Ashley Graham’s Must-See Met Gala Dress Took 500 Hours To Create

Ashley Graham understood the assignment.

At the 2024 Met Gala May 6, the model detailed her own take on the theme's "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," a skin-tight corset black dress with crystal floral embellishments created by Ludovic de Saint Sernin. 

"It took over 500 hours," Ashley gushed to Live From E!'s Ross Matthews. "Handmade—all these little crystals. It's all mesh. It's insanity what he and his team did."

The model also sported an updo, tasteful silver jewelry, and a matching black shawl, but the dress itself was enough to take everyone's breath away—including hers. 

As she put it, "I can barely breathe, the organs have been moved together as you can see this is not my normal waist." (See every 2024 Met Gala look here). 

And while she's already walked the steps at Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 36-year old's night is only just beginning—as she shared she will interview fellow arrivals for the Vogue red carpet, along with Gwendoline Christie, La La Anthony and Emma Chamberlain. 

"I'm gonna have so much fun tonight," she gushed. "I cannot wait."

Ashley—who shares sons Isaac, 3, and twins Malachi and Roman, 2, with husband Justin Ervin—also went into more details on her jaw-dropping "Garden on Time"-themed look on Instagram. 

"What an enchanting Met!" she wrote in a May 6 post. "HUGE thank you to @ludovicdesaintsernin and his team for their extraordinary dedication and craftsmanship. This dress is a true work of art, each piece of metal and Swarovski crystal was meticulously hand placed; 500 hours of hand work went into this extraordinary gown."

Keep reading to see every breathtaking look that has hit the Met steps so far. 

In Maison Margiela.

In Gaurav Gupta.

In custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture.

In Rodarte.

In Erdem.

In Chloe.

In Thom Browne.

In Willy Chavarria.

Bee in Alexander McQueen SS16 RTW.

In custom Maison Margiela.

In Tom Ford.

In Tom Ford.

In custom Jean Paul Gaultier.

In custom Maison Margiela.

In Alexander McQueen FW22 RTW.

In Danielle Frankel.

In Christian Dior SS22 Couture and Christian Dior.

In custom Loewe.

In Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Jared jewelry.

In Thom Browne.

In Chloe.

In Thom Browne.