Ariana Rockefeller opens up about wearing her grandmother’s 68-year-old gown at the Met Gala

Ariana Rockefeller doesn’t take the sacredness of her family’s history for granted.

The 39-year-old attended the Met Gala on Monday, May 2 wearing a gold and cream gown with a floral print that belonged to her grandmother, Peggy Rockefeller. The Elizabeth Arden design--which features bows as straps around the shoulders and waist--was made for the Peggy back in 1954, being slightly altered for her Ariana to wear this week.

Even though being part of such an important family is normal to Rockefeller, the model and philanthropist still understands just how much her elders contributed to American fashion.

“This year is about celebrating the talents and legacies of American designers and how those talents shaped American style,” Rockefeller said in a statement shared with PEOPLE, referring to the “Gilded Glamour” dress code for the “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” theme this year.

“In that sense, my gown is a part of this story: an Elizabeth Arden gown designed by Ferdinando Sarmi in 1954 for my grandmother and then reimagined by Christy Rilling for me today in 2022,” she continued. “Reviving this 70 year old garment has been a fun and sustainable way to engage with this year’s Met Gala theme.”

She went on to say, “I feel like the luckiest girl to have this opportunity to wear this gorgeous piece of my family’s history to the Costume Institute Benefit.”

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Once she decided she wanted to wear vintage peice for the biggest night in fashion, Rockefeller contacted designer Christy Rilling to refresh thegarment. Rilling restored the fabric, refashioned the bodice, and redid the crinolines, according to PEOPLE.

“It’s always been so fantastic to think a vintage gown will be viewed again in a modern way. For me - the epitome of sustainability,” Rilling said about the project. “There were exquisite couture details inside the dress which we wouldn’t ever want to change in respect for the original couture design and the look it created.”

To complete her look, Rockefeller wore heirloom family jewelry and carried a bag from the 1920’s, which originally belonged to her great-grandmother Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.