It's hard to stand out at an event like the Met Gala, where hundreds of celebrities arrive in their finest custom fashions to raise funds for the Costume Institute. Stars such as Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, and Gigi Hadid have attended for several years and set a precedent for stunning fashion. But this year, the up-and-coming fashion stars who ascended the museum's famous staircase for their Met Gala debut proved the power of first impressions and staying true to their personal style while embracing the "Garden of Time" dress code.

First up were the It girls, led by stylist Danielle Goldberg. She excels at bringing out her clients' personalities without venturing into the realm of costume, as evidenced by the guests attending the Met Gala for the first time. Ayo Edebiri went ombre floral in a Loewe halter dress with 3D appliques and an open back, while Greta Lee walked right behind her in a Loewe Naked dress. Both women carried greenhouse florals on their mood boards, but the textures and color palettes were different from the traditional floral motifs.

"Bones and All" star Taylor Russell is another example of Jonathan Anderson's innovation with regard to new Met Gala work. She eschewed the more obvious floral "garden" associations in favor of a gown whose corset was made of wood. The contrasting materials and elegant draping created one of the best looks of the day.

Grammy winner Tyra is another star who, on the note of "The Garden of Time," stopped wearing dresses that looked like freshly cut roses and tulips. Instead, she teamed up with Balmain's Olivier Rousteing for a gown that looked like something out of Dune. The dress, a paper machine of mixed sand and crystal studs, represented the figurative "sands of time." She also took it a step further with a custom-made clutch bag in the shape of a small hourglass.

Then on the carpet, Rustending had to cut the gown into a mini-dress so that Tyra could walk (the sand is not as pliable in gown form as it is on the beach, so Tyra had to carry it up some of the Met's stairs). In an interview with Marie Claire magazine a few months ago, she said she needed to be able to move in whatever she wore, but for this night she broke her own style motto. I wanted to do something creative, something completely different for my first Met Gala," Tyra told Vogue. She succeeded brilliantly.

After a major awards season, Davine Joy Randolph extended her fashion winning streak with her first Met Gala appearance. She teamed up with Zac Posen, the recently appointed creative director of Gap, to create a sexy corset gown cut entirely from Gap denim. Amidst the throngs of items designed by European luxury houses, Randolph's ode to classic Americana subverted the status quo with expert tailoring and striking design elements such as fluttering bell sleeves.

Perhaps the most celebrity look on the carpet was Angel Reese, the WNBA rookie turned 22 on the carpet and got into the party mood in a sparkling dress by 16Arlington. Sequins. Feathers. Sheer fabrics. Her WNBA draft dress was proof of that, and she brought it to the coronation in official fashion.

It was also poignant to see Pamela Anderson take the MET steps for the first time. Yesterday, in a wave of pop culture rethinking Anderson's career and influence, the 56-year-old attended the Met Gala for the first time. Dressed in an Oscar de la Renta gown that made her look like a princess of the forest, her look was the perfect condensation of the magic of fashion's biggest night.

"I wasn't in the fashion world. I wasn't even cool. I wasn't cool," Anderson told The New York Times. Finally, we received our invitations to the Met Gala.

There were other Met Gala debuts that deserve a second look, including Rachel Sennott in gilded-era-esque Balenciaga, Carol G. in sparkling Marc Jacobs, and Shakira in red-hot Carolina Herrera. Whatever the theme of next year's event, keep an eye out for first-timers. When these guests fill the galleries of the Met Gala in sufficient numbers, you will be glad to know that the retrospective will begin with the 2024 Dress from ...