The Fashion-Tech Looks From The 2016 Met Gala

Fashion and technology have never been mutually exclusive. This was said by Apple's chief design officer Jonathan Ive (who knows a thing or too about great design aiding great technology) during the Manus x Machina preview, "Far from being mutually exclusive luxuries, technology and craft are of course not at odds, and much like beauty and utility, go hand in hand — all the more powerful combination." Some of the most storied fashion houses still around today wouldn't be here without becoming experts at the latest technologies of the times, whether it was painstaking pleats, mind-blowingly intricate hand-beading, detailed laceworks...as well as 3D printing, digital manipulation, or materials technology.

Last night, on the Met Gala's Manus x Machina (or "hand x machine") red carpet, we had high expectations to see all of these elements come together under one roof in a major way. For a group of people who are used to serious style peacocking, the confluence of these two themes brought together haute couture-level drama with Silicon Valley-level showmanship. Light-up accessories and 100,000-hour dresses all in one place? Anyone bring popcorn?

From robotic arms to elegant dresses made entirely of recycled plastic bottles, last night's much-anticipated carpet proves just how extravagantly fashion and tech can come together to produce one over-the-top spectacle. Click on to see the looks that that surprised, delighted, and did this hi-tech theme proud.