How ‘The Garden of Time’ that inspired Met Gala dress code played out in real time amid Gaza war protests
In 2024, the theme of the event was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion", and the dress code was "The Garden of Time," named after JG Ballard’s 1962 short story.
The fable is the story of an aged Count and Countess holed up in the eponymous garden – a blissful and paradisaical abode protected from the harsh realities of life – as an army marches towards them. (Source: X/ met gala 2024 and @aliaa08) On May 6, 2024, as celebrities decked to the nines started arriving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York – where the Met Gala, dubbed fashion’s biggest night was underway – security forces did their best to keep anti-war and pro-Palestine protesters away from the veritable “Garden of Time.”
This year, the theme of the event was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”, and the dress code was “The Garden of Time,” named after JG Ballard’s 1962 dystopian short story.
The fable is the story of an aged Count and Countess holed up in the eponymous garden – a blissful and paradisaical abode protected from the harsh realities of life – as an army marches towards them. The Count and Countess spend their days playing Bach and Mozart. To reverse the advance of the army, the Count plucks blooms from the magical garden. But, there are finite flowers in the garden, and the Count and the Countess know that their bliss is short-lived and are only holding off the inevitable.
Social commentators, including Danya Issawi for The Cut and Jim Windolf for The New York Times, have likened the events that took place on May 6 to the story that set the theme for the Met Gala. In this instance, as the privileged “aristocrats” arrived for an enchanting evening, dressed in their smart tuxes and gossamer gowns, a war continued to wage in Gaza – the ” immense rabble” of which almost penetrated the walled garden.
In ‘The Garden of Time, the moment the last flower is plucked, the army arrives at the door, and the garden turns into a barren thorn land.
However, in this instance, security forces managed to keep the protesters at bay.
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