Tyla Sculpts Time at the Met Gala in Sandy Balmain Gown
The sands of time stopped for nobody at this year’s Met Gala, where the theme of “The Garden of Time” reigned supreme on the iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art steps. While many stars interpreted the concept through floral embellishments or clockwork detailing, leave it to singer Tyla to craft a sartorial homage to the ephemeral nature of time itself. In a custom Balmain creation, the Grammy winner emerged on the carpet cloaked in a sculptural gown that appeared frozen from grains of sand.
The strapless dress by Balmain’s iconic creative director Olivier Rousteing hugged Tyla’s frame before cascading into a dramatic mermaid train that trailed behind her like the wisps of a desert storm. The bodice was molded directly onto the musician’s body using plaster casting, while the sweeping skirt comprised layers of organza meticulously embroidered with three sunset shades of sand and sparkling micro-crystal studs. The effect was at once avant-garde and organic, shapely yet malleable—a wearable sandscape that captured the eternal shift of time’s perpetual motion.
Not one to overlook even the smallest details, Tyla doubled down on the theme with her clutch: a clear hourglass encrusted with the same crystals as her dress and filled with real sand that ebbed and flowed with her every step. A smattering of delicate Alexis Bittar jewels rounded out the look, including a diamond-encrusted collar necklace that encircled her throat like a relic excavated from the dunes.
But it was Tyla’s beauty that proved to be the true centerpiece. Styled by Kate Young protégé Katie Qian, the singer’s signature raven waves were supplanted by a sleek, sculpted bob that framed her features to perfection. Her glowing skin was dusted with a veil of luminizer and sculpted with tawny contouring for a sun-kissed effect.
Sweeps of shimmering champagne shadow and inky cat-eye liner lent her gaze a molten intensity, while her nails—adorned with 3D metal chains—evoked the sinuous trails left in sand’s wake.
For her grand Met debut, Tyla stepped into the Garden of Time and emerged an ethereal desert spirit, a sublime oasis amidst the typical tulle and taffeta. By embracing the most transient of earthly elements, she created a vision more eternal than any mere timepiece could capture. The sands have been re-scattered, but the memory of Tyla’s singular artistry will linger like a mirage shimmering on the horizon.
