Mona Patel shares behind-the-scenes look at jaw-dropping Met Gala gown
Mona Patel shared a behind-the-scenes look at her 2024 Met Gala gown on Instagram.
For this Met Gala’s ‘The Garden of Time’ theme, the tech tycoon enlisted the expertise of Zendaya’s renowned stylist, Law Roach, for her Met Gala appearance to make an incredible impression.
Patel, 43, walked down this year’s green carpet in a stunning Iris van Herpen gown that included a corset bodice designed to resemble butterfly wings. This delicate detail was seen throughout the gown, along with her arm piece by Casey Curran that had animatronic butterflies running down the length.
She shared a video on her Instagram showing how Curran constructed the kinetic arm piece in under 30 days, noting that the entire process was collaborative and “intensely interactive.” Snippets of how the arm piece was constructed - including shots of putting together the intricate machinery as well as testing the arm piece - were shown in the clip.
“It was an intensely [interactive] process with a lot of brainstorming and problem-solving in collaboration with the @irisvanherpen team and myself,” Patel wrote in her caption. “As a STEM geek I dreamt of having these mechanical gloves that opened and closed to create a [multisensory] effect for the dress that synced with @nick_knight work in this year’s exhibition!”
She added: “I discovered Casey on [29 March], had our first call April 1st and rest is history! Hope you guys can see how much time, effort and love was put into making JUST this piece of art!”
She concluded the caption by thanking Curran wholeheartedly for giving her “wings to fly.”
The multimillionaire originally hails from Gujarat, India, but ended up pursuing an academic career in the US starting at Rutgers University in New Jersey before moving to Dallas, Texas. She also attended Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.
Her entrepreneurial streak began with her founding her first business in 2006. Patel would go on to establish eight different companies across various industries such as healthcare, real estate, and technology which are worth $100m combined.
The entrepreneur’s business ventures - most notably her founding of companies radXai and CareFirst Imaging - and prowess were ultimately recognised by the Forbes “Next 1000” list of entrepreneurs. She has also dedicated herself to several philanthropic ventures as well, specifically with the mission to empower young girls and women through her nonprofit, Couture for Cause, which combines her passion for fashion with her love of philanthropy.
The NGO auctions off highly-coveted and rare couture pieces to fundraise for charities aligned with Patel’s core mission to empower women worldwide. These issues include gender equality, women’s entrepreneurship, and girls’ education.
