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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesTyla wore her custom Balmain sand-effect gown to the 2024 Met Gala in its full mermaid-train form. After she entered the museum, Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing cut away the lower portion, turning it into a mini dress. The dramatic carpet look and the shortened version were two stages of the same design.
Why Tyla wore a “sand dress”
Tyla made her Met Gala debut on May 6, 2024, wearing a strapless Balmain gown created for the evening’s “Garden of Time” dress code. The design took its cue from the sands of time: an image that linked the theme’s garden imagery with something fleeting and constantly shifting. In Vogue’s event-day interview, Tyla described it simply: “Yeah, I’m wearing sand, basically.”
Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing told Vogue that the inspiration was “a desire to redefine boundaries and transform a transient material into an everlasting masterpiece.” The dress made that idea visible by giving a material associated with erosion and passing time the shape of a sculpted, red-carpet gown.
How the gown was made
It was a custom sand-flocked construction, not simply a dress of loose sand. Vogue reported that the fitted gown used three colors of sand mixed with micro crystal studs, and flared into a silk organza mermaid train. British Vogue described the surface as grains combined with mica and mirror powder to catch light and create shifts in tone and shadow.
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Ornamental artist Flory Brisset developed the sand-flocking technique. British Vogue reported that grains were sourced from around the globe for their different visual properties and textures. The process began with a mould of Tyla’s body and a plaster cast; a pliable, thermoformed polymer base and a soft sand mortar process were used to shape the structured bodice, to which the organza skirt was attached. Brisset told the magazine, “I read the world with my fingertips.”
Why was the bottom cut off?
After Tyla had climbed the Met steps and entered the museum, Rousteing used scissors to cut away the gown’s lower portion, changing the full-length silhouette into a mini dress. Fashionista reported the transformation, and Teen Vogue also covered video of Rousteing making the cut.
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The long, structured look and Tyla’s arrival—during which she was carried up the steps—make mobility an understandable context for the change. However, the cited coverage does not establish a definitive explanation from Tyla or Rousteing for why it was altered. It is safest to describe what happened without treating a practical motive as confirmed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to the dress afterward?
The cut created a second look for the event: the original gown’s trailing skirt was gone, leaving the shorter bodice as a mini dress. Fashionista later reported that the skirt was gone and the top had split down the side after the gala. That post-event condition was distinct from the deliberate cut Rousteing made after Tyla entered the museum.
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Sources
- Vogue’s account of Tyla’s look and Rousteing’s comments
- British Vogue’s reporting on Flory Brisset and the construction process
- Vogue’s event-day interview with Tyla
- Fashionista’s report on the cut and the gown’s later condition
- Teen Vogue’s coverage of the look and alteration
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