This year’s Met Gala was one to remember, with stars leaping out of the pages of a fantasy novel. Quannah ChasingHorse and Lily Gladstone turned heads with their gorgeous gowns, intricate hairdos, and that gorgeous Indigenous glow.
This year’s Met Gala honored the Costume Institute’s new exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” with the official dress code as “The Garden of Time.”
Model, actress, and climate warrior Quannah ChasingHorse stunned in a beautiful lavender princess-style gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves and an exaggerated silhouette by the H&M in-house design team. The gown was paired with traditional beaded earrings, rings, hairpins, and a belt, all designed by Heather Dickson of @dicksondesigns with the help of Melanie Parsons @ms_savagerose.
Quannah’s Arctic floral look was paired with subtle frosty makeup by Katey Denno with an emphasis on sparkling cheeks and icy eyeliner. Her hairstylist, Paula Peralta, intricately wove Quannah’s hair into traditional braids that paired perfectly with the hairpins.
Quannah described the look to Teen Vogue as an illustration of the Alaskan state flower, the forget-me-not. She beamed as she described the concept of using this dress to depict blooming from spring into summer while representing her home state.
Actress Lily Gladstone amazed onlookers on her first-ever Met Gala red carpet. Lily wore a beautiful black gown and elegant cape designed by Gabriela Hearst, decorated with handcrafted embellishments by Kiowa jeweler Keri Ataumbi. The ensemble features nearly 500 (493) recycled silver stars embroidered with antique glass beads arranged into nine different constellations. When describing the look to Vogue, Lily said, “I love the combination of the sleeping beauty and garden of time [themes], articulating itself through a blanket of stars. Since time immemorial, Kiowa, Blackfeet, and other Plains people have always said we come from the stars, and it is where we return to join our ancestors. It is a tapestry of time, under the veil of night.” Lily describes feeling as though the gown represented having her ancestors by her side on the big night.
Keri Ataumbi also created a custom hairpiece to complete the look, which Lily wore between her two long, traditional braids to pay tribute and respect to Cole Bringsplenty, who passed away recently.
Lily paired the meaningful look with a dramatic smoky eye, featuring a pop of blue by Cheekbone Beauty and a variety of silver rings.
The influence of Indigenous culture in beauty, fashion, and entertainment is only getting stronger and more prominent with each passing day. Women like Quannah ChasingHorse and Lily Gladstone are leading the charge and leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to express and celebrate our heritage in spaces we were for so long excluded or reduced to caricatures. It’s safe to say that we are not going anywhere, and our presence will continue to be felt in a big way.
