Australian actor Chris Hemsworth will co-host this year’s prestigious fashion spectacular Met Gala in New York alongside three high-profile fashionistas in Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez and Bad Bunny.

The 40-year-old Byron Bay local (often spotted barefoot in shorts), who is in the midst of the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga promotional campaign trail, has been tapped by Vogue‘s Anna Wintour to co-chair the exhibition and promote this year’s official dress code, The Garden of Time.

The 2024 Met Gala will take place on May 6 (Tuesday, 8am AEST) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

It will celebrate the Costume Institute’s new exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.

Vogue says the dress code was inspired by JG Ballard’s short story of the same title, written in 1962, a thought-provoking short story seen as a “metaphor for the evolution of human history and the endless cycle of creation and destruction”.

Although US actor/singers Zendaya and Lopez and rapper Bad Bunny “all have distinct style histories” with the Met Gala and will nail the brief, Vogue points out this is Hemsworth’s first time on the red carpet at the gala.

He’s been the face of fashion label Hugo Boss and exclusive watch brand, Tag Heuer, but the Thor superhero turned to social media for help on what to wear after he was selected.

Announcing the line-up on Instagram in February, Hemsworth posted a funny exchange between Wintour and the co-hosts and was asked by the editor-in-chief whether he was available on May 6 to come to New York.

He joked, and said he’d free up his diary, but reached out to fans and fellow Met Gala attendees online about what to wear.

“Anyone got a Garden of Time outfit I can borrow?,” he asked.

One fan suggested he “just go as Adam in the Garden of Eden”.

Another wrote “love the idea of you in an ancient floral frock coat”.

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Dress code can be ‘interpreted in a myriad of ways’

Over the years, the Met Gala has brought together hundreds of celebrities from the world of movies, art, music and fashion, who all interpret that year’s dress code differently.

Many costumes end up going viral on social media, making global headlines for the wrong reasons or for making political statements du jour on the fabric of their expensive couture.

The red carpet is where the action is, as the gala inside is a closed-off event with no phones or photographs allowed.

“It can be interpreted in a myriad of ways,” says Vogue.

Although we’ll expect to see “floral and botanical looks” on this year’s red carpet, last year’s dress code paid tribute to designer Karl Lagerfeld and celebs had a field day.

It was a “moment for all the esteemed guests to salute one of fashion’s greats, and from our perspective, the theme has multiple, wondrous ways into it”.

Many A-listers met the brief in style, others thought outside the square and went as Lagerfield’s cat Choupette.

In 2022, the official theme was In America: An Anthology of Fashion and the dress code was Gilded Glamour.

The most controversial red carpet moment was reality TV star Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s Happy Birthday, Mr President dress from 1962.

With bleached blonde hair, she borrowed from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum, and only wore it for a few minutes before changing into a replica as some observed the dress was starting to split.

The actor wife of Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, co-host Blake Lively that year turned heads in a transformative Versace dress, walking up the red carpet staircase in a rose gold gown with a huge bow, paying homage to the Empire State Building.

Once on the stairs, the bow on the skirt was untied to reveal a cascading blue train, inspired by the constellation decor at Grand Central Station.

Jared Leto dressed as Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette at the 2023 Met Gala. Photo: AAP

Lil Nas X also went as Karl Lagerfeld’s cat. Photo: Getty

The 2022 co-host Blake Lively wowed with a dress transformation. Photo: Getty

In 2019, the theme was ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’. Here’s the Ezra Miller interpretation: Photo: AAP