{"id":642371,"date":"2026-05-01T08:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T08:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/642371\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T08:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T08:50:08","slug":"omelette-dresses-and-political-statements-the-most-unforgettable-met-gala-looks-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/642371\/","title":{"rendered":"Omelette dresses and political statements: the most unforgettable Met Gala looks | Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first Monday in May is fast approaching, which means the next iteration of the Met Gala<\/a> \u2013 the biggest night in fashion \u2013 is on its way.<\/p>\n

While we eagerly wait to see what co-chairs including Beyonc\u00e9 (her first Met in a decade) wear, how Anna Wintour handles honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren S\u00e1nchez on the steps (the couple have provided most of the funding for the gala and its exhibition), and how much impact the anti-Bezos protesters<\/a> have, we thought it would be fun to hit pause on predictions and instead indulge in some Met Gala nostalgia.<\/p>\n

Here, eight Guardian writers choose their most memorable looks that once walked up the Metropolitan Museum\u2019s grand staircase.<\/p>\n

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 2021<\/p>\n

Speak truth to power \u2026 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Photograph: Alamy\/PA<\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t anything memorable about AOC\u2019s ivory off-shoulder dress with an organza flounce except, of course, the words \u2018tax the rich\u2019 scrawled in blood-red on the back. The Democrat was clever not to work with a mega fashion house but with the brand Brother Vellies, whose founder and designer, Aurora James, makes fun and affordable accessories inspired by African designs and handicrafts. And yet. Pushing your progressive socialist values while attending one of the world\u2019s most elite and exclusive fundraisers? A canny photo op but self-defeating, too. In her defence, she didn\u2019t spend $35,000 on a ticket (politicians attending the Met Gala are routinely comped<\/a>). Still: optics, people. Morwenna Ferrier<\/p>\n

Rihanna, 2015<\/p>\n

Regal \u2026 Rihanna. Photograph: Larry Busacca\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Rihanna\u2019s \u201comelette dress\u201d fully committed to 2015\u2019s theme, China: Through the Looking Glass. She found the bold, yellow cape from the Chinese designer Guo Pei<\/a> while researching Chinese couture. It was bright to the point of excess, but it felt regal, the yellow against the red steps was sharpened further by Rihanna\u2019s red hair. The fact that one woman spent two years hand-making it, only adds to my love of it. And the memes it spawned afterwards, from the cape \u2018cooking\u2019 in a frying pan to being worn by Big Bird, made it all the more memorable. Sundus Abdi<\/p>\n

Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, 2021<\/p>\n

Chucks \u2026 Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet. Photograph: Mike Coppola\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet may have been the internet\u2019s boyfriend since his tender, star-making role in 2017\u2019s Call Me by Your Name, but he\u2019s only attended the Met Gala once, as co-chair in 2021. He didn\u2019t disappoint in his one outing though, making a bold statement with an all-white ensemble that blended typical red-carpet fare (a Haider Ackermann double-breasted suit jacket and Rick Owens turtleneck), with streetwear edge (sweatpants and white Chuck Taylors). Chalamet\u2019s embrace of the humble Chuck was a perfect nod to that year\u2019s theme of American independence \u2013 sporting the nation\u2019s most democratic shoe on fashion\u2019s most exclusive stage. And so, a gen Z style icon was born. Sasha Mistlin<\/p>\n

Lady Gaga, 2019<\/p>\n

Born this way \u2026 Lady Gaga. Photograph: Charles Sykes\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n

The Met Gala\u2019s Camp theme in 2019 changed the rules of the red carpet. Dressing-up went from glamour to Halloween-in-May overnight. (I still think about Katy Perry\u2019s cheeseburger costume<\/a> at least twice a week.) Lady Gaga staged a full-scale performance-art moment, walking three blocks to the museum steps in a Brandon Maxwell cape dress with a 25ft-train, before disrobing to reveal three more looks, finishing in diamante lingerie. Still the one to beat. Jess Cartner-Morley<\/p>\n

Dua Lipa, 2019<\/p>\n

Barbie meets Cher \u2026 Dua Lipa. Photograph: Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images for the Met Museum\/Vogue<\/p>\n

My favourite Met Gala look is Dua Lipa wearing Versace to the Camp edition. She looked like a Cher Barbie doll that had been back-combed to within an inch of its life, and you can\u2019t say camper than that. Honourable mention to Karlie Kloss, who teased her deeply underwhelming outfit on Instagram with the caption<\/a> \u2018looking camp right in the eye\u2019 \u2013 a statement so unintentionally ironic that it circled back on itself and became camp. Joe Stone<\/p>\n

Stella McCartney and Liv Tyler, 1999<\/p>\n

Accidental rebels \u2026 Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney. Photograph: Mitchell Gerber\/Corbis\/VCG\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Long before the term \u2018Nepo baby\u2019 had entered the mainstream lexicon, Stella McCartney played into the trope during her very first Met Gala. For the theme Rock Style, McCartney, the designer and daughter of the Beatles\u2019s Paul McCartney, persuaded her pal Liv Tyler, the actor and daughter of Aerosmith\u2019s Steven Tyler, to wear matching slashed tank tops emblazoned with the words \u201cRock Royalty\u201d. With everyone else playing it safe in evening gowns, they stole the show \u2013 images of the duo filled the front pages the next morning. Nowadays red carpet looks are designed to go viral but as McCartney later revealed to Vogue<\/a>, that was never the goal: \u201cI didn\u2019t come at it intentionally to be rebellious at all. I didn\u2019t know what people wore.\u201d Chloe Mac Donnell<\/p>\n

A$AP Rocky, 2021<\/p>\n

Hot \u2026 Rihanna and A$AP Rocky. Photograph: Theo Wargo\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re A$AP Rocky, it\u2019s quite the power move to turn up to the Met Gala, an event where, if you\u2019re A$AP Rocky at least, hundreds of cameras and billions of eyes will be trained on you, wearing a quilt. The theme was In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, and the quilt is a cornerstone of that lexicon. But far from getting bogged down in history books, Rocky\u2019s look, which featured the quilt and a custom silk taffeta tuxedo underneath it \u2013 both the work of ERL designer Eli Russell Linnetz \u2013 felt fresh and fun. It also foreshadowed, in 2021, the king of menswear he would be today. Ellie Violet Bramley<\/p>\n

Janelle Mon\u00e1e, 2025<\/p>\n

Cybertronic \u2026 Janelle Mon\u00e1e. Photograph: Justin Lane\/EPA<\/p>\n

Janelle Mon\u00e1e\u2019s get-up gets better every gala. I loved her Camp look<\/a> (she was like a walking Niki de Saint Phalle artwork, complete with giant eye bra and matching eyeball bag), and her huge handbag for the Lagerfeld year edition \u2013 a tribute to Choupette the cat. But her 2025 outfit by Thom Browne, dedicated to Black dandyism<\/a>, took her styling to the next level. The oversized optical illusion suit! The time-traveller\u2019s monocle attached to her bowler hat! What a steampunk dream. Kate Abbott<\/p>\n

Beyonc\u00e9, 2015<\/p>\n

If looks could kill \u2026 Beyonc\u00e9, with Jay-Z. Photograph: Broadimage\/Rex\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

In 2015, Beyonc\u00e9 arrived on the red carpet four hours late, dressed in what is essentially a vajazzled nude body sock. My love for this dress isn\u2019t rational. The outfit isn\u2019t objectively beautiful, and its relationship to the gala\u2019s theme \u2013 China: Through the Looking Glass \u2013 is tenuous at best. But when you look this good in 2,000 pink-and-green crystals, why play by the rules? My favourite part is the off-centre, high ponytail. Nothing could be unflattering on Beyonc\u00e9, but this pony almost is. The whole effect is high-camp, pure razzle-dazzle. She looks a bit as if she is auditioning for Cabaret, and I love it. Kim Kardashian has worn something suspiciously similar to every Met gala since, but no one else could ever compare. Kitty Drake<\/p>\n

To read the complete version of this newsletter \u2013 complete with this week\u2019s trending topics in The Measure and your wardrobe dilemmas solved \u2013 subscribe to receive Fashion Statement<\/a> in your inbox every Thursday.<\/p>\n