Ranking Every Met Gala Theme From The Past 20 Years By How Iconic The Celebrity Outfits Were

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Inspired by the Met Museum Costume Institute’s outpouring 2026 exhibition, Costume Art, this year's fundraising gala formal codification is "Fashion is Art." Not lone does the 2026 Met Gala people Beyoncé's archetypal quality astatine the lawsuit successful a decade, but the red carpet taxable means we're successful for a chaotic thrust arsenic celebrities are invited to usage their bodies arsenic a canvas (both virtually and figuratively).

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The impermanent database includes Sabrina Carpenter, Zoë Kravitz, and Nicole Kidman (who is simply a co-chair alongside Beyoncé and Venus Williams), and if the 2025 Met Gala looks are immoderate indication, there's bound to beryllium astatine slightest a fewer unforgettable red carpet moments this year. To observe the looks we've seen implicit the years, we've ranked the champion Met Gala themes from the past 2 decades based connected the iconic personage outfits they inspired. Without further ado, let's get started:

1. As a certified instrumentality favorite, it's astir apt nary astonishment that the 2018 Met Gala is archetypal connected this list. The exhibit, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, inspired the reddish carpet formal codification "Sunday Best." The grounds centered on "showcasing the power of spiritual creation connected innovative fashions." And thing indispensable person been successful the h2o that year, due to the fact that the celebrities successful attendance earned 10s crossed the board. Case successful point: Rihanna's customized three-piece Maison Margiela Artisanal ensemble:

Person successful ornate, jewel-encrusted papal-inspired outfit with matching headdress, astatine a ceremonial lawsuit surrounded by photographers

There's besides Chadwick Boseman's customized five-piece Atelier Versace outfit:

Celebrity successful an ornate achromatic suit with golden embellishments and cape, posing connected the reddish carpet arsenic photographers seizure the moment

And however could we not see Zendaya's customized Versace concatenation message gown that was inspired by Joan of Arc?

Person successful metallic, armor-inspired gown with structured plan connected a ceremonial lawsuit reddish carpet, surrounded by photographers and greenery backdrop

For immoderate much discourse connected the theme, here's a look astatine what Blake Lively, Ariana Grande, Gigi Hadid, and Christian Louboutin wore to the event. Enough said.

Group of 5 connected a reddish carpet, dressed successful elegant and ornate evening gowns and a patterned suit

2. And the runner-up is... 2019's theme, "Camp: Notes connected Fashion." The framework for the theme was based connected Susan Sontag's 1964 effort "Notes connected 'Camp'," which "examines however the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed successful fashion." Enter: Katy Perry's Moschino chandelier outfit.

Person successful chandelier-inspired outfit with crystal details and headpiece astatine a manner event, surrounded by onlookers and photographers

While not everyone understood the duty that year, those who did showed each the mode out. The 4 antithetic Brandon Maxwell designs that Lady Gaga changed into passim her 15-minute accomplishment and show connected the reddish carpet lone beryllium wherefore she was a co-chair that year.

A personage showcases 4 antithetic outfits, including a voluminous gown, a sleek achromatic dress, a vibrant pinkish dress, and a chic lingerie set

Kevin Tachman / Getty Images

3. In 2024, the Met Costume Institute's grounds was Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, which explored themes of nature arsenic the "ultimate metaphor for manner — its rebirth, renewal, and cyclicity arsenic good arsenic its transience, ephemerality, and evanescence." The formal codification for the reddish carpet lawsuit was "The Garden of Time," and Zendaya, a co-chair that year, dominated the reddish carpet (as per usual) successful a bluish striped gown by John Galliano:

Person connected a reddish carpet wearing an elegant, sculptural, asymmetrical gown with intricate embellishments. Hands connected hips, striking a assured pose

Lana Del Rey's customized Alexander McQueen ensemble was besides consecutive retired of a fairytale:

Person successful an intricate gown with branch-like details and sheer veil connected a greenish staircase astatine a ceremonial event, surrounded by photographers

4. The 2025 Met Gala exhibit, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, acted as "a taste and humanities introspection of Black benignant implicit 3 100 years done the conception of dandyism." The formal codification for the reddish carpet lawsuit was "Tailored for You," and cheque retired Teyana Taylor's co-designed customized burgundy zoot-suit-inspired ensemble with costume decorator Ruth E. Carter:

Person successful a melodramatic striped suit with elaborate reddish cape and hat, featuring elaborate accessories, lasting astatine a high-profile event

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

As a co-chair that year, Colman Domingo wore Valentino, erstwhile again being among the best-dressed men astatine the event:

Man successful a patterned suit with a ample polka-dotted necktie and floral accessory connected a star-themed carpet astatine a personage event

And here's a look astatine what Lupita Nyong'o, Gabrielle Union, Coco Jones, and Zendaya wore to the event.

1 successful a bluish suit, 1 successful a strapless achromatic dress, 1 successful a jeweled apical and achromatic pants, and 1 successful a achromatic suit with a hat

5. The 2022 exhibit, In America: An Anthology of Fashion, was the 2nd portion of a two-part exhibition connected American fashion, pursuing 2021's taxable "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion." The formal codification for the reddish carpet lawsuit was "Gilded Glamour, White Tie," and arsenic a co-chair for the lawsuit that year, Blake Lively's color-changing Atelier Versace formal that was inspired by the oxidation of the Statue of Liberty was the speech of the municipality (and for bully reason):

Person successful an ornate off-shoulder gown with metallic design, lasting connected a reddish carpet, surrounded by photographers

Alicia Keys' custom-made Ralph Lauren gown included a achromatic cape that was hand-embroidered with crystals to correspond the New York City skyline:

A idiosyncratic poses connected the reddish carpet successful a sparkling, floor-length gown with photographers successful the inheritance astatine a personage event

Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images, Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

6. The taxable for 2008 was "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy," which explored the associations betwixt fictional characters and fashion to uncover however the "superhero serves arsenic the eventual metaphor for manner and its quality to empower and alteration the quality body." Naomi Watts' 1992 archival Thierry Mugler gown was a spot-on choice:

Actor successful a pleated, floor-length gown with a star-shaped embellishment connected the chest, lasting connected a reddish carpet

For her Met Gala debut, Taylor Swift wore a golden Badgley Mischka gown:

Celebrity successful an elegant, sequined gown stands connected a reddish carpet astatine an event, surrounded by different guests successful ceremonial attire

And here's a look astatine what Anna Wintour, Roberta Armani, Giorgio Armani, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Julia Roberts, and George Clooney wore to the event.

Group of 7 elegantly dressed people, including men successful tuxedos and women successful glamorous gowns, posing unneurotic astatine a ceremonial event

7. The 2023 Met Gala grounds was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which honored the designer's legacy and his "stylistic vocabulary arsenic expressed successful aesthetic themes that look clip and again successful his fashions from the 1950s to his last postulation successful 2019." Following the reddish carpet formal codification of "In grant of Karl," Nicole Kidman brought retired the gown from her iconic 2004 Chanel No. 5 perfume commercial, which is an archival Karl Lagerfeld piece:

A personage connected a reddish carpet wears an elegant, feathered gown with a agelong train, surrounded by photographers

Janelle Monáe started the nighttime successful a Thom Browne ensemble, which she aboriginal stripped down to a sheer achromatic tulle pannier formal with a achromatic sequin bikini underneath:

Person wearing a voluminous, avant-garde achromatic and achromatic overgarment with intricate detailing connected a reddish carpet, surrounded by photographers

And here's a look astatine what Julia Garner, Halle Bailey, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Penélope Cruz, and Dua Lipa wore to the event.

John Shearer / Getty Images, Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

8. Next up, we person 2011's taxable of "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty," which honored the designer's "astonishing and extravagant runway presentations, which were fixed melodramatic scenarios and communicative structures that suggested avant-garde installation and show art." Christina Ricci's customized couture gown, designed by Zac Posen, paid homage to the designer's signature style:

An idiosyncratic successful an intricate, sheer achromatic gown poses confidently connected a reddish carpet, surrounded by a crowd

Naomi Campbell wore a customized achromatic Alexander McQueen gown:

Person connected a reddish carpet successful an intricately designed gown with feather details and a jeweled headpiece

And here's a look astatine what Amber Valletta, Eva Mendes, and Rashida Jones wore to the event.

Three women basal connected a reddish carpet. One successful a strapless gown, 1 successful a one-shoulder dress, and 1 successful a strapless gown with a headband

9. In 2015, the reddish carpet taxable of "China: Through the Looking Glass" explored the "impact of Chinese aesthetics connected Western manner and however China has fueled the fashionable imaginativeness for centuries." Though determination were a batch of radical who missed the people that year, Rihanna, successful her yellowish gown designed by Chinese couturier Guo Pei, was surely not 1 of them:

A personage successful an ornate gown with a agelong bid poses connected the reddish carpet, surrounded by photographers

In summation to designing her formal that twelvemonth successful collaboration with H&M, Sarah Jessica Parker wore an accompanying Philip Treacy headpiece, with Cindy Chao providing the jewelry for the look:

Person wearing an elaborate outfit with a ample headpiece and agelong cape adorned with reddish flowers connected a reddish carpet

George Pimentel / Getty Images, Lars Niki / Getty Images

10. The Met Gala taxable successful 2013 was "Punk: Chaos to Couture," which examined "punk's interaction connected precocious fashion from the movement's commencement successful the aboriginal 1970s done its continuing power today." For her Met Gala debut, Miley Cyrus wore a customized achromatic netted fishnet gown designed by Marc Jacobs, paired with bleached, spiky hairsbreadth and a reddish lip:

Celebrity successful a sheer, form-fitting gown with a spiked hairstyle poses connected a reddish carpet, surrounded by photographers and onlookers

Wearing a Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci ensemble, Madonna and her abbreviated achromatic bob were besides a item of the night:

Celebrity poses connected reddish carpet wearing a plaid mini dress, connection belt, thigh-high stockings, and agleam shoes, surrounded by photographers

Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images, Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

11. The Met grounds for 2021, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, focused much connected celebrating and re-evaluating American manner than connected the gilded glamour of 2022's theme. The formal codification for the red carpet was "American Independence," and Lupita Nyong'o wore a customized dark-wash denim gown by Atelier Versace:

Person successful a structured, layered denim gown with an elaborate hairstyle connected a glamorous event's beige carpet. Photographers successful the background

As a co-chair for the lawsuit that year, Billie Eilish chose a peach-colored tulle Oscar de la Renta gown, acting arsenic a motion to Old Hollywood glamour:

Celebrity connected a reddish carpet successful an elegant gown with a full, flowing skirt and classical styling

12. The grounds for 2016 was Manus x Machina: Fashion successful an Age of Technology, which explored how "fashion designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made successful the instauration of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear." The customized fiber-optic LED shot gown that Claire Danes wore, which was designed by Zac Posen and virtually glowed successful the dark, decidedly acceptable the formal codification of "tech achromatic tie" for the red carpet:

Person successful an elegant strapless shot gown poses connected a reddish carpet astatine an event

For his archetypal and lone clip attending the Met Gala, Zayn Malik wore a customized Atelier Versace suit with existent metallic armor plates connected the sleeves:

Two individuals connected the reddish carpet; 1 successful a suit with metallic limb pieces, the different successful a halter-neck gown with sequin details

And here's a look astatine what Lily Collins, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Rachel McAdams, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Lorde, Miles Teller, and Zoe Kravitz wore to the event.

ceremonial gowns and suits, 1 with a multi-layered tulle dress, others successful sleek oregon intricate designs

13. The 2006 taxable was "AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression successful British Fashion," which examined "ideals, stereotypes, and representations of Englishness by juxtaposing humanities costume with precocious 20th- and aboriginal 21st-century fashions." Sarah Jessica Parker wore an Alexander McQueen sash dress, alongside the decorator himself successful matching Scottish tartan:

Two radical connected a reddish carpet, wearing matching tartan plaid outfits. The woman’s formal has an asymmetrical plan with a tulle skirt

Eva Mendes went for an 18th-century-inspired look with a beige-colored chiffon Dolce & Gabbana gown:

A idiosyncratic successful an elegant, flowing gown with a golden belt, posing connected a reddish carpet lawsuit portion photographers seizure the moment

14. In 2014, the exhibit, Charles James: Beyond Fashion, inspired the formal codification of "White Tie and Decorations" for the reddish carpet. Fashion decorator Charles was known for his highly structured and elaborate shot gowns, and the grounds explored his usage of "sculptural, scientific, and mathematical approaches to conception revolutionary shot gowns and innovative tailoring that proceed to power designers today." SJP erstwhile again led the nighttime successful a black-and-white Oscar de la Renta gown:

A personage poses connected the reddish carpet successful a gown with a geometric grid signifier and agelong achromatic gloves, surrounded by photographers

Dita Von Teese wore a skin-colored mermaid gown created by Zac Posen, which included a reddish carpet-colored item astatine the hem:

Celebrity successful an elegant form-fitting gown with a flared mermaid skirt poses connected the reddish carpet, holding a clutch

15. In 2017, the Met Gala exhibit, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between, centered on Rei's experiments successful the abstraction betwixt boundaries, arsenic the decorator was known for her "avant-garde designs and quality to situation accepted notions of beauty, bully taste, and fashionability." The formal codification that twelvemonth was "avant-garde achromatic tie," and Rihanna went with a fitting Comme des Garçons Fall 2016 design:

Person wearing an extravagant, floral-themed outfit with layered, sculptural details astatine a ceremonial event, surrounded by photographers

As a co-chair for the lawsuit that year, Katy Perry wore a custom-made ensemble by Maison Margiela, designed by John Galliano:

Celebrity successful a dramatic, layered gown stands connected a pick carpet, surrounded by photographers and onlookers astatine a ceremonial event

And here's a look astatine what Chrissy Teigen, decorator Georgina Chapman, and Rita Ora wore to the event.

1 successful a floral lace gown, different successful a fringed reddish dress, and the 3rd successful a reddish satin gown with melodramatic train

16. In 2007, the Met Gala's taxable was "Poiret: King of Fashion," which honored the French designer's relation successful liberating women from restrictive corsets and his interaction connected aboriginal 20th-century fashion, including his "approach to dressmaking that relied connected the skills of draping alternatively than tailoring and signifier making." Jennifer Lopez wore a Great Gatsby-esque metallic Marchesa gown:

Celebrity successful an elegant, shimmering gown connected the reddish carpet, accessorized with a clutch and hairpiece, posing confidently

Kirsten Dunst went with a vintage Yves Saint Laurent off-the-shoulder gown, and paired it with a flapper-style headband:

Celebrity wearing an elegant off-shoulder gown with a agelong train, holding a clutch, walking connected the reddish carpet

And here's a look astatine what Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Claire Danes, and Hugh Dancy wore to the event.

Wwd / Getty Images, Peter Kramer / Getty Images

17. The 2009 theme, "Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion," explored the "reciprocal narration betwixt precocious manner and evolving ideals of beauty, focusing connected iconic manner models successful the second fractional of the 20th period and their roles successful projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the manner of their respective eras." Kate Moss attended the lawsuit alongside the decorator of her customized gown, Marc Jacobs:

Man successful a tuxedo and pistillate successful a metallic, one-shoulder formal connected a patterned carpet astatine a ceremonial event

Kate Hudson besides walked the reddish carpet alongside her gown's designer, Stella McCartney, who designed Liv Tyler and Kate Bosworth's ensembles for the night, too:

Four women airs unneurotic astatine an event, wearing elegant evening gowns and chic hairstyles

Patrick Mcmullan / Getty Images

18. The 2010 theme, "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity," focused connected archetypes of American femininity done dress, revealing however "the American pistillate initiated benignant revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sartorial emancipation." Kerry Washington wore a reddish asymmetrical gown designed by Thakoon Panichgul for Gap:

Person successful elegant draped gown with a precocious slit connected a reddish carpet, holding a clutch

Jessica Biel went with a customized silk charmeuse gown designed by Ralph Lauren:

Celebrity successful a sleek satin gown poses connected the reddish carpet, surrounded by lawsuit attendees and photographers

And here's a look astatine what Kristen Stewart, Lily Collins, Malin Akerman, and Blake Lively wore to the event.

Patrick Mcmullan / Getty Images

19. And finally, 2012's theme, "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations," explored the differences betwixt the 2 Italian designers by combining Schiaparelli's surrealist benignant with Prada's modern intelligence approach. Chloë Sevigny went with a achromatic mirrored, geometric patchwork mini-dress by Miu Miu:

Celebrity successful a bold, geometric cutout formal poses connected the reddish carpet amidst a assemblage backdrop

Florence Welch wore a custom, tiered dandelion-embroidered gown designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen:

Person successful layered, ruffled gown with floral details connected a reddish carpet, smiling with manus adjacent face, surrounded by photographers and attendees

And here's a look astatine what Sarah Jessica Parker, decorator Valentino Garavani, and Heidi Klum wore to the event.

One successful a floral gown, 1 successful a tuxedo, and 1 successful a lace formal with a broadside slit

So, which twelvemonth bash you deliberation was the champion Met Gala theme? Let america cognize successful the comments, and enactment tuned for an update connected wherever the 2026 Met Gala falls successful our ranking!

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