Ayo Edebiri Bloomed at the 2024 Met Gala

After a high-octane awards season filled with trophy and best dressed wins alike, Ayo Edebiri has proven herself a bona fide fashion star. Last night she sealed the deal with her debut at the 2024 Met Gala.

With such a strong selection of looks under her belt—ranging from a custom red Prada column dress to an homage to Whoopi Goldberg in The Row—the actor had a lot to live up to. But it seemed that she more than met her match with Loewe, the Met Gala’s sponsor, who dressed her to perfection in a floral, backless column dress. The halter-neck dress was covered in a hand-painted, hand-embroidered floral guipure lace and adorned with 3D appliqué flowers to create the illusion of blossoming.

“That was the one that spoke to me the most, but then Danielle [Goldberg, my stylist] was like, ‘This is the one that Jonathan [Anderson] is also the most excited about,’” Edebiri tells Vogue. “That really locked that in for me, in my heart.”

Edebiri was brimming with excitement ahead of her inaugural Met Gala. A big reason she was so thrilled is because of the creative collaboration that the night entails. “The level of craftsmanship that it took to make this dress is so beyond,” she says. “Looking into those details, taking that into consideration, it just amplifies that feeling for me.” The same feeling applied to her glam team. “I know I’m in such good hands because everybody’s so excited and they’re so thorough, and I think they love collaboration, and they love being thoughtful,” she says.

The actor also graced the Met steps with equally impeccable hair and makeup. “Ayo has really blossomed this year so the theme ‘Garden of Time’ felt very poignant to me, especially this being her first Met Gala moment,” says Edebiri’s makeup artist, Dana Delaney. “For makeup we wanted skin like fresh morning dew lying upon flower petals. SK-II provided the perfect glowy base for the makeup inspiration since the look was skin focused.”

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“Ayo really wanted to do pink draping with the blush and I absolutely loved that idea. To me, blush is the go-to for a complete spring makeup look. We did a combination of Ilia’s multi stick in ‘A Fine Romance’ and Color Haze in ‘Sing’ through the temple and just under the eye,” Delaney adds. “The eyes were kept quite simple with a bit of sheen and a hint of gloss for a bit of dewiness. For lips Ayo and I discussed giving them a bee stung look but keeping the color more monochromatic and complimenting with the pink hues of the face and floral appliqués on the dress.”

This wasn’t Edebiri’s first time wearing the buzzy brand, fronted by Jonathan Anderson. In an early moment that put her on the map as an ‘It’ Girl in the making, she wore one of the designer’s conceptual looks to the Time100 Next gala: a white sleeveless dress with red, 3D balloons tucked into the strips of fabric. It only made sense that the powerful duo would reunite for Edebiri’s first Met Gala. As for what comes after the red carpet? “I don’t know what’s gonna happen inside,” Edebiri admits. “I have friends who go and, and they’re like, You’ll see!”

Below, Ayo Edebiri took Vogue along for the ride as she got ready for the 2024 Met Gala.