The Met Gala is one of the most highly anticipated fashion events of the year, where celebrities, fashion designers, and influencers come together to celebrate the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute exhibition.
Each year, the event has a specific theme that attendees are expected to dress according to. This announcement is important as it dictates the dress code and the larger purpose of the night itself.
The themes have ranged from religious looks to punk rock outfits, and from “Camp: Notes on Fashion” to “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.”
While some celebrities miss the mark or choose to play it safe, others fully embrace the theme and create show-stopping looks that have been talked about for years. In this context, let’s explore some of the celebrities who have most successfully nailed the Met Gala themes in the past.
Top 5 celebs who nailed Met Gala theme in 2022
1) Blake Lively
Blake Lively, a fashion icon and co-chair of the 2022 Met Gala, wore a strapless copper-colored gown with matching opera gloves by Versace, which featured art deco-inspired metallic beading, tied up with a bow that fanned out into a massive train.
She styled the ensemble with a tiny tiara and emerald drop earrings, and took inspiration from the Statue of Liberty for her look. Her dress reveal was dramatic and stunning, and was one of the 10 favorite fashion moments from the 2022 Met Gala.
2) Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish, the 20-year-old singer and fashion icon, wore a Regency-inspired corseted gown by Gucci to the 2022 Met Gala, which was made entirely with upcycled materials.
The mint green boned corset had a square neckline and was embellished with a giant purple flower, while the skirt was a creamy satin bustled one. She also wore a diamond-encrusted choker and black gloves, and her hair was styled in a punky Victorian fashion with a black hair color and bangs.
3) Cardi B
Cardi B, the rapper and fashion icon, wore a head-to-toe gold chain ensemble custom embroidered for her by Atelier Versace to the 2022 Met Gala, which took 20 people more than 1,300 hours to complete by hand.
The dress-glove-choker ensemble was made up of a mile of gold chains, with the combined length of the chain being over 2,000 feet. The gold chain was so fine and delicately molded to her body that she looked far from bulky while walking the steps of Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
4) Lizzo
Lizzo, the singer and flutist, wore a Thom Browne black corset dress and gold embroidered cape to the 2022 Met Gala, which was on theme for the evening of “Gilded Glamor”
The coat was hand-embroidered and took 22,000 hours to make, making it one of the most on-theme looks of the night. She also wore a stacked gold choker and her signature razor-sharp nails in black, and brought her flute as a special accessory to the red carpet.
Lizzo’s Met Gala look was stunning and incredibly on theme, and it was one of the most talked-about looks of the night.
5) Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker arrived on the red carpet wearing a gown by Christopher John Rogers, featuring a bustier top, oversized bows on the sleeves, a train, alternating black, white, and gray panels, inspired by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln’s official dressmaker and the first Black female fashion designer in the White House who was formerly enslaved.
She also wore a massive sculptural updo and a fascinator by Philip Treacy, who has designed many toppers for Parker over the years. Her headdress was a towering headpiece, which was also designed by Philip Treacy, and was a thoughtful interpretation of the “Gilded Glamor” dress code.
The theme for the 2023 Met Gala is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” which will pay tribute to the late designer’s life’s work in a unique manner.
It is always difficult to predict how guests will interpret the theme, but it is expected that celebrities, designers, and change-makers will create costumes that serve as both a fashion statement and a tribute to the concept.