The Met Gala and Modern Beauty

In 1948, the first Met Gala was held as an event to fundraise for one of New York’s finest museums. Since that time, it has turned into a mecca for Hollywood elites to showcase their finest—and most outrageous—garb. Widely considered one of the biggest fashion events of the year, the Met Gala is always an interesting representation of what the public, and the role models it elects, view as beautiful. The attire is only affirming of the general distortion our culture has experienced in regard to the nature of beauty. 

Though some years have a theme that encourages the gaudy and the absurd (the “camp” theme from 2019, for example), the event for 2024 held the promise of florals and fairy tales with the theme “Garden of Time.” I must admit, my first look into this collection of red-carpet looks yielded the biggest disappointment. Images of Katy Perry in an ethereal moss- and flower-covered ball gown excited my imagination; but alas, they were merely AI; Perry was not even in attendance at the event. 

The slideshow of couture that was actually worn proved much less enchanting. There were the usual handful of gowns that were more sparse glitter than gown, giving the general appearance of nakedness. A few resembled sculptural modern art more than evening wear. In the end, however, there were several ensembles that successfully looked like dresses (honorable mention to Gigi Hadid). Amid my predictable disappointment, I had to ask myself: what exactly is making all these looks feel so wrong? Why don’t they seem beautiful? I believe the answer lies in the understanding of transcendental beauty and its relation to femininity. 

Western philosophy, starting with Plato and Aristotle, conceptualizes transcendentals, or “properties of being,” that were further established by Aquinas. They are truth, beauty, goodness, and unity. These are universal qualities of all beings, things, and identities that give us a framework to evaluate the world around us. Truth appeals to logos, goodness to ethos, and beauty to pathos. 

From a Christian understanding, true beauty elevates the soul, reminding it of perfect, divine beauty—the Creator of beauty itself. Beauty, in this sense, is pleasing to the eye and evokes a response of delight, but it is more faceted than simply being “pretty.” It is meant to reveal to us through that pathos, that emotional response of wonder and delight, what is good and true.  From a Christian understanding, true beauty elevates the soul, reminding it of perfect, divine beauty—the Creator of beauty itself. Tweet This

In the book of Genesis, when Adam is in search of a proper companion, he beholds Eve for the first time and delights in her, saying, “This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). The very first experience of woman on planet earth is being delighted in for her loveliness. After the fall, woman has retained this desire to be beheld as beautiful. Beauty is a unique aspect of femininity—it inspires an air of peace that surrounds those who encounter it; it calls those in its presence to higher standards of virtue; it is dignifying of the woman herself; and it should, ultimately, point back toward the divine through its ordered expression.

Of course, due to concupiscence and original sin, the innate beauty of woman is often misunderstood and distorted. The base appetites reduce femininity to sexuality, favoring the exploitation of the feminine body over the dignified celebration of its loveliness. And the prideful ego seeks attention that leads to the adoption of unsettling and shocking physical appearances that almost strip the wearer of her human appearance altogether. Feminine beauty should ultimately reveal God’s design for her and reorient those who behold her toward true, divine beauty. 

Among the feminine faculties are elegance and receptivity. Eve’s status as “helpmate” does not mean she is a lesser being; rather, it means that she is given special gifts to support Adam through his labor. She is refreshing and restorative to his spirit; she is open to receive him spiritually and physically. Likewise, elegance is nothing more than the authentic expression of beauty and order. It is truth and goodness in action that create an atmosphere of peace and ease. The garden theme of the Met Gala was such a fitting opportunity for feminine beauty to shine because gardens are a natural expression of these same attributes. 

Universally, nature is acknowledged for its beauty; but when it is carefully cultivated and curated as a garden—when it is thoughtfully ordered, balanced, designed so that each element is able to flourish in the most optimal setting—it celebrates even more fully the notion of beauty. Where the wilderness is beautiful, dangerous, and powerful, a garden communicates ease and delight—it is a resting place. There is a restorative quality present in a garden that the wilderness does not possess. There is a restorative aspect of the feminine spirit that is not aligned with bombastic attention seeking or intentional attempts to disregard natural order. 

The inspiration for the theme was a short story by J.G. Ballard titled “The Garden of Time” that communicates beauty through its garden setting. The six pages depict a noble couple in an extravagant villa. The countess plays Mozart on the harpsichord while the count, Axel, surveys the garden containing magical, crystalline flowers. These flowers, when picked, turn back time in increments proportional to the size of the bloom. 

Axel sees an army on the horizon and picks a flower every day to ward them off; but alas, the flowers do not regrow. As they come nearer, it becomes clear that they are not at all an ordered military but a wild, uncontrolled, and chaotic mob of people yoked to cumbersome carts and stumbling along with wheelbarrows every which way. Without any explanation of why they have come with the clear intent to destroy the villa and all who live there, the couple is faced with their impending demise. 

The impression that lingers after reading this piece is the poignant, piercing knowledge that beauty in this world cannot last. Just as the mob represents the chaos and disorder of the fallen world, the villa represents a fleeting, ordered, beauty that can only be held for a time. In the midst of destruction, the couple does not flail or panic; instead, they courageously cling to one another, knowing that their time has finally come. It is a fall from Eden reimagined that confirms what we know to be true: beauty on earth is not eternal. 

This understanding should give us an appetite for the only eternal beauty. In a way, the flowers become more beautiful as they become more rare, more meaningful, a stronger reminder of the nearness of the end. The bravery of the couple facing their limited time is another beauty in its own right. 

As evidenced in the fashion chosen for the event, no one read this story. If they had, perhaps they would have understood a little more about the gift that beauty is because it cannot last. The emphasis on absurdity over authenticity, the blatant employment of ugliness in generating attention, are so far from the heart of the story and from the meaning of beauty. My disappointment should have been anticipated; but alas, I am a hopeless romantic at times, thinking that true beauty will awaken even the deepest of sleepers. 

What fashion strives for now seems to negate everything previously mentioned about the nature of beauty. Rather than “The Garden of Time,” a more apt theme would have been “The Garden of the Moment” because none of the garments, none of these “beautiful” things, could stand the test of time. In the same way that good things are always good and true things are always true, beauty does not have an expiration date. These displays of fashion were only attempting to be inventive and original, with little care for what is pleasing to the eye or the spirit. 

The pressure to be memorable (“Top 10 Met Gala looks!”)  pushes the envelope of what is considered acceptable dress ever further into the abyss. The intention behind the garment pervades the overall essence of the wearer’s presence. The desire to shock with absurdity, scandal, or blasphemy now seems to outweigh the value placed on simply looking beautiful. It was far easier for these elites to dress for the ironic and outrageous “camp” theme because we inhabit a culture where authenticity is rare. Because beauty has “been done before,” it is misvalued as predictable and boring. 

Ultimately, a culture that celebrates total freedom by making each objective truth into a choice, (What gender am I? What is true for me? What does beauty mean for me?) misses out on many of the things that are truly good and beautiful because the exercise of deciding and the personal power gained from “defining truth” have become overwhelmingly addictive. So, we endure galas where beauty should be in attendance and applaud even if the emperor wears ugly clothes. I suppose, in the meantime, my time is better spent tending my own garden. 

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]