The Unexpected Color that Dominated the 2024 Met Gala

May 6, 2024 11:29 PM EDT

There's a reason why the Met Gala is often referred to as fashion's biggest night. The event has become synonymous with sartorial showboating, a red carpet where anything and everything can take place. In recent years, it's become an opportunity for celebrities, designers, and fashion's most influential figures to try out their most outrageous and daring style whims—which is why the biggest trend of the 2024 Met Gala may have been the most unexpected.

On Monday night, as stars and art enthusiasts gathered on the steps of the Met, it was clear that there was a common theme in many of the looks of the night: an affinity for the color beige. The neutral color showed up at many points on the red carpet: on singer Tyla, who wore a sheath dress made with sand designed by Balmain, on Mindy Kaling, who arrived at the Met Gala in a sculptural pleated tan Gaurav Gupta Couture gown, and on co-chair Jennifer Lopez, who sported a sparkling but skin-toned Schiaparelli gown, as well as her fellow co-host Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky, who donned coordinating beige Tom Ford looks for the night.

If beige seems like a bland or vanilla choice for a night ostensibly highlighting the creativity of the fashion industry, consider this—after years of over-the-top looks and noisy, costume-esque dressing for the event, there may be nothing more subversive or even edgy than wearing a subtle shade in a tastefully considered silhouette. That or the many guests who opted to wear beige tonight may have been giving their interpretations of the night's theme, "Garden of Time," going for a natural, earthy, and essentially nude (very Garden of Eden) aesthetic.

With that in mind, here's a look at the beige and the beautiful from the 2024 Met Gala red carpet.