Director Giovanna Engelbert. The looks were seen on friends of the House Karlie Kloss, Irina Shayk, Imaan Hammam, and Anok Yai, as well as the designer herself.
This year is the first time that the Austrian house has created couture gowns for the occasion. Swarovski worked with a team of exceptional artisans to construct, embellish, and embroider the five couture creations with hundreds of thousands of crystals and jewels.
Giovanna Engelbert smashed the ‘Garden of Time/Sleeping Beauty’ brief. Her five unique ensembles were inspired by elements of Nature found in the enchanted garden of JG Ballard’s short story. The couture creations were embellished with hundreds of thousands of
precision-cut crystals overlaid with intricate jewels and embroidery. Each look reflected one of Swarovski’s joyful house colours – green, pink, yellow, blue, and white. They were completed with exquisitely-crafted jewellery pieces from its signature families, which merged with the bejewelled gowns.
Giovanna Engelbert revealed: “My vision was for our muses to embody elements of nature found in the enchanted crystalline garden and for their gowns to merge with our jewellery — they metamorphose, becoming one. I wanted to bring the same level of artistry and creativity that we bring to our jewellery. To capture nature’s beauty and joyful spirit as well as the elegance and extravagance of Swarovski at this important moment for fashion and pop culture.”
Swarovski X Met Gala – the looks
Karlie Kloss
Karlie Kloss embodied the crystal Flower that holds the Garden of Time in its spell. Wearing an embroidered pink gown encrusted with Swarovski jewels, her dress appeared to transform into its matching floral jewellery pieces. The silk jersey gown was embroidered with 180,000 light rose crystals. It took a team of seven artisans 225 hours to create. Its hourglass silhouette was accentuated by an ornate jewelled corset swathed in garlands of pink unfurling flowers. It was richly embellished with 60,500 crystals and 75 Florere jewels and took a team of five artisans 1,600 hours to create.
Karlie Kloss represented the crystal flower that holds the Garden of Time in its spell
Irina Shayk
Irina Shayk represented Air in a crystal mesh couture gown that took 200 hours to create. The form-fitting look created the illusion of light skimming her body. It evoked the fluid movement and ethereal nature of the element. The model’s brilliance was intensified with a bespoke Millenia choker and ear cuffs. Layers of Hyperbola and Millenia bracelets, in luminous clear crystal, further accentuated the dramatic look.
Anok Yai
Anok Yai became Water in a futuristic tulle catsuit embellished with glimmering ice blue, sapphire, and aquamarine crystals. Fashioned from diaphanous silk tulle embellished with 98,000 crystals, it created the illusion of jewels shimmering directly on the skin. It took a team of eight over 130 hours to make. Anok’s look was complemented by a dramatic one-of-a-kind showpiece necklace from Swarovski’s Galaxy fine jewellery collection. The necklace crafted with 1,050 lab-grown Swarovski Created Diamonds in seven different cuts with a total weight of 156.62 carats.
Imaan Hammam
Imaan Hammam represented Sun. Her golden two-piece look comprised a crystallised cape and a satin column skirt embellished with a mix of gold crystals. It took a team of seven artisans 14 days to create the cape. Little wonder — it was embellished with 3,456 crystals in a mix of six cuts and five tones. The satin skirt was embroidered with 100,000 crystals. Imaan’s radiance was enhanced with a suite of intricate Gema jewellery in a palette of golden hues.
Giovanna Engelbert
Giovanna Engelbert embodied Nature in an intricately beaded emerald green silk satin gown. It was inspired by a landscape by Viennese artist Gustav Klimt. The bustier was encrusted with rows of green dégradé Millenia crystals. The dress itself was embroidered with green Gema jewels fading into crystal mesh in peridot green. It took a team of artisans over 900 hours to embroider the gown with 20,000 crystals and 35,000 bicone beads in shades of green. Giovanna’s look was completed with matching crystallised gloves and jewellery pieces from Swarovski’s Sublima.
For the after party, the Swarovski muses wore dazzling crystal mesh mini dresses in the brand colours of green, pink, yellow and blue, complementing their Met Gala looks.
