8 Jaw-Dropping Met Gala Looks We’ll Never Forget

The 2025 Met Gala countdown is on, and I cannot wait to see what some of the biggest stars in Hollywood have cooked up for the red carpet.

The theme for this year’s Met Gala is Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which takes inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.

While we await all of the stunning looks heading to the red carpet on May 5, let’s take a walk down memory lane and check out some of the celebrities who definitely understood the assignment over the past several years.

1. Lady Gaga – 2019

Let’s start with Lady Gaga’s look for the Camp: Notes on Fashion theme. I know that a lot of celebrities were dragged for their interpretation of the 2019 Met Gala theme, but if one star knows camp, it’s Miss Gaga herself. Stepping out onto the carpet in a massive pink gown, she slowly stripped down layer by layer while pantomiming a regression of her own career.

2. Billy Porter – 2019

Billy Porter was another celeb to nail the Camp: Notes on Fashion theme. What’s more camp than being carried onto the red carpet on a litter? Porter’s Egyptian-themed outfit, which came complete with massive gold wings, was simply god-level — literally.

3. Jennifer Lopez – 2019

Jennifer Lopez is one of those celebrities who might not have gone full camp in 2019, but she looked absolutely stunning when she showed up literally dripping in jewels for this Cher-inspired look, so we’ll give her a pass.

4. Kim Kardashian – 2019

Kim Kardashian always makes a splash at the Met Gala, for better or for worse, but her Camp: Notes on Fashion look was straight-up drenched! Cinching her waist to the point she could barely breathe while crystals gave the illusion she was actually dripping water, that’s a win for Kim — and for all of us, really.

5. Lupita Nyong’o – 2019

Lupita Nyong’o’s drag-inspired camp look was another stunner. The bold colors, the makeup, the hair—oh my god, 100% the hair. This is camp, this is excellence. No notes.

6. Rihanna – 2018

Moving on to 2018, the Met Gala theme was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination — so Rihanna showed up as the Pope. Not only did she look absolutely beautiful in this edgy take on the theme, but it also made a bunch of people mad. There’s no such thing as bad press when you look like Riri.

7. Blake Lively – 2018

Blake Lively also turned heads on the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination red carpet, and not just because her dress took up the whole staircase. That deep maroon on her skin tone with the gold headdress and bodice … I mean, come on, that’s the definition of heavenly.

8. Rihanna – 2015

I promise this isn’t just a Rihanna stan article (although it could be), but this 2015 look for the China: Through the Looking Glass theme? Outstanding. Her yellow gown had a train as big as the building, and when I think of recent Met Gala excellence, this is the first look to pop into my mind, no exaggeration.

These are some tough looks to top, but I’m pretty sure celebs have something big up their sleeves this year as well, so stick with PopCulture for all our 2025 Met Gala coverage.