The 19 Best Met Gala Dresses of All Time, According to Bazaar Editors

"I always come back to Rihanna’s Comme des Garcons look in 2017! It’s hard to wear a puffball around your torso for an entire evening, but she made it look easy. (Then again, making things look easy is a Rihanna specialty.) I especially love the way her beauty look plays with the dress: the strong blush brings out the pink tones, and the bangs and high bun emphasize the girlishness of the patchwork dress. It all works in concert to make her look like a visitor from another planet where this is standard formal event attire, and personally, I would like to spend some time on this planet."— Izzy Grinspan, Digital Deputy Editor

"Lives were changed when Zendaya showed up to the "Heavenly Bodies" Met Gala dressed up as Joan of Arc (it’s me, I’m ‘lives’). The custom-made Versace gown is, simply put, extremely cool—down to the armor plate cold shoulders and tiered metallic waist accessory, to the ingenious draping of chainmail into a cowl neckline and train. Zendaya was already something of a red-carpet muse by the time she appeared at the 2018 Met Gala, but I truly believe that it’s this look that cemented her status as fashion’s next It Girl." — Chelsey Sanchez, Associate Editor

"Every year I watch the First Monday in May documentary and I know at exactly what moment Rihanna is going to step out onto the red carpet in this iconic yellow Guo Pei dress. Still, I can feel my hair stand up every single time. The dress is beautiful, it is spiritual, it is glam. It also became known for those hilarious memes that photoshopped eggs and frying pans onto the enormous bright yellow train. In many ways, it represents the duality of fashion in my eyes. And while people made jokes about it, whenever I look at photos of it, I don't see an omelette. Instead, I hear André Leon Talley's voice gushing, 'This moment! This fantasy!'" —Tara Gonzalez, Senior Fashion Editor

"Not only was this look the perfect marriage of the theme—'AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion'—with McQueen's legendary vision, but it was the first time as a 15 year-old that I realized just how cool plaid can be. That sounds silly, but the same year just two or so months before, the Luella Bartley for Target collab launched and I purchased the strapless green plaid dress. It was just sitting in my closet in Florida. Then SJP and McQueen wore this look to the Met Gala a month later, and I thought, 'This is it. This is the coolest look ever.' A few years later, I even bought a one-shoulder draped plaid dress from All Saints that reminded me of this look. The blend of classic femininity with elements of punk and prep just really set the tone for my personal style journey."— Jenna Rosenstein, Beauty Director

"I'm obsessed with just about everything Solange does, which includes wearing this sculptural look by Iris Van Herpen to the 2018 Met Gala. The theme that year was 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,' a concept that was embodied in her outfit with a gilded, woven halo worn as a headpiece atop of a black silk durag—another crown or halo of sorts. And along the bottom of the headpiece's extended cape? This phrase: 'MY GOD WEARS A DURAG.' Part performance art piece, part fashion serve, Solange's outfit placed a spotlight on Black culture. More specifically, it made the durag—an everyday beauty and fashion staple that usually costs no more than $15 at the drugstore—feel more sanctified, elevated, and important, if just for one evening."—Tiffany Dodson, Associate Beauty Commerce Editor

"I’m shocked that more fans haven’t replicated Taylor Swift’s metallic 2016 Met Gala look by Louis Vuitton for the Eras tour. I would have paid homage to it myself if I had the expertise. It’s one of the defining looks from Taylor’s short-lived ‘Bleachella’ era, and my low-key favorite moment from her 17-year style evolution.

The whole look, with the blunt bleached haircut and the triangular cut-outs and the knee-high, criss-crossing leather sandal heels, was a hard-left turn from every other style she’d experimented with before. It felt like Taylor was taking a real risk, which is why I love it so much. And it was worn on an evening that, according to purely speculative Swiftie lore, may have inspired the Reputation fan-favorite song 'Getaway Car.' For its association with that song’s perfect bridge alone, it’s my top Met Gala look."—Halie LeSavage, Fashion Commerce Editor

"There is something universally elegant and Hollywood about a dazzling strapless form-fitting gown. Naomi Campbell’s crystal-encrusted silver Versace with exposed seams during the 1995 Met Gala’s Haute Couture evening was part of that blueprint."—Sabrina Park, Editorial and Social Assistant

"Rosalía's look for the Gilded Age Met Gala last year was so extremely underrated. The beaded corset, cascading ruffle train, and puffed off-the-shoulder sleeves make her look like she stepped out of John Singer Sargent painting. But the metal spikes dotted along her spine, the sheerness of the skirt that reveals swaths of skin, and the sharp structural sunglasses are purely her. Rarely do I think of personal style when I think of the Met Gala, but she managed to nail the theme while looking entirely like herself. Maybe it's because she is so artful and intentional in everything she does, but I could totally see this working on her Motomami tour if she just ruched the skirt up on the sides." —Tara Gonzalez, Senior Fashion Editor

"Attendees of the Met Gala do not traditionally dress for comfort, but Ashley Olsen looks chic and very much at ease wearing vintage Dior. Olsen’s look in 2013 basically forecasted the use of organza and sheer paneling that has dominated the runway in recent years. But of course, she did it first—and on the Met Gala red carpet at that."—Perri Tomkiewicz, Digital Design Director

"I don’t think any other look at the 2016 Met Gala comes close to acing the 'Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology' theme than Claire Danes in this magnificent, glow-in-the-dark ball gown. Constructed out of custom fiber optic organza, the icy blue haute couture creation caught people’s attention for its innovative luminescent effect. But it’s the other, simpler details of the dress (the bustier’s raw hem, the flattering Basque waist) that take the cake for me. I think of it as the precursor to Zendaya’s memorable interpretation of Cinderella (in another light-up princess dress, no less) at the 2019 Met Gala."—Chelsey Sanchez, Associate Editor

"Olivia Rodrigo was a vision in a sparkling 'sour purple' Versace dress at the 2022 Met Gala. The gown’s sheer gloves and draped neckline paid homage to the night’s 'Gilded Glamour' theme, while her butterfly clips, loose wavy hair, and smokey lilac eyeshadow added the perfect touch of whimsy."—Daise Bedolla, Temporary Social Media Manager

"Princess Diana's 1997 Met Gala look was one to remember. The deep navy slip, courtesy of Dior, was one of the sultriest ensembles she wore after her split from the then-Prince Charles. It was less of an ode to her royal fashion sense and more an embrace of her love of New York style."—Bianca Betancourt, Culture Editor

"Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are fashion superfans beloved by other fashion superfans. So of course for 'Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,' they knew exactly what to do. These coordinating boho looks from Rei Kawakubo’s 'Broken Brides' collection of Fall 2005 are every fashion nerd's dream come true, and they were wearing archival on the red carpet before everyone else."—Tara Gonzalez, Senior Fashion Editor

"I love the unapologetic ease and personality behind Stella McCartney and Liv Tyler's looks for the 1999 Met Gala, where the theme was 'Rock Style.' The duo famously paired handmade studded Hanes tanks with, respectively Chloé trousers (designed by McCartney herself—iconic!) and a slip skirt, cementing their places in fashion history and rock royalty forever." —Tiffany Dodson, Associate Beauty Commerce Editor

"I think it's funny that Kate Moss was basically the theme of the 2009 Met Gala, 'The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion.' It would be impossible for her to not get it right, and still she showed up in a liquid metallic minidress, cut to expose her entire back, with matching head wrap. She went as Marc Jacob's date, and these photos were so formative to me as a teenager, I remember looking at them and thinking, This is the essence of fashion. Which it was—and still is."—Tara Gonzalez, Senior Fashion Editor

"With a theme like 'Camp: Notes on Fashion' and over-the-top outfits from the likes of Lady Gaga and Billy Porter, Harry Styles’s pared-down Gucci look at the 2019 Met Gala left much to be desired at first glance. But take a closer look at the details—a sheer lace blouse (complete with a pussy bow and layers of ruffles), heeled boots, and painted nails—and you’ll find he actually nailed the theme. The cherry on top? A single pearl earring."—Daise Bedolla, Temporary Social Media Editor

"I swoon over anything Zoë Kravitz wears, but her dress at the 2021 Met Gala is high on my list of favorites. The theme was 'In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,' and Kravitz declared her independence by gracing the carpet in a sheer metal mesh Saint Laurent gown and matching thong. Zoë was ahead of the times (per usual), as sheer is the trend of the season right now and I’m sure we’ll see a few sheer moments on the 2023 Met Gala carpet."—Katie Intner, Associate Beauty Editor

"You had me at crystals. Kendall Jenner at the 2021 Met Gala was by far my favorite look ever. I was then and still am now so obsessed. I made it the background of my phone — that's how much I loved it. Jenner was inspired by Audrey Hepburn's My Fair Lady gown. The paired choker and sheer gloves embellished with crystals just made this 11/10. Absolutely breathtaking." —Alicia Banilivy, Fashion Retail and Credits Editor

"Remember when Hailey Bieber did Barbiecore, before Barbiecore was even a thing, on the Met steps? The model’s ultra-fem bubblegum-pink look with an exposed thong lives rent-free in my head."—Rosa Sanchez, Senior News Editor