The Story Behind Maya Penn's Met Gala Gown Made From Plastic Waste

Published on 5/3/2023 at 3:20 PM

Ben Rosser

Activist and sustainable style designer Maya Penn made her Met Gala debut on Monday, May 1, gracing the Metropolitan Museum of Art's grand staircase in an eco-friendly gown by Coach. The sustainable style advocate attended fashion's biggest night, representing Coachtopia, the brand's innovative new sub-brand focused on advancing the circular fashion system.

With the 2023 Met Gala theme honoring the legacy of Karl Lagerfeld, Penn wanted to pay homage to both the style of the iconic designer and stay true to her sustainable ethos, letting Mother Nature be her main inspiration for her one-of-a-kind look. "I'm definitely excited to be at the Met Gala representing sustainable fashion on the carpet," the 23-year-old artist and designer told POPSUGAR ahead of the gala. "I'm someone who's been in the sustainable fashion space for 15 years. I started my own eco-friendly fashion company, called Maya's Ideas, in 2008 when I was eight years old. I've been an environmental and climate activist for pretty much as long as I can remember but being an environmental activist, a multi-hyphenate artist, a multidisciplinary artist, and being able to really bring all of those kind of authentic elements of myself to the Met is definitely, something that I couldn't have imagined it coming together in a better way."

"Being able to utilize literal plastic waste from the Met Museum and upcycle and turn it into something new and gorgeous [is] incredible."

Penn went on to explain her involvement with Coachtopia's launch and the design philosophy of helping to reduce waste by working with previously-used materials and creating from "nothing new." The young advocate explained that she was inspired by Coach's new focus on "extending the lifecycle and lifespan of their products," which she added was "so necessary for this industry."

"They're doing some really innovative and experimental stuff... and for the look itself, being able to utilize literal plastic waste from the Met Museum and upcycle and turn it into something new and gorgeous [is] incredible," the artist and animator said of her custom Coach gown. Penn's dress and matching mini bag were made from upcycled materials ranging from scrap vintage lace, discarded bike tire tubes, aluminum soda cans, and even hot dog packaging sourced from vendors outside of the Met — another sustainable tie to the New York-based museum.

The handmade gown also featured leftover silk chiffon materials from Coach's Fall 2023 runway show and naturally dyed using Dandelion flowers. Honoring Lagerfeld's statement design traits, florals were a popular motif on the Met Gala red carpet, and were also included in Penn's look. The large flower appliqué on the shoulder of her dress was constructed from discarded plastic packaging waste along with scraps of antique lace. "I'm an artist. I'm a designer. I'm an animator. I'm a painter. I incorporate all of my different things that I love aesthetically about my various art forms that I use in my work into my fashion," Penn said. "And I know this next statement's going to make a lot of people pearl-clutch, but I've just never been a follower of trends, really. I've always just had my own unique personal style, and I've never really felt influenced to dress a specific way."

Ahead, see how Penn got ready for her first Met Gala with Coach.

On Including Her Personal Style and Ethos in Her Met Gala 2023 look:

I love vintage from many, many different eras. A lot of what I wear is vintage, whether it's '70s or '80s or '40s, or anything in between. I grew up wearing hand-me-downs, and a lot of what I wear to conferences and red carpets is literally my mom's and my aunt's.

My personal style is a little bit of everything. I love anything that has a lot of personality, that has an artsy aesthetic to it, whether that is bringing in more color or coming from a monochrome look. But something that I always say is that Mother Nature is my favorite designer, and a lot of my outfits are also very much drawing on the amazing beauty of the natural world, because no one can do it better than her.

On the Importance of Wearing Her Natural Hair to the Met Gala:

It's really important for me to wear my natural hair with this look. Because every picture that anyone's ever seen of me, I'm always wearing my natural hair. And especially on a night like the Met, I think it's even more important to show that Black hair is beautiful. It's elegant. It's glamorous.

I get so many messages from little Black girls who say they've been very inspired to love their natural hair texture more because I'm always wearing it on red carpets and speaking on global stages.

On the Makeup Inspiration for the Met Gala

For the inspiration for the makeup, [we went] very vintage, kind of classic. And I think that compliments the dress really well: the romantic style. It really came together so beautifully.

On Her Purse Essentials for a Night Out:

Essential for me — other than my phone, because everyone's phone is an extension of them at this point — I always bring one of those little chargers as well, just because things happen, and you want to not have to be stuck near a wall, charging your phone. That's really sad. No one wants to do that.

Other than that, this bag is smaller than most of the bags that I wear. I love how it looks. It compliments the dress so beautifully.

On Her Upcoming Projects:

I'm currently directing an animated short film that is titled "Asali: Power of The Pollinators." It is executive produced by Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, and JuVee Productions. It is being created through my production company, Upenndo! Productions.

I'm directing it. It's a project that I originally created when I was 11 years old. It's environmental, it's action, it's kick-ass, and it's heartfelt. So, I'm really excited about it. It features the voice talents of Whoopi Goldberg, Monique Coleman, Ronen Rubinstein, and so many more. So, that's been my world. I do have my fashion line, Maya's Ideas, which is a sustainable, eco-friendly clothing company.