From Kim Kardashian to Taylor Swift: The most controversial outfits worn to the Met Gala
The Met Gala is “fashion’s biggest night out” and Hollywood’s greatest excuse to dress completely out of the ordinary.
Scheduled for the first Monday in May, the Met Gala is the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Every year, the biggest names in fashion, music, fine art, and film gather to honor a new sartorial spring exhibit by dressing in accordance with a particular theme and dress code.
Accessories seen on the red carpet in recent years include floating heads, green babies, capes, and canes, while furry catsuits, spikey head wraps, and stiff, sculpture-like garments are the norm. Year after year, a lookbook of bizarre glamour unfolds on the red carpet between reprieves of simple tuxedos and clean-cut gowns.
For the first time in 20 years, the upcoming exhibit will focus almost exclusively on menswear, with a particular emphasis on Black dandyism.
The theme was announced back in October 2024 during a press conference held in the museum. Andrew Bolton, the head curator for the Costume Institute, said “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” was inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Bolton spoke alongside Miller to explain how elements of the exhibit dovetail with sections of her book.
The stars are expected to pay homage to this year’s concept in unique ways under the dress code, “Tailored for You.” According to Vogue, the theme is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and incite creative interpretation,” meaning guests should show up in garments that reflect their individual tastes and style.
There will inevitably be many attendees who will go rogue, donning far-out designer garb that has nothing to do with the exhibit.
As the countdown to this year’s red carpet continues, we’re harking back to the most contentious Met Gala red carpet looks from the past 25 years.
From Kim Kardashian to Taylor Swift, here are all the celebrities who’s fashion fell short at the annual fundraiser.
Kim Kardashian — 2022
For the 2022 Met Gala, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” guests were meant to pay homage to the Gilded Age. Finding inspiration in old Hollywood, Kardashian took a cue from icon Marilyn Monroe, donning the exact dress she wore when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr President” to John F Kennedy in 1962. The delicate nude gown, embellished with tiny jewels, had been on display inside Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Orlando, Florida.
People were angered by the Skims creator’s decision to wear the actual dress, a piece that was already so fragile. Some claimed she tore the back of the dress until Ripley’s confirmed the garment wasn’t at all damaged.
Doja Cat — 2023
The 2023 theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” sparked criticisms as soon as it was announced. A testament to the Chanel designer was disputed due to the sheer number of crude comments and conservative views Lagerfeld offered throughout his career. Doja Cat was one of the handful of celebrities who honoured Lagerfeld with a nod to his Birman cat, Choupette.
The “Say So” artist dressed in a custom Oscar de la Renta gown with more than 350,000 hand-embroidered silver beads. The dress had a hood and cat-like ears to match her makeup prosthetics designed to resemble Lagerfeld’s furry friend. Not only did Doja Cat dress the part, she acted like a cat too, meowing instead of talking. Some viewers were put off by this entire facade, labelling it as the “worst” of the night.
Kylie Jenner — 2022
Just six months after Off-White’s creative director and founder Virgil Abloh suddenly passed away, Kylie Jenner honored her close friend at the 2022 Met Gala. The dress code was “Gilded Glamour,” and the Sprinter founder wore the fall/winter 2022 finale Off-White couture wedding gown completed with an attached short sleeve T-shirt and a backward baseball hat fashioned on top of a veil.
While Kylie’s intention was to pay tribute to Abloh, wearing a design from his final collection, many questioned her for wearing the frilly-bottom gown. More specifically, critics were angered that she seemed to ignore the theme entirely knowing she could get away with it and still get invited back the next year.
Taylor Swift — 2016
The Midnights performer has been criticized for her style choice on and off the red carpet for years. One of her most questionable ensembles, the custom Louis Vuitton dress for the 2016 Met Gala, majorly struck a cord with passionate fashion fans. For the “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” theme, Swift tapped the French fashion house. The concept was centered around innovation, focusing on the future of the digital age and how it intersected with clothing design.
Swift opted for an intergalactic metallic, three-tiered frill dress with leather wrap pumps. She decorated the look with a brand new bleach bob and purple lipstick. This would be a marker for the beginning of her Reputation era, and it wasn’t well-received, with many divided on her “Bleachella” red carpet moment.
Frank Ocean — 2021
The “Ivy” singer’s 2021 Met Gala outfit has been deemed one of the most outrageous in the event’s history. Ocean was accompanied by an unusual and unexpected accessory for the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibit - a plastic neon green baby. His outfit was quite simple and understated, donning a black Prada suit and vest with a plain white shirt peaking out from underneath. However, Ocean channelled a whimsical nature by bringing a doll to match his green hair. With a theme that elicited expressions to American fashion, the artist’s response was largely misunderstood.
Amy Schumer — 2022
On the night meant to honor the beauty of fashion through the golden age in America, the comedian donned a conservative, all-black coat dress by Gabriela Hearst. While others dazzled in sparkly garments reminscent of classic cinema and old Manhattan, Schumer looked like she was protesting the dress code choosing a dark monochromatic outfit. Fans bashed the celebrity’s look online, arguing she appeared like she was attending a “funeral” in the double-breasted jacket.
Katy Perry — 2010
The 2010 Met Gala, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” celebrated a cultural shift in the country at the start of a new decade. Most attendees showed national spirit in red, white, and blue, but the “Roar” singer went off in a different direction. The vibrant artist chose to wear a multi-color LED strapless gown designed by Cute Circuit with a geometric pink crystal statement necklace. Her motivation was to represent fearless women with the astonishing glow-up garment. However, critics claimed her look was too loosely connected to the theme.
Dan Levy — 2021
The Schitt’s Creek star may not have upset the masses with a plastic baby accessory, but the TV actor wasn’t a favorite from the 2021 Met Gala either. Levy stepped onto the cream-colored carpet in a Jonathan Anderson original. He embodied the globe, donning ballooned puffer sleeps, a polo shirt with an embroidered queer couple kissing in the centre, and grid leggings. The ensemble was finished with what could only be described as “Jane Birkini-fyed” double buckle combat boots and a piece of literature in hand. Levy’s look, bedazzled with Cartier diamonds, was an ode to the LGBTQ+ community in America. The powerful message spewed on the carpet in blue, green, and pink hues.
Sarah Jessica Parker — 2016
As Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker usually got away with wearing almost anything (emphasis on the almost). She’s a model for fashion risk-takers in television and on the street, in and out of character. But Parker seemingly misinterpreted the dress code for the 2016 Met Gala, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”
Her take on the digital age in white capris, a matching corset, and double-breasted gold button military jacket with pleated chiffon sleeve cuffs didn’t translate. The entire look, an ode toHamilton, was by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. Their idea played on innovation in a non-technical sense: thought and fabrication. Parker decorated the all-white ensemble with a large gold pendant necklace and blue pumps that could’ve been easily mistaken for the cherished blue Manolos she wears to her courthouse wedding with Mr. Big in SATC.
Jared Leto — 2022
Evidently, every celebrity at the 2022 Met Gala had a different interpretation of opulence in the golden age. The 52-year-old musician saw a double entendre in gilded glamour. Leto showed up to the Metropolitan Museum in a get-up that excited and upset viewers all at once. He wore a tweed tuxedo with stitched flower bouquets, pink bow ties, studded hair broach, dark shades, and a red clutch with a gold metal clasp. Next to him was no plastic accessory but a real life copy. Leto brought Gucci’s then creative director, Alessandro Michele, as his twin for the night. He called it, “Double Victorian Gilded Trouble”.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — 2021
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spawned an internet frenzy when she showed up to the 2021 Met Gala dressed in a white, Brother Vellies dress with red grafitti that read, “Tax the Rich.”
Speaking to a reporter on the red carpet, Ocasio-Cortez, 35, explained the inspiration behind the statement-making style. “When we talk about supporting working families and when we talk about having a fair tax code, oftentimes this conversation is happening among working and middle class people (on) the senate floor,” she said. “I think it’s time we bring all classes into the conversation.”
Critics online bashed Ocasio-Cortez for the fashion choice, calling her a “hypocrit” for spreading that message at an event that costs about $75,000 per ticket.
Ezra Miller — 2019
Ezra Miller went a little too far with their fashion for the 2019 Met Gala, “Camp: Notes on Fashion.” While the theme rightfully elicited wacky, absurd styles, the 32-year-old actor rubbed viewers the wrong way when they showed up in a tailored suit, jeweled corset, and dizzying makeup that looked like they had multiple sets of eyes. Artist Mimi Choi, who’s speciality is optical illusion makeup, painted the five additional eyes on Miller.
To add to the theatrics, Miller teased their look by covering their face with a mask before stepping in front of the cameras on the red carpet. “I had a lot of bizarre thoughts in my brain and was trying to explain them to several people who, in many cases, received it with apprehension, even fear,” Miller told Garage at the time.
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