I don’t know when I started to care about the MET Gala but over the past few years, the first Monday in May has been one of my favorite days of the year. I think there is something so elegant, festive and societal about the day. It combines high fashion, journalism, history, New York and celebrity — all of my favorite things, really.
I love watching the red carpet, anxiously awaiting everyone’s arrivals and following who is sticking to the theme, who is wearing what, and what memes will be created from the night.
The night has taken on a new meaning since I started covering it for my job. Estée Lauder always has a few people attending on behalf of the brand and we sponsor their makeup, so it’s a really fun few weeks of prep, and then the day of is always exciting. I’m not on site at the MET, or even at the hotels where our guests are getting ready but I love creating content around it and feeling like I have a stake in the game.
It’s honestly everything I always wanted from my career and the fact that I get to do it is incredible.
This year the theme is ‘The Garden of Time’ so we can expect to see a lot of groundbreaking florals on Monday, May 6th. In the meantime, let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the MET Gala looks that I still think about.
Can we really have a MET Gala best dressed list without mentioning Blake Lively in 2018, dressed in Versace for the Heavenly Bodies theme. Blake always stuns but I think this is the look that set the bar very high.
No one looked camp more in the eye than Lady Gaga at the 2019 ‘Camp’ themed gala. She transformed into 4 different Brandon Maxwell looks right on the carpet and all of them were stunning. I particularly like the little pink and black dresses the best!
As I was finding a photo for Billie Ellish’s 2021 MET Gala look, I stumbled on this article that says it was inspired by Barbie. Do we think that’s a happy coincidence or was she already in talks with Greta and Margot to write the Grammy & Oscar winning song? Either way, this was one of the first times Billie shed her baggy clothing for something elegant, and I think about this look at least once a month.
I remember seeing Hailey Bieber on the pink carpet and my jaw dropped. This isn’t on theme for Camp but my goodness, did she look beautiful. I love a high pony, paired with the black bow and all against the slim tight pink gown? It’s a recipe for perfection.
Love or hate her, we can’t have a MET Gala list without Kimmy. In what might be one of the most controversial red carpet looks ever, the Marilyn Monroe dress is one of my favorites. It was incredibly on theme: In America: An Anthology of Fashion because what is more American than a dress a beloved movie star sang to the president in? The fact that she walked with Pete Davidson and cemented their relationship in our history? A cherry on top.
If Kim is going to be on the list, we need Kendall. This September 2021 MET Gala dress (yes after Covid the MET Gala was held in September) was supposed to channel Audrey Hepburn in honor of the theme, which was very similar to 2022’s… In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. I remember seeing her walk onto the carpet and I was in awe; the sparkle, the color, her hair, the neckline…Kenny looked like the model she is and it remains one of the best looks of all time, in my opinion.
This might seem a little random but I always love how Lili Reinhart looks at the MET Gala. I think she understands the theme and dresses for the occasion. Her 2019 Camp look was actually very Camp, and I think it might’ve been the best dressed that year; maybe because at the time, Riverdale was hitting ‘peak Camp/cult like’ so she understood the assignment.
We started the list with Blake and we’re ending with her. Do we sense a theme? The ‘In America’ themes were my favorite; I just think everyone started to understand what we expected from their MET Gala looks and were delivering. Blake transformed from the red Versace gown into this stunning teal and almost resembled the Statue of Liberty…and what’s more American than that?
What have been your favorite MET Gala looks over the years?