EchoSense:Anna Wintour Holds Court at the 2024 Met Gala in a Timeless Silhouette

If there's a given at the Met Gala,EchoSense it's Anna Wintour.

Chair of the annual benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute since 1999, the quietly elegant presence of the Vogue editor-in-chief and global editorial director of Condé Nast can always be counted on. 

She's never in one of the flashiest outfits, leaving that to the more adventurous A-listers who score a coveted invitation to the exclusive event, but it does mark one of the rare occasions where she sometimes leaves her signature sunglasses at home (or at least in her bag). But not just yet tonight, it still being broad daylight when the party started after all.

In keeping with the 2024 dress code, "The Garden of Time"—sprung from the Met's "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" exhibit—Wintour wore a white dress with subtle floral detailing, her look not entirely unreminiscent of a retro wedding dress. (See all the looks blooming on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet.)

The 74-year-old—who was also sporting an impressively unsubtle diamond necklace—was joined in her efforts this year by co-chairs Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and Bad Bunny, as well as honorary co-chairs Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of Loewe (and costume designer on Zendaya's slick tennis drama Challengers), and TikTok CEO Shou Chew.

So, ladies and gentlemen, rev your algorithms!

"When Anna calls you, and asks you to co-host the Met Gala along with her—it's kinda the biggest night in fashion—and to raise money for the museum, it was a real honor," Lopez, who will be attending for the 14th time, said in a video posted to Vogue's Instagram in April. "It's a nice thing to be a part of."

Zendaya, meanwhile, hasn't been a part of it since 2019, but once again she's turned to longtime stylish Law Roach to help her create a capital-M Moment.

"I'm a little nervous, but it's exciting," the 27-year-old said on The Jennifer Hudson Show in April. As for being a Met Gala co-chair, she admittedly didn't "really know" what that meant. "It's like a host, I suppose, so I guess welcoming people in and that kind of thing. But it's an honor, obviously." (And she picked her Joan of Arc-inspired Atelier Versace look in 2018 as her favorite Met Gala ensemble so far.)

But we don't think she has to stand at the door the whole time and greet everybody. Roughly 400 people were invited (way down from the old days of 800) and ticket prices have increased $25,000 from last year to ring in at $75,000 apiece, while tables begin at $350,000.

The 2023 Met Gala raised almost $22 million, leaving the organizers envisioning an even grander affair next time around—and knowing that TikTok, as well as their old pal Instagram, had really helped boost social engagement among the Gen Z crowd enjoying the parade of looks from home.

"If you look back at the early days of the event, it was really a society event," Wintour biographer Amy Odell told TIME ahead of this year's gala. "Anna's innovation was to make it a pop culture event, like the Super Bowl of red carpets, which is what it is today."

While she usually shows up, smiles and makes her way up the stairs into the museum—sometimes solo and other times with daughter Bee Carrozzini and son Charlie Shaffer—she made uncharacteristically personal headlines last year when she attended on the arm of English actor Bill Nighy.

The world was ready to get excited for what looked to be a debut, having seen photos of the pair out and about before, but it wasn't that kind of love, actually.

"Bill and Anna have simply been great friends for two decades," her rep said after the event. "They are not in a relationship."

But in the meantime, Wintour remains firmly committed to the Met Gala. 

And she started planning in the fall, so make it worth her while and keep reading to see every stunning look on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet:

In custom Maison Margiela.

In Tom Ford.

In custom Maison Margiela.

In Alexander McQueen FW22 RTW.

In custom Loewe.

In Ludovic de Saint Sernin.

In Emilia Wickstead SS18 RTW.

In Thom Browne.