The Met Gala and Sir Lewis Hamilton are a Match Made in Heaven

There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and the male attendes of the Met Gala showing up in a basic tuxedo or suit.

The Garden of Time

This year's Met Gala celebrated the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's exhibition Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. The dress code was The Garden of Time, which many attendees ignored. While many looked beautiful, they did not embody the exhibition or the story it was hoped they would take inspiration from. Guests took this to either mean showcase your finest floral print or adorn the same basic suit you have worn for years.

One highlight of the Gala was Sir Lewis Hamilton who has made a name for himself in the realm of fashion with his Formula One weekend outfits. Never one to gloss over a Met Gala theme, this year, Hamilton worked with his stylist Eric McNeal and Burberry's creative director, Daniel Lee to create a custom, all-black ensemble dedicated to an 18th century gardener named John Ystumllyn who is both celebrated and remembered for his trailblazing achievements.

In a Vogue interview on the steps of the Met, he shared how through his research for his look, he came across Ystumllyn who came to Wales from Africa during the slave trade. In Wales he became the first black gardener and through adversity, triumphed.

In dedication to him, Hamilton wore a tailored black coat with floral bullion embellishments. Inside, the Alex Wharton poem 'The Gardener' is embroidered as a powerful symbol of remembrance. Underneath he wears a silk double breasted suit with Burberry Saddle boots. The look is finalised with jewelry, which Briony Raymond and Hamilton executed down to perfection. Wearing yellow-diamond earrings in the shape of flowers, a diamond wrap ring, and a 1960s yellow sapphire and diamond ring in the shape of a golden yellow rose the details are divine. 

The piece that will stop you in your tracks the most, however, is the yellow diamond necklace of thorns he wears to depict the pain of black people during the slave trade. 

The detailing and dedication to tell the story of a man - Ystumllyn - that little will know deserves to be a wider talking point.