Celebrity makeup artist Alexx Mayo has been working with Lizzo for roughly seven years, so he says the Grammy-winning artist possesses “a lot of trust” in the beauty looks he creates for her wide variety of appearances. He calls the ability to create a glam design for this year’s Met Gala with its “The Garden of Time” dressing theme “really a dream come true for me.”
“I gather a lot of my inspiration from botanical gardens, so I was thrilled — nature has the best color combinations,” Mayo adds.
His enthusiasm kicked into overdrive once he saw the dress Lizzo is wearing, a design by Paris-based label Weinsanto. “When you see the dress, there’s this idea as though flowers are being blown by the breeze, and it definitely gives this goddess vibe,” Mayo tells The Hollywood Reporter.
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Victor Weinsanto originally created the gown for his Spring/Summer 2024 “Perfect Day” collection and couldn’t believe it when stylists Matthew and Reginald Reisman reached out to discuss whether the piece could be made for Lizzo to wear at the Met Gala. “At first I doubted that it was a real request,” he notes to THR with a laugh. “A chance for me to work with Lizzo is just amazing.”
Weinsanto’s original concept of the dress was to create a sculpted corset that from head to toe evoked thoughts of a flower, while also honoring the craft of corsetry. Adjustments were made to customize the design for Lizzo, from a fabric that was dyed to match Lizzo’s skintone by a Parisian house specializing in that craft to opening up the headpiece to put more of a focus on Lizzo’s face and rethinking the boning near the bottom of the gown so she could walk with ease.
“I didn’t want to be the designer responsible for a fall in front of the whole world,” Weinsanto says. “And honestly, now that the dress has been recreated for Lizzo, I like this version even better. It’s also perfect for showcasing her gorgeous body.”
Between 600 and 700 hours were required to complete the dress, Weinsanto says. “So many hands went into making this happen, and I don’t think any of us slept the last five days,” he adds.
Once the dress was finalized, Mayo says the glam team met to consider how makeup, hair and nails would play a role. “Harmony within nature was the biggest inspiration for this look,” he says. “I wanted the idea of florals and gardens, but not to be so literal. The gown features these sprays of dried flowers, so I wanted to play with the beauty of a rose through its lifecycle, using different tones and just mixing from my palettes to reflect the rosebud to a rose in full bloom to the point when it withers and dies, but it’s still beautiful.”
Those shades are key to the colors used for Lizzo’s eyes, but Mayo notes that glowing skin also was a priority, especially due to the both the hue and transparent nature of the gown. “I used Kate Somerville’s HydraKate, which has a lightweight feel and really hydrates the skin.”
Perhaps what Mayo loves most about Lizzo’s Met Gala beauty is that it continues to push their evolution and partnership forward. “We’re moving into a new era,” he says of their work together. “We love to play with color, we love to play with different shapes and brows, and Lizzo loves to experiment and play. So this is another level for both of us.”
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