Charli XCX’s Punk-Inspired Gown at the 2024 Met Gala Was Made From Patchworked T-Shirts

Tonight, Charli XCX arrived on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet wearing a look from the archives—but with a very Charli twist. The pop star’s Marni gown may at first have appeared to be a dazzling, floor-length dress—you can thank the 15 seamstresses from the Marni atelier in Milan who hand-sewed the rhinestones and glass beads for that—but on closer inspection, it revealed itself to be patchworked together from vintage T-shirts, serving as both a nod to Francesco Risso’s signature “mending” visible stitch motif, as well as a punk-inspired reflection of Charli’s renegade style.

“Francesco and I both liked the idea of taking the most simple item—the white T-shirt—and building something extravagant from it,” Charli tells Vogue of the look, which required 200 hours of workmanship to create. “The white T-shirt is something that can be reflective of so many things, so many fashion sensibilities, so many styles. It’s classic, punk, comfortable, sexy, casual all at once. It’s often people’s most prized item—you know when you find that one perfectly fitting, perfectly feeling white T-shirt that you never want to throw away? And as time goes on those T-shirts become more worn, softer, more desirable. We liked using this as a starting point for the dress.”

Attending this year’s Met Gala as a guest of TikTok allowed Charli and her stylist Chris Horan the freedom to choose their own designer—and having worked with Risso and Marni on a number of important projects over the past few years, including a series of custom looks for Charli’s Coachella performance in 2023, it was the obvious choice. “Marni has become one of our favorite collaborators because they genuinely understand Charli as an artist,” says Horan, who also notes that his creative chemistry with Charli stems from his love for her music. “l feel really lucky because I’m constantly inspired by how much of a visionary Charli is,” he adds. “She always has the first kernel of inspiration but then she gives her team the space to be creative and do what they do best.”

For Charli, the relationship with Risso was sparked by a more unlikely encounter: while renting a holiday home on the Amalfi Coast last summer, she discovered that the property was owned by the family of one of Risso’s researchers, who was staying in the guest house at the time. “Eventually we pieced our connections together, Francesco and I began messaging, and finally we actually managed to grab dinner in London earlier this year,” Charli recalls. “I was immediately struck by his overwhelming desire to create. He seems to always need to find and excavate a new source of inspiration. It’s cool to watch.”

As for tonight’s Marni look, the initial inspiration was born out of the theme of this year’s exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” which aims to bring historical garments—many too delicate to be worn again—back to life through a variety of sensory experiences. “​​We started discussing both the theme and the exhibit and landed on really loving the idea of fragility,” says Horan, noting that the word that remained front of mind while planning the look was “delicate.” After sourcing some inspiration images and passing them on to the Marni design team, they came back with a handful of ideas—but Horan notes it was the T-shirt dress that felt like it matched their initial instincts. “I didn’t say anything when I sent Charli the sketches because I wanted to see if we would have the same favorite,” Horan says. “And we did!”

For Charli, it was an opportunity to go all-out with her fashion, without worrying about any of the practical concerns of choosing a dress for your average night out on the town. “I don’t think practicality has much to do with the Met Gala, I think it’s truly about commitment to the theme and making a once-in-a-lifetime moment happen!” Charli says. “I will say though, despite the train being quite long, the dress is actually really comfortable.” (The finishing touch? A mini aged-leather Marni Trunkaroo bag in embroidered crystals for an extra splash of glitz, as well as a tourmaline ring from New York-based jewelry brand Dyne by Sarah Ysabel Narici.)

With Charli currently on the promo trail for her upcoming sixth album Brat—between co-hosting Vogue’s pre-Met party this past weekend, she also found time to throw a street party in Bushwick and DJ some of her new tracks alongside Kesha and The Dare at Le Bain—the musician has been channeling the record’s club-ready energy with a series of sleek, ‘90s-inspired looks. But she notes that even if her look tonight reads more romantic, it still feels on theme for the Brat era.

“The album is revealing—it’s about embracing your flaws and being brutally honest,” says Charli. “It’s about being okay with being a little broken, a little disheveled, a little volatile—but it’s also celebrating the confidence to do that in the first place. I think this dress speaks to similar themes. It’s a beauty in the chaos-type situation.” So too did the beauty look, which she worked on with the avant-garde makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench and MAC Cosmetics—“we wanted to create a makeup look that felt gothic and romantic to compliment the disheveled delicacy of Charli’s Marni dress,” Ffrench said—and the hair by Matt Benns reflect the spirit of the album.

“We were going for an ultra-romantic, ’90s-inspired feel,” she explains. “The lid is sculpted with a taupe powder and gloss and that’s exactly what I would do in my daily life or if I was going a rave. And Matt Benns did the hair and it’s totally punk but intricate at the same time—kind of a Nina Hagen vibe—and also super Brat!”

Most importantly of all, given Charli’s love of a big night out, is she planning to hit up any after-parties? “Do you know me? Of course!” she says, laughing. As for which ones? “I can’t kiss and tell.”

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