The Super Bowl of fashion! Through the years, Hollywood’s biggest names have showcased their fierce fashion sense at the annual Met Gala.
While each year the bold style statements prove to be even more innovative and eye-catching, some looks stand out among the rest.
Take Cher, for example. The “Believe” singer was a vision at the 1985 soirée, wearing a crystal-covered garment by iconic designer Bob Mackie. The look featured a sheer bodysuit and a low-rise skirt, which fit the “Costumes of Royal India” theme.
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A few years later, Princess Diana attended the party in a timeless blue slip dress. The 1996 ball was centered around Christian Dior and the late royal was right on theme in one of the fashion house’s most effortless creations. Diana teamed the elegant number with her favorite sapphire and pearl choker necklace.
Flash-forward to 2004, when Scarlett Johansson made her debut at the celebration. The Black Widow star showed off her curves in a yellow Calvin Klein frock in support of the “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century” vision. Amber Valletta also delivered drama that year, gracing the famous steps in a Victorian wig and a corset from Maggie Norris Couture.
As the years went by, A-list fashionistas began taking more risks at the glitzy event. In 2012, Beyoncé nailed the “naked” trend for the “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations” theme in a completely sheer gown from by Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci. The piece was covered with sparkly black embroidery and finished with a purple feathered hem.
Of course, no one commands attention at the Met quite like Rihanna. For 2015’s “China: Through the Looking Glass” gathering, the “Umbrella” artist nearly broke the internet when she arrived in a yellow, fur-lined cape. The memorable garb took designer Guo Pei over 50,000 hours to make and weighed nearly 50 pounds, per The Cut. Rihanna explained to Vanity Fair at the time that she discovered Pei after “researching Chinese couture” online. “I’m so in love with this dress … I can’t really walk in it without any help — but it’s so worth it,” she added.
Rihanna proved once again she is a fashionable force to be reckoned with at the 2018 event. She captured the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” theme perfectly in a Pope-inspired getup by Margiela.
Other standouts through the years include Kim Kardashian. At the 2022 party, the TV personality stirred controversy when she donned Marilyn Monroe’s historic “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress. The late actress wore the crystal-covered number — created by Mackie — to serenade then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
While Kardashian — who attended the Met with then-boyfriend Pete Davidson — slipped into a replica after taking photos, she was accused of damaging the historic garment. In June 2022, collector Scott Fortner took to Instagram to share photos of the alleged destruction Kardashian caused.
Kardashian later broke her silence on the drama in an interview with Today. “I respect [Marilyn],” she told hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie. “I understand how much this dress means to American history and with the [Met] theme being American, I thought what is more American than Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the President of the United States.”
The SKKN by Kim founder continued, “It was such a process. I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers and I put the dress on at the bottom of the carpet, went up the stairs … I probably had it on for three minutes, four minutes, and then I changed at the top of the stairs.”
When Kotb asked Kardashian to address claims the dress was “ruined,” the Selfish author shook her head and said, “No … Ripley’s [and I] worked together so well. There were handlers and gloves that put it on me.”
Keep scrolling to see the best Met dresses of all time:
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