25 Best Met Gala Looks Of All-Time: Rihanna, Beyoncé, Zendaya & More

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With the Met Gala back in full swing for 2022, we’ve got a lot to look forward to this year. Through the years, the Met has been home to so much iconic fashion. From Rihanna to Blake Lively, we’re reminiscing on some of the best looks celebrities have pulled off at Hollywood’s prom.

The Met Gala is back and making a triumphant return to the first Monday in May for the 2022 event. After enjoying a smaller off-season celebration in Sep. 2021, this year’s affair at New York’s The Metropolitan Museum of Art is coming back in full force.

With so much amazing fashion on the horizon, we have to take a look back on the most legendary looks that have been paraded down the red carpet. When you think “Met Gala,” it’s entirely possible that one celebrity in particular comes to mind: Rihanna. From her yellow velvet gown designed by Guo Pei for the 2015 theme “China: Through the Looking Glass” to the time she was the only celebrity who truly encapsulated the 2017 theme of “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between,” the Fenty Beauty founder has consistently killed it on the carpet.

Rihanna was finally (and rightfully) offered the hosting gig in 2018 – and man, did she not disappoint with her look. If you’ll recall, the theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” so RiRi seriously showed up dressed as a sexy Pope. Her Maison Margiela mini dress with matching miter was instantly iconic the second she showed up to the museum.

Speaking of Rihanna, another celebrity keeps slaying at the Met Gala and TBH, we like to think of her as Baby Rihanna. This is, of course, Zendaya. The actress takes the themes just as seriously as the “Wild Thoughts” hitmaker and totally impressed us with her Joan of Arc-inspired ensemble by Atelier Versace at the 2018 Met Ball, and her real-life Cinderella ballgown at the 2019 Met Ball, which encouraged A-list attendees to tap into their whimsical sides for the unconventional “Camp: Notes On Fashion” theme.

“Camp” is also right up Lady Gaga’s alley, who co-hosted the event with Harry Styles and Serena Williams; so, to kick off the show, she marked her arrival with not one but four outfits.There were a number of other standouts, of course. Kim Kardashian was made to look like a California vixen emerging from the ocean in her latex Thierry Mugler dress adorned with dripping crystals. The waist was so teeny-tiny on her dress, Kim had to take corset breathing lessons beforehand! Meanwhile, her little sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner opted to twin in flashy (and complementary) orange and purple feathered gowns designed by Versace.

Saving the best for last, there’s the reigning queen of style and red carpets: Beyoncé. Although she took a rain check on the 2019 gala, the songstress has been a regular at Anna Wintour’s exclusive event. We especially have to marvel at Bey’s 2015 and 2016 looks — one of which saw Beyoncé dripping in rainbow rhinestones while wearing a sheer Givenchy dress, while the other featured Bey in a futuristic Givenchy gown made of latex. You can check out these gowns and more in the rest of HollywoodLife’s gallery above!