20 of the most iconic Met Gala looks of all time
Making a statement on the Met red carpet, which is about to kick off in NYC, isn’t just a case of looking good. It’s about nailing the theme.
Forget the Oscars, fashion’s most notable red carpet gets rolled out on the first Monday in May. The Met Gala will return to New York City next week and promises a night of one-upmanship among the style set like no other. Goodie!
But making a statement on the Met carpet isn’t just a case of looking good. It’s about nailing the theme, which is based on the museum’s key exhibit each year. This year’s theme is “Gilded Glamour”, based on the Met’s In America: An Anthology of Fashion exhibition. The best and most memorable looks strike a balance between the two, managing at once to be glamorous but also, yes, a bit genius.
These are The Times’s pick of the best 20.
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2021, Billie Eilish in Oscar de la Renta
(In America: A Lexicon of Fashion)
Few 19-year-olds, as the singer was then, have the gravitas to dictate a fashion brand’s direction, but Eilish wore this peach tulle Oscar de la Renta confection under one condition: that the house stopped using fur. Brava!
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2021, JLo in Ralph Lauren
(In America: A Lexicon of Fashion)
Jennifer Lopez turned haute rancher in this Ralph Lauren get-up. Extra marks for the cowboy hat.
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2021, AOC in Brother Vellies
(In America: A Lexicon of Fashion)
Perhaps one of the most talked about red-carpet looks ever, the US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made more than just a fashion statement in her “Tax the Rich”-graffitied Brother Vellies gown.
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2019, Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell
(Camp: Notes on Fashion)
One look wasn’t enough for Lady Gaga on the 2019 red carpet — she had four. The fuchsia cape of this Brandon Maxwell frock was removed to reveal a black strapless ballgown, underneath which was another fuchsia bodycon dress, which was also whipped off so the pop star could parade in sequined bra and pants, Russian doll style. Yes, really.
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2019, Hailey Bieber in Alexander Wang
(Camp: Notes on Fashion)
Visible thong (whale tail) aside, the then 22-year-old supermodel Bieber’s sugar-pink Alexander Wang gown and big velvet ponytail bow is one of the prettiest Met Gala looks in history.
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2018, Blake Lively in Versace
(Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination)
Lively went full goddess (and a bit Game of Thrones) in Versace’s gown-and-crown, which took more than 600 hours to make.
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2018, Gisele Bündchen in Versace
(Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination)
Unsurprisingly, Bündchen needed little more than a bit of draped Versace silk to nail the Heavenly Bodies theme.
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2017, Dakota Johnson in Gucci
(Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between)
Black but not boring, Johnson hit all the right notes in this frothy Gucci garm.
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2017, Zendaya in Dolce & Gabbana
(Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between)
How do you take a Dolce & Gabbana ballgown and make it feel fresh? Decorate it with parrots and stick the Gen Z superstar Zendaya in it.
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2016, Cindy Crawford in Balmain
(Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology)
Crawford’s metallic sequin-and-sheer bodycon is signature Balmain — and a class act.
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2016, Claire Danes in Zac Posen
(Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology)
With a tulle skirt layered like filo pastry and a contrastingly sculpted corset, Danes’s 2016 Zac Posen look was all drama (not least because it was woven with fibre optics that made it glow in the dark).
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2015, Beyoncé in Givenchy
(China: Through the Looking Glass)
Much imitated but never equalled, Beyoncé broke the internet with this Givenchy look and hailed a new era for the naked dress.
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2015, Rihanna in Guo Pei
(China: Through the Looking Glass)
It was the dress that launched a thousand memes. Rihanna’s Guo Pei gown will go down in history for its furry mega-train and yolk-yellow shade.
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2013, Miley Cyrus in Marc Jacobs
(PUNK: Chaos to Couture)
The former Disney star proved her punk credentials in this Marc Jacobs fishnet dress.
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2012, Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada
(Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations)
Paltrow’s Prada might look simple, but the devil is in the detail: its pockets (yes! pockets!) are covered in sequins and it has a box-pleat, asymmetric skirt. Just darling!
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2011, Renée Zellweger in Carolina Herrera
(Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty)
The best part of Zellweger’s Carolina Herrera dress was bringing up the rear: its cutout deep-v back gave way to the actress’s power rhomboids.
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2006, Sarah Jessica Parker in Alexander McQueen
(AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion)
SJP’s iconic tartan-and-tulle number was the work of the late Alexander McQueen, who accompanied her to the gala.
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1996, Princess Diana in Dior
(Christian Dior)
Princess Diana attended the Met Gala only once: in 1996, just three months after her divorce from the Prince of Wales was finalised, to honour Christian Dior. Consider this navy slip by the French designer another “revenge” dress.
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1995, Naomi Campbell in Versace
(Haute Couture)
A 25-year-old Campbell is dazzling in this mirror-shine strapless column from Gianni Versace.
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1986, Cher in Bob Mackie
(Dance)
This glitter-licked fishnet-and-sheer bodice, attached to a black sarong skirt, is just one of the great looks Cher collaborated on with the American designer Bob Mackie.
The Times