The meaning of Mindy Kaling's Met Gala dress

Mindy Kaling's architectural dress stunned at the 2024 Met Gala. On E!, commentator Elaine Welteroth said the dress made her "heart beat faster."

The dress, designed by Gaurav Gupta, unfolds around Kaling in gravity-defying directions. She is surrounded by its glimmering beige fabric.

The back of the look is equally intricate. The series of cascading arches is actually a removable cape, E! News clarified — citing Kaling's stylist Molly Dickson — meaning the actor will be able to sit during the evening.

Officially named "The Melting Flower of Time," the dress fits into 2024 Met Gala's dress code, "The Garden of Time." The back of the dress represents a "bud and a blossoming flower that is now withering," she told Reuters on the carpet.

The color is meant to represent a dying flower, she added.

Unlike many other looks on the carpet, which take a literal approach to floral designs, Kaling's is more structural and abstract.

Speaking to TODAY, Vogue editorial director Anna Wintour said she predicted many florals on the red carpet.

“We came up with the title ‘Sleeping Beauties.’ It’s wonderful, it’s poetic, its romantic, but actually it could be many, many things,” she said of the theme.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com