"Hard To Put Into Words How Much It Means To Me": 28 Celebrities Who Wore Looks Inspired By Their Heritage On The Red Carpet

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1. In 2024, Drew Afualo attended the Moana 2 premiere successful a beauteous look celebrating her Samoan heritage. On Instagram, she wrote, "y’all [Samoan constitution creator Adam Simmons] besides helped w my tuiga selu (it’s a Samoan crown that acts arsenic a comb), arsenic good arsenic my kukui ammunition necklace & ula nifo (teeth necklace) & I person to springiness him his flowers bc helium tin bash virtually thing it’s CRAZY LMAOO." She besides wrote, "Pasifika radical & our civilization are truthful beauteous & I’m gladsome the satellite tin yet spot it truthful intelligibly excessively 🤍."

Person connected reddish carpet successful strapless achromatic formal with unsocial spiked headpiece, attending a "Moana 2" event

2. S.Coups, of the K-pop lad set Seventeen, wore hanbok-inspired Boss to the 2025 Met Gala. The taxable was "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," with a formal codification of "Tailored for You." The instrumentalist told WWD, "It’s a custom-tailored look inspired by jeogori, the Korean hanbok jacket, truthful it fits maine perfectly and highlights a originative plan — similar the contrasting shades of grey connected the wrong and extracurricular of the overgarment that adhd a subtle allure erstwhile revealed with each step. It truly sets the code for this year’s Met, which celebrates tailoring arsenic a signifier of self-expression and individuality."

A idiosyncratic connected a reddish carpet wears a flowing, layered grey outfit with a agelong cape, exuding a melodramatic and elegant style

3. According to decorator Thai Nguyen, Kelly Marie Tran became the archetypal idiosyncratic to deterioration a Vietnamese áo dài astatine the Oscars erstwhile she wowed connected the 2022 reddish carpet. In a Facebook video, helium said it took six artists to make the look.

Woman successful elaborate greenish gown with matching chapeau connected reddish carpet

But I besides person to outcry retired her look during the virtual premiere of Raya and the Last Dragon. Thai Nguyen — who designed this, excessively — wrote connected Instagram, "When I archetypal heard my person @kellymarietran was to beryllium the newest and the 1st ever Southeast Asian Disney princess, I was overjoyed. ... Kelly and I stock passionateness for what we bash and a beardown emotion for Vietnamese culture. We besides some recognize the challenges of being underrepresented minorities successful competitory spaces. It is hard to enactment into words however overmuch it means to maine that we were capable to articulation those emotions and experiences, crook it into an iconic ao dai, and stock our practice with the world."

Celebrity successful an elegant, floor-length gown with intricate patterns and a ample decorative headdress connected a reddish carpet event

4. At the 2024 Met Gala — wherever the taxable was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" and the formal codification was "The Garden of Time" — Alia Bhatt stunned successful customized Sabyasachi. On Instagram, the luxury manner marque wrote, "Sabyasachi interprets The Garden of Time with a couture sari and an exaggerated train, manus embroidered with silk floss, beads, sequins, semi-precious stones and fringed with solid beads. The hand-crafted blouse is studded with emeralds, Basra pearls, tourmalines and multi coloured sapphires."

Celebrity connected reddish carpet successful an intricately embroidered, sheer sari-style gown with floral designs, styled with an elegant updo and ornate hairpiece

5. Last year, Jason Momoa attended the Chief of War premiere wearing an ‘ahu ‘ula, a feather cape of heavy taste significance. It erstwhile took years to marque an ‘ahu ‘ula, with villages gathering the feathers from thousands of birds to make a feather cape for Hawaiʻi's aliʻi (chiefs).

Celebrity connected reddish carpet wearing a geometric-patterned cape, achromatic shirt, and acheronian pants, accessorized with sunglasses and necklace

6. In 2024, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan attended the Gold Gala, Gold House's yearly lawsuit that celebrates Asian and Pacific Islander excellence. She wore a gorgeous Indian lehenga with jhumka earrings.

Woman successful accepted embellished bluish lehenga with cropped blouse, posing astatine an event

7. Darren Criss has often celebrated his Filipino roots by wearing outfits by manner decorator Francis Libiran. At the 2024 premiere of the Maybe Happy Ending musical, helium wore a customized barong. "Crafted from Piña Jusi cloth and paired with off-white Italian wool pants, this portion is simply a tribute to Darren Criss’ Filipino practice arsenic it showcases intricate beadwork and embroidery inspired by a awesome of bully fortune, the Sarimanok of the Maranao people," Francis wrote connected Instagram.

Person successful a achromatic suit with vibrant, swirling thread design, attends a philharmonic premiere lawsuit background

8. At the 2021 Met Gala — wherever the taxable was "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" with a formal codification of "American Independence" — Naomi Osaka stunned successful a Louis Vuitton formal co-designed by her sister, Mari Osaka. The tennis prima — who is Japanese and Haitian — wore an obi-style belt, people featuring koi fish, and agleam colors reminiscent of the Caribbean.

closeup of her connected the met carpet

9. Auliʻi Cravalho looked radiant astatine the 2024 Moana 2 premiere. "I had a precise peculiar thought of spotlighting momi keʻokeʻo, oversea shells, for our Hawai’i premiere look," she told Vogue. "We presented this situation to [Samoan manner designer] Afa Ah Loo, who cleverly strung idiosyncratic achromatic Dovetail shells into a cape-like signifier reminiscent of Hawaiian ʻahu ʻula — a feather cloak worn by past Hawaiian royalty." Afa posted the look connected Instagram, writing, "It was a imagination travel existent to formal her and beryllium capable to witnesser the showcase of Pacific Island excellence past nighttime astatine the satellite premiere!"

Celebrity connected reddish carpet successful pearl-embellished apical and achromatic pants, smiling with manus gesturing, attending a "Moana 2" event

10. In 2019, Tan France attended the Emmys successful a sherwani by Varun Bahl Couture to correspond his Pakistani heritage. According to the designer's website, the outfit was featured successful Kensington Palace's Crown to Couture exhibit.

Person connected reddish carpet successful embroidered sherwani with matching boots and aggregate necklaces

11. In 2023, Richa Moorjani captivated astatine the premiere of the last play of Never Have I Ever. According to Vogue India, she wore an Amit Aggarwal ensemble: a lehenga, hand-embroidered blouse, and structured palla with geometrical patterns.

closeup of her wearing the one-shouldered dress

12. At the 2022 planetary Pachinko premiere, Jin Ha wore a benignant of Korean hanbok traditionally worn by women. He told Esquire, "I ever loved the women's hanbok. The colors, the design, the patterns — everything astir it was truthful enthralling. I felt similar this was the cleanable lawsuit for maine to yet deterioration a hanbok. It felt wholly applicable to the communicative that we were telling, and to the women we were honoring successful Pachinko. On apical of that, I conscionable wanted to look beautiful. I wanted to consciousness beauteous that night, and I was capable to find this hanbok successful a hanbok store successful Flushing, Queens. It was perfect."

Person successful accepted hanbok connected reddish carpet, featuring vibrant apical and flowing skirt, attends a personage event

13. At the 2022 Met Gala — wherever the taxable was "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" and the formal codification was "Gilded Glamour and White Tie" — Vanessa Hudgens wore a mesmerizing achromatic dress. On Instagram, she wrote, "I was truthful obsessed with this formal (Still am) for truthful galore reasons. A. It was designed by a person @jeremyscott who knows the existent maine B. The silhouette is really historically close for the Gilded Age taxable C. I got to beryllium the glamorous witch that I americium and D. The puff sleeve pays homage to my Filipino heritage."

closeup of her successful the sheer top

14. At the 2024 Gold Gala, Simone Kessell wore a hei tiki (a cervix pendant successful the signifier of a tiki). Both the pendant and her earrings are carved from pounamu, which is profoundly important to Māori people's civilization and history, and tin lone beryllium recovered successful Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Simone Kessell astatine an event, wearing a achromatic apical with a heavy neckline and a golden pleated skirt, smiling astatine the camera

15. Joy Crookes wore a beauteous lehenga to the 2020 Brit Awards. "It goes beyond representing Bangladeshi culture, it's representing myself," she told BBC. "I privation to beryllium capable to consciousness similar anyplace I enactment my foot, nary 1 tin question that I beryllium there. If I'm going to an grant ceremony, I'm not going determination to beryllium idiosyncratic else, I'm going determination to beryllium myself. And portion of maine is my culture."

Celebrity posing successful a accepted yellowish embellished outfit with jewelry astatine BRIT Awards

16. At the 2021 Met Gala, Saweetie wore a customized Christian Cowan gown with a trailing cape that featured colors of the Black American Heritage emblem connected 1 broadside and colors of the Filipino emblem connected the other. "That's what makes maine an American girl," she said.

her walking the steps successful the dress

17. Dinah Jane attended the 2022 API Excellence Celebration successful accepted Tongan covering designed by Afa Ah Loo. On Instagram, she wrote, "This is simply a customized apical made retired of Tongan Ngatu. Traditionally this worldly is made from the bark of Hiapo oregon Mulberry Tree. Our ancestors passed this method down and mostly women manus marque the Ngatu. It’s been a prized TREASURE (Koloa) of our ancestors and inactive is to this precise day. It’s fixed astatine prestigious events that observe milestones of beingness and the essence of our people."

closeup of her wearing the level chapeau and outfit astatine the event

18. At the 2021 premiere of Eternals, Kumail Nanjiani wore a Pakistani sherwani by the House of Umar Sayeed. He told The Hollywood Reporter, "I wanted to deterioration a sherwani due to the fact that 1. They look awesome and 2. My costume successful the movie ever reminded maine of sherwanis." The histrion called his mom, who gave him the names of 3 designers successful Pakistan.

closeup of him successful the colorful sherwani

19. In 2019, Priyanka Chopra was honored astatine the Marrakech International Film Festival for her enactment successful cinema. According to Vogue India, she wore an ivory Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla sari "doused successful mukaish work" and hand-embroidered with "sequins successful a geometric jaali leitmotif."

closeup of her successful the sari holding her award

20. At the 2016 VMAs, Parris Goebel rocked a beauteous Polynesian formal and 'ula nifo (tooth necklace). Samoan manner decorator Priscilla Ale told The Coconet, "Her inspiration was to spell accepted Polynesian with a poppin' colour and a tatau [tattoo] people to correspond her Samoan heritage." Parris aboriginal donated the formal and the 'ula nifo to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Woman successful a bluish and achromatic floral signifier formal with cut-outs, connected the reddish carpet

21. At the 2008 SAG Awards, Sandra Oh dazzled connected the reddish carpet successful a achromatic and pinkish gown. According to E! News, the formal was a couture mentation of Korean hanbok.

Sandra Oh connected reddish carpet successful a strapless gown with oversized pinkish bow and achromatic skirt

22. In 2023, American Idol victor Iam Tongi attended the Unforgettable Gala with a Tongan ta'ovala astir his waist. The reddish necklace, called an ula fala, is made from segments of the pandanus effect that are painted red.

Man successful achromatic garment and accepted wrapper with necklace, posing connected the reddish carpet

23. In 2023, Ali Wong — who is Vietnamese and Chinese — attended the Time 100 Gala successful an áo dài and headpiece. On Instagram, decorator Thai Nguyen thanked the histrion "for this iconic infinitesimal representing the Vietnamese civilization and the quality of the áo dài."

closeup of the headpiece and of her wearing the accepted formal with agelong fringed sleeves

24. In 2007, Janel Parrish attended the Bratz premiere successful a bluish formal with a mandarin collar inspired by her heritage. "I wanted to enactment existent to my Chinese roots," she told OK! Magazine. "Especially playing a Chinese character. Loved this look."

Woman successful a high-collared, Chinese-style bluish formal poses connected the reddish carpet

25. At the 2021 Encounter premiere, Riz Ahmed wore a pinkish kurta by Prada. Though helium was calved and raised successful London, helium told the New York Times helium was alienated astatine schoolhouse owed to his Pakistani heritage. Wearing a kurta astatine a movie lawsuit was an enactment of reclamation and an accidental to subvert "Eurocentric and precolonial" constructs astir masculinity.

him wearing the agelong kurta implicit suit pants and nether his blazer

26. In 2023, Oscar Kightley attended the premiere of Next Goal Wins. He wore a button-down garment with Samoan designs, an i.e. faitaga, and an ula fala.

Man successful patterned shirt, fedora, lei necklace, and glasses posing with manus motion connected hip

27. Deepika Padukone wore a customized Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla sari to the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. According to Vogue India, the collar was embroidered with 1,200 pearls and 200 crystals by hand.

Celebrity wearing an elegant gown with a melodramatic ruffled bid and pearl-embellished neckline connected the reddish carpet, smiling confidently

28. And finally, for her archetypal large reddish carpet quality past month, tennis prima Alex Eala wore a customized Filipiniana. "I uncertainty determination are galore pieces of covering that marque a Filipina consciousness much beauteous than a Filipiniana," she wrote connected Instagram. "At the Laureus Sports Awards, I chose to deterioration this look arsenic a quiescent motion to wherever I travel from and what I transportation erstwhile I measurement into rooms similar those. There’s nary 1 who could’ve brought this formal to beingness amended than my Tito, @rhetteala. It’s an grant to deterioration 1 of your pieces Tito Rhett❤️ Makes it adjacent much peculiar that determination is simply a portion of family."

Individual successful elegant floor-length gown with structured shoulders, posing connected reddish carpet astatine personage event

Check retired much API-centered contented celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month here. Of course, the contented doesn't extremity aft May. Follow BuzzFeed’s A*Pop connected Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to support up with our latest API contented year-round!

Illustration of divers individuals celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, with vibrant outfits and dynamic poses astir bold text

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