Tyla is a singer-songwriter from South Africa. She may have been trying to get a part in the "Dune" movie series when she showed up at the Met Gala on Monday night. The tight Balmain dress gave the impression that she was covered in sand.
Two tuxedo-clad assistants had to hoist the singer up the Met stairs because the dress was so tight. She said to an Access Hollywood reporter, "That's the only way I'm getting up these stairs."
Made of three different shades of sand, the tawny, strapless dress had a structured bodice that stretched across her chest like a coastline. Her bellybutton's location was suggested by a gentle dimple. Sand continued to seep through the hourglass she carried like a purse.
Tyla, who became well-known in the US last year thanks to the song "Water," was at her first Met Gala. On the red carpet, she revealed to reporters that the sands of time served as inspiration for the design.
Based on the "Garden of Time" dress code for the gala, Sabrina Harrison donned a gold gown by Chrishabana that looked to be dripping with twisted gold clocks. Sabrina Harrison was not the only guest to choose for a chronology-related outfit.
The dress was partly inspired by the fleeting nature of sand, as Balmain's design director Olivier Rousteing said to Vogue. "I was inspired to create a garment out of something as fleeting as sand," the man stated. "And the outcome has exceeded my expectations."
Tyla, 22, continued, "It was an absurd idea." And I cherished it.