Capes, Florals, and Peekaboo Skin: Shoutout to the Men Who Went for It at the 2024 Met Gala

With every red carpet—well, green in the case of the 2024 Met Gala—comes a flock of men in tuxedos. It feels like, for some, the more traditional and classic, the better. After all, what does a leading man wear? A tux! And there’s always a watch involved, and most likely a bow tie. And maybe, if they’re feeling really fancy, a white jacket paired with a black pair of pants.

But not at the Met Gala. Luckily for us, last night’s Costume Institute benefit with its “The Garden of Time” dress code in honor of the new exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” posed a sartorial challenge many men were happy to take on. There was Challengers star Josh O’Connor in custom Loewe based on a womenswear look from Jonathan Anderson’s fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection, the elongated split tails in his tailcoat serving as a quirky train. Also in Loewe was Dan Levy, whose classic black suit ombréd into a beautifully intricate floral embroidery. Two other fresh takes on the classic black suit were Damiano David in Diesel and Eddie Redmayne in Steve O Smith—the transparency in their looks created a fun and equal parts romantic and sexy peekaboo effect.

There was also Troye Sivan in a custom Prada that recalled Miuccia Prada’s fall 2008 menswear collection. That line up was sober with a side of fetish, the perfect example of Mrs. Prada’s penchant for subversion and for perverting the most classic of clothes. Sivan’s look consisted of a powder blue button down styled under a jockstrap of sorts in the same fabric and a bib in black suiting, though the real highlight was the back, which was open with the shirt held together by two garter straps. Rauw Alejandro also offered a hint of skin with his Ludovic de Saint Sernin chainmail apron shirt.

Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, and Jeremy Pope all committed to the coat-as-cape styling. The first in Willy Chavarria, the second in Burberry, and the last in Tanner Fletcher. Usher, whose coat was also draped as both a cape and train, carried a handful of red-dipped roses in addition to those accentuating his jacket. Morgan Spector wore red silk faille poppies on his Willy Chavarria jacket, while co-chair Bad Bunny held a fabric flower bouquet in his bespoke Maison Margiela Artisanal look. Scroll through to find the best menswear looks at the 2024 Met Gala.