Tyla, the sensational singer behind the hit track "Water," made waves as she stepped onto the iconic Met Gala red carpet for the very first time, draped in an avant-garde ensemble inspired by the sands of time.
Teaming up with stylist Katie Qian, Tyla donned a one-of-a-kind Balmain gown meticulously crafted to embody "the sands of time," as she revealed to La La Anthony during her red carpet rendezvous. "We really wanted something out of the box for this year, it’s my first time at the Met," Tyla shared enthusiastically.
Her custom sculpted attire, resembling a scene straight out of 'Dune,' was accentuated by a modest gold necklace and a striking oversized hourglass accessory. Complementing her attire, Tyla's makeup featured a sleek cat-eye liner and a sprinkle of sand adorning her left shoulder, while her nails sported 3D chain embellishments mimicking dripping sand.
"I feel amazing, I'm so excited to go inside and see all of the pictures, then go home. I just love the outfit and how everything turned out," expressed Tyla, brimming with excitement.
The creative mind behind Tyla's sandy transformation, Balmain's creative director Olivia Rousteing, divulged the meticulous process behind the creation. "We molded [Tyla’s] body a couple of months ago. The idea was she could dress once in the dress and it would be part of the museum," Rousteing disclosed. Elaborating on the concept, he added, "What is sleeping beauty? 'Sleeping Beauty' for me [means] you can dress once in a lifetime." Rousteing himself donned a matching sand top, crafted from a mold of his own face.
Before dropping her self-titled debut album in March, Tyla made history as the youngest South African artist to grace the Billboard Hot 100 with her R&B-meets-Afrobeats anthem "Water."
This year's Met Gala dress code, dubbed "The Garden of Time," drew inspiration from J.G. Ballard's 1962 short story of the same name. The theme harmoniously aligned with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's latest exhibition, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," curated by Andrew Bolton.
