Wildest Outfits From the Met Gala Through the Years

Jul 22, 2023

The Met Gala always brings jaw-dropping fashions from the stars, though some ensembles have earned attention for interesting reasons. Here are some of the wildest Met Gala looks from years past

At the most recent Met Gala, the model had two major moments. First, she donned gold body paint and pasties under her Dior Haute Couture suit, but second, she showcased her psoriasis, exposing red patches on her elbows in a move fans loved.

For her appearance at the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" Met Gala in 2021, Kim Kardashian attempted to go incognito.

The second Kardashian sister had us all buzzing when she pulled up in this all-black Balenciaga costume which came with a long-sleeve turtleneck bodysuit under an oversized T-shirt dress with a long pleated train. The eye-catching outfit was finished off with jersey boots, jersey gloves and a mask that covered Kardashian's face and head.

Though the costume was hard to miss, it had people speculating if it really was the reality star underneath, given the fact that we couldn't see anything, not even her eyes.

For her Met Gala debut in 2021, Kim Petras channeled her inner horse girl with this otherworldly design by Collina Strada.

The colorful ensemble came with everything — from a 3D-printed horse head to a lengthy (literal) ponytail.

Many celebs ran with the 2019 theme "Camp: Notes on Fashion," but few went as far as Katy Perry, who donned an entire chandelier in a look by Moschino designer Jeremy Scott.

Meanwhile, co-chair Lady Gaga went for a full-on moment that year, stripping down from her voluminous pink Brandon Maxwell dress into a black couture gown, a slinky pink dress and ultimately a black bra-and-fishnets ensemble.

Cardi goes Camp! The rapper brought the red carpet with her to the Met, covered head to toe in a custom oxblood Thom Browne gown that featured a train that extended outward in concentric circles for about 10 feet. According to Vogue, the dress, made from tulle and silk organza filled with down, took 35 people more than 2,000 hours to create, and was embellished with 30,000 feathers.

For his Camp moment, Billy Porter arrived on the shoulders of six shirtless men, wearing a custom "Sun God" ensemble by The Blonds which included a bejeweled catsuit outfitted with 10-ft. wings and a 24-karat gold headpiece. He also wore custom gold glitter 'Atlanta' boots by Giuseppe Zanotti.

While Jared Leto was right on theme for the "Camp: Notes on Fashion" Met Gala in 2019, the fact that he walked the carpet with a replica of his own head was still a little jarring for onlookers.

However, the Oscar-winning actor managed to have a great time with the decapitated head clutch, passing it off to celeb pals such as Shawn Mendes, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne and more throughout the night.

Queen Bey is no stranger to setting the Internet on fire, but when she walked the Met Gala carpet wearing a heavily embellished, form-fitting latex Givenchy dress, even the most loyal among the BeyHive were raising their eyebrows.

All the more curious was the ultra-smokey, smokey eye she paired the custom dress with.

However, renowned makeup artist Sir John, who was responsible for the buzzy look, opened up about the experience post-Gala.

"I had a bad year where I got dragged to hell! But I learned from it, so I don't think there's any such thing as a mistake if you can learn from it and at the time I liked it, my client liked it," he told ET.

And if Beyoncé approved, that's really all that matters.

Madonna has never been one to conform, and the racy look she donned at the "Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology" Met Gala was no exception.

The pop legend wore a Givenchy ensemble that left little to the imagination from the front and the back, and tons of people had much to say about it online.

But she wouldn't be the icon she is if she didn't stand by her out-of-the-box moment. Following the event, Madge took to Instagram to break down the meaning behind the jaw-dropping look.

"We have fought and continue to fight for civil rights and gay rights around the world," the then 57-year old wrote on a since-deleted post on Instagram. "When it comes to women's rights we are still in the dark ages. My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement."

"The fact that people actually believe a woman is not allowed to express her sexuality and be adventurous past a certain age is proof that we still live in an age-ist and sexist society," she continued. "I have never thought in a limited way and I'm not going to start. We cannot [a]ffect change unless we are willing to take risks."

For her debut Met Gala, a pregnant Kim Kardashian wore a floral, floor-length Givenchy gown, complete with long gloves and a bold crimson lip.

While Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci and Anna Wintour — who co-chairs the annual event — were all for the spring-ready ensemble, the Internet was not so kind to the reality star, who was expecting her first baby (daughter North) at the time.

She instantly became the subject of many memes, and even had some A-listers chiming in on the look.

"I think Robin Williams even tweeted it, said I looked like Mrs. Doubtfire," Kardashian later told Vogue of the look. "I was crying the whole way home because I just couldn't believe it."

Supermodel Amber Valletta is a bonafide Met Gala darling.

At the "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century" themed Met Gala in 2004, the then 30-year old opted for a Marie Antoinette-inspired costume — big hair, tight corset, oversized skirt and all!

Still, the model does not regret the dramatic costume, revealing that the only hard part of the night was the weight of the skirt.

She told Fashionista, "The dress and the corset and the hair, everything. It wasn't that it took us that long, it's just that the skirt was pretty heavy, and it just took a little bit more research and thought of how to get that right."

The theme for the the 2003 Met Gala was "Goddess: The Classical Mode" and between the embellished silver vest, the shimmery white suit and the glittery cat eye look, the queen of the keys simply missed the mark.

However, years later, she would come back and steal the show at the 2022 Met Gala wearing a lustrous Ralph Lauren gown featuring a cape with a jeweled design of the New York City skyline.

Also going slightly off-kilter at the 2003 Met Gala was Kirsten Dunst, who decided to accessorize her Marc Jacobs LBD in the most Y2K way possible.

Though her simple black dress and four-tier necklace might have been apropos for the goddess theme, the turquoise beanie brought a sense of casualness that completely altered the look.

Nothing is quite as rock 'n' roll as wearing Hanes tank tops and pants to one of the most elite, formal events of the year.

But, given that these two are the daughters of some of the biggest rock stars of all time — Steven Tyler and Sir Paul McCartney, respectively — and theme of the year was "Rock Style," one can argue this 1999's Met Gala was practically created for them.

"I didn't come at it intentionally to be rebellious at all. I didn't know what people wore," designer McCartney told Vogue in a throwback segment in 2020.

"It wasn't really appropriate that we wore those shirts. Officially, we weren't following the honors of the dress code," model/actress Tyler admitted. "It was very cool and rebellious of Stella. It was an amazing thing, in a way. We were just being ourselves."