Guests who attended the Met Gala looked to the past for outfit inspiration, and one accessory in particular stood out. The velvet tiara on the dress worn by Ed Koch in the night’s center took center stage.
Actors Tommy Dorfman and Emma Chamberlain, as well as YouTuber Hannah Hart and singer Bebe Rexha, were among the celebrities sporting vintage headpieces at the Costume Institute Gala, an annual fundraiser organized by Vogue magazine. However, it was the editors of Vogue who led by example: Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour swapped her signature sunglasses for a glittering tiara. Speaking to reporters on the red carpet, Wintour revealed that the jewel-encrusted item was a family heirloom dating back to around 1910.
Bowles’s colleague, the global editor of Harper’s Bazaar-at-large, Hamish Bowles, selected a gold feather tiara, adding a bit of shine to his role as the white man in formal wear. In an Instagram post, he admitted that it was designed by Italian merchant Fulco di Verdura, who works with Chanel in the ’20s and ’30s.
Bowles explained that the dress had been designed for philanthropist Betsey Whitney to wear to a ball at London’s Buckingham Palace in 1957. He added that he had seen the dress at chez Verdura a decade or more ago, fell in love with it and never thought that one day he would have his Eliza Doolittle moment wearing it.
The theme spanned generations, with Chamberlain wearing a Cartier tiara made in 1911 that stood up to nine years before she was born. She completed the vintage-themed look with a Louis Vuitton crop top and floor-length white shirt.
Elsewhere, Dorfman accessorized her daring Christopher Kane cut-out dress with a bag reading “Protect Trans Kids” and an elegant vintage tiara. She told People magazine that her crown was “almost 200 years old, which is pretty sensational.” There were plenty of other headpieces on display throughout the evening, including hats and fascinators. Among the most dramatic was model Winnie Harlow’s headpiece, designed by Iris Van Herpen . Sarah Jessica Parker meanwhile enlisted master milliner Philip Treacy for her towering feathered design.
One of the show’s hosts, Blake Lively, wore a tiara designed by Lorraine Schwartz during the night’s festivities.
The star’s outfit nods to the Statue of Liberty, with the crown’s 7 spikes – like Lady Liberty’s – symbolizing the seven continents. The star also asked Schwartz to feature 25 stones to represent the iconic statue’s 25 windows.
“‘Who’s actually going to be counting the stones?'” Schwartz recalled Schwartz challenging her. “‘Me,'” she replied with a giggle. “I’m a Virgo.”