Fashion’s biggest night never disappoints. The annual fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute is hands down the most exclusive event of the year – many consider it the most elitist event in the world. Tickets start at a staggering $30,000 and Anna Wintour oversees and approves every person who attends. So basically if Anna doesn’t like you, you’re not going. This year’s theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” explores the innate connection between fashion and religion. Cameras are not allowed inside and there’s a notorious no-media policy (which celebs and models seem to break every year). I’ve been obsessed with the Met Gala for years and study the red carpet religiously (no pun intended). It’s like a modern day ball with a guest list made up of today’s fashion and Hollywood royalty. Now on to the clothes…
Rihanna in Margiela by John Galliano
Rihanna pretty much owns the Met Gala now and when she shows up, no one can compete. Everyone loves to see how she’ll interpret the theme and she seems to top herself year after year. Once again, she shut down the red carpet arriving in a papal hat and coordinating embellished mini dress with train and matching shawl/coat. Because Rihanna comes to play. And I’m thankful she does because she alone makes watching this red carpet worth it.
Amal Clooney in Richard Quinn
As the co-chair of the event this year (along with Rihanna), many fashion watchers were anxious to see what Mrs. Clooney would wear. I’m not sure this look lived up to expectations. It didn’t appear to have a lot to do with the theme but she made a statement in this silver bustier with extra long train and black pants. It was dramatic, luxurious and different, all of which still work at the Met Gala. She also looked beautiful and happy. And those long diamond earrings are amazing.
Jennifer Lopez in Balmain Couture
Wow. Never one to disappoint, Lopez looked stunning in this embellished long sleeve, high neckline, cut-out beaded gown. Also I love the simpler short hair – a dress like this definitely stands on it’s own. This is a museum-quality dress. It’s revealing but elegant. A much more chic look than the powder blue ballgown she wore last year. One of the nights best looks. Love it.
Janelle Monáe in Marc Jacobs
I love watching Monae on the red carpet. She and her stylist are thoughtful on her looks and while she seems like she takes her style quite seriously, she doesn’t take it so seriously it’s obnoxious. It’s clever. She’s subversive in her style choices, which I appreciate. This is such a cool and original look. And that armor-inspired metallic headpiece is legendary.
Cindy Crawford in Versace
When Cindy and her fellow supermodels closed the Versace tribute show in September, they created the most instagramable moment of 2017. And they reminded the world why we became obsessed with them all in the 90s. As a long-time Versace favorite, it’s no surprise Cindy wore Versace this year. Of course she looks incredible and ageless in this red sparkly Versace column embellished gown but it didn’t have a lot to do with the theme. This dress is however a clever nod to the iconic red Versace dress she wore to the Oscars with Richard Gere in 1991.
Sarah Jessica Parker in Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda
Another Met Gala regular and always one to watch, SJP came well prepared and reminded us of how great she is at dressing for the theme. Remember her incredible punk look in 2013 or the equally as amazing Philip Treacy Headdress headpiece in 2015? After dressing relatively low key last year, I’m happy she decided to have fun with the theme and really go for it again. SJP manages to pull off these looks without the clothes wearing her – unlike Katy Perry.
Amber Heard in Carolina Herrera by Wes Gordon
Loved this crimson red gown on Heard. The cut, the long sleeves, the neckline and the detail at the back. I could go on. She totally owned this look. And the most exciting part is she’s wearing one Dean Davidson earring – the popular Canadian jewelry designer I work with. Called the Ipanema Earrings, each gemstone takes four to five hours to hand-carve. They’re beautiful and available here.
Zoe Kravitz in Saint Laurent
This past year, Kravitz has become another interesting one to watch on the red carpet. As soon as I saw this revealing black lace dress I knew it was Saint Laurent because it’s such a classic YSL look. Yves himself designed many looks like this in the 80s and 90s. And it’s interesting how modern and fresh the design is when reinterpreted today. It’s timeless. The dress manages to be edgy, sexy and luxurious at the same time.
Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton
As an LV spokesperson, Williams is always in Vuitton. Sometimes her looks are weird and I’m not a huge fun but this is a very cool dress. It resembles a knight. I love the studded-leather detail around the neckline, waist and on the shoulders. It’s a chic dress and suits her understated stylish vibe perfectly.
Zendaya in Atelier Versace
Zendaya is the best dressed star her age – hands down. She and her stylist take huge risks and they almost always pay off. They make interesting and sometimes wild choices, but it always remains elevated fashion as opposed to a costume (looking at you Katy Perry). This is an incredibly detailed and elaborate dress, obviously alluding to Joan of Arc. And it’s amazing.
Evan Rachel Wood in Altuzarra
Wood also has impressive style, takes chances on the red carpet and makes interesting style choices without over doing it. This unbelievable gold leaf cape is a good example. It’s a stunning piece that worked well for the night’s theme. I thought she was wise to keep the rest of the look relatively simple too. This is the kind of piece you’s see at Bergdorf Goodman and then faint when you saw the price.
Kate Moss in Saint Laurent
The last time Moss attended the Met gala was in 2009 when the year’s theme was “Model as Muse” so it was a nice surprise to see her. It was a somewhat low key look for Moss but as always, she owns it.
Amber Valleta in Saint Laurent
Again, nothing to do with the theme but I love this Saint Laurent look Valetta, another ageless supermodel. It’s a classic YSL ensemble. And the one extra long earring is one of the best accessories of the night.
Kim Kardashian in Atelier Versace
I think this could be one of Kim’s best red carpet moments. She looks really good. Almost as good as the 90s supermodels who wore these famous gold chainmail gowns when they reunited for the Versace tribute fashion show in September. I like her hair styled like this as well. The whole look has very 90s-Versace-vibe, which is back.
Emma Stone in Louis Vuitton
An interesting dress that I would like to see in person. Love the metallic details and it reminds me of some of design features Gianni Versace was a fan of in the 90s. But I can’t help but feeling like Stone’s phoning it in. I don’t think she’s into this look and was like “Ya, fine. I know it’s part of my contract so let’s just do it.”
Bella Hadid in Chrome Hearts
I thought this goth black gown with elaborate sleeves and a lace train was edgy and unique on the young supermodel. This is a good example of how one can interpret the Met Gala theme in a clever way that’s still high-fashion without looking like a total goof.
Gigi Hadid in Atelier Versace
Very Versace. It wasn’t my favourite look on the top model but I appreciate the amount of work that would go into making a dress like this. I thought it looked more like something we’d see on Catherine Zeta Jones at the Oscars. Gigi should be in something more fresh.
Priyanka Chopra in Ralph Lauren
I had to mention Chopra’s look because her gold chainmail hood was one of the night’s most impressive and unique headpieces.
Madonna in Jean Paul Gaultier
This year’s theme was pretty much made for Madonna. I’m sure she was thrilled when she found out what it was. The last few years I haven’t loved her Met Gala looks; they seem a little desperate. For her, this year was relatively tame and it was nice to see her and Gaultier together again.
Tracee Ellis Ross in Michael Kors
Like she did at the last year at Cannes, Ellis Ross seemed to be channeling her legendary mother (Diana Ross) in this retro pink gown with coordinating wrap. I was surprised by this choice because she’s been consistently nailing her red carpet looks and this wasn’t a huge win. It was too close to something Diana Ross would actually wear and I was looking forward to seeing how she was going to interpret this year’s theme.
Selena Gomez in Coach
No idea what happaned here. Gomez is obviously a beautiful girl and this look is all sorts of wrong. Coach has been trying hard to re-brand themselves lately but they just set the company back a few years with this unfortunate style mishap. Nothing is working here.
Anne Hathaway in Valentino Couture
I feel like I should care about this Valentiono Couture gown but I don’t. It’s not awful but as soon as I saw it, I thought: “Next.” I did read that the spikes in Hathaway’s hair are actual porcupines quills. So at least there’s that.
Gisele in Atelier Versace
Like she did last year, Gisele seems like she’s above dressing for the theme which is too bad because she’s GISELE. She could wear anything. While the oversize hoops are incredible, this is way too Malibu Barbie for me.
Kris Jenner in Tommy Hilfiger
I couldn’t believe this embroidered black and gold feathered gown is Tommy Hilfiger! I was certain it was Balmain. I thought this look suited the powerful matriarch well and looked like something a really rich lady would wear to a fancy fundraiser. Which she is. And it was.
Scarlett Johansson in Marchesa
This is the kind of red carpet-look that I can’t figure out how it happens. I understand risks that flop but dresses like this random floral-embellished Marchessa gown astonish me. It’s dated, didn’t go with the theme and ages Johansson by about 40 years. And who was the hair inspiration?!?! Janet Reno?
Katy Perry in Versace
Like last year, Katy Perry tries way too hard to be cool and original but her choices end up wearing her. While the Met Gala is a costume ball, it’s still about fashion and couture. Does she have to be so literal?! Perry looked like she’s going to a Halloween party or the Kids Choice Awards.
France McDormand in Valentino Haute Couture
How can I not mention McDormand in this eccentric Valentino couture look (which is straight off Valentino’s spring 2018 couture runway show – click here to see). This is what the Met Gala ball is all about. This elaborate look complete with cape and leaf-embellished headpiece reminded me of Garden of Eden. It also shows how fashion can be an important and elaborate form of art while also be fun, frivolous and a little ridiculous at the same time. McDormand has zero f—‘s to give, which makes this look even better.
That’s a wrap on fashion’s most important night of the year. As always, thanks for reading.
Casey Wagar 