From Kim Kardashian to Frank Ocean: The most controversial outfits worn to the Met Gala

The Met Gala is “fashion’s biggest night out” and Hollywood’s greatest excuse to dress completely out of the ordinary. Standard accessories include floating heads, green babies, capes, and canes, while furry catsuits, spikey head wraps, and stiff sculpture-esque garments are the norm. Year after year, a look book of bizarre glamour unfolds on the red carpet between spurts of simple tuxedos and clean-cut gowns.

Honouring the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, the event is, of course, a display of opulence, gathering A-list elite and offering coveted invitations with a $50,000 price tag. But unlike the average black-tie gala, costumes and chaos are expected on the first Monday in May as the fashion emulates components of a brand-new spring exhibit - at least it’s supposed to. In other words, a healthy serving of whimsical elegance is warranted so long as it is understood to be on theme and within dress code. But as the years have gone by, it’s become overtly noticeable just how many attendees show up in void looks, making little attempts to dress in accordance with the motif.

This year, an ode to fashion’s “sleeping beauties” will be paid with over 250 archive pieces, some dating back 400 years to the Elizabethan period, on display and reimagined through CGI, soundscaping, light projection, illusion techniques, and video animation. “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” will drive attention to the structural concepts of fragile pieces, emboldening the fragmented garments categorised under three main natural elements – land, sea, and sky.

According to Vogue, invitees are meant to follow the dress code, “The Garden of Time” – telling the story of Count Axel, his countess, and their dwindling garden. From this, guests should know to represent fleeting beauty and refrain from wearing princess dress or pajama sets.

Unfortunately, there’ll likely be one (usually more than one) that’ll ignore the memo and go rogue, donning a designer piece so far from the intention that it’s pointless to even question their thought process.

As we ready ourselves to watch creativity and absurdity simultaneously spill out on the red carpet, speculation over who’ll fall short of the mark swirls. Though the argument that every celebrity look worn to the Met Gala is subjected to criticisms and contrasting opinions, some’ve come out over the last 25 years that were undeniably a point of contention.

Here are the most controversial and off-theme looks worn to the Met Gala over the years.

Kim Kardashian – 2022

For the 2022 Met Gala, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” guests were meant to pay homage to the gilded age. Finding inspiration in old Hollywood, Kim took a cue from icon Marilyn Monroe, donning the exact dress she wore when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr President” to John F Kennedy. The delicate nude gown, embelished with tiny jewels, had been on display inside Ripley’s Believe It Or not in Orlando, Florida.

Kim plucked the token garmet and wore it to walk up the Met steps, prompting immediate controversy. People were angered by the Skims creator’s decision to wear the actual dress, a piece that was already so fragile. Some claimed she tore the back of the dress until Ripley’s confirmed the garment wasn’t at all damaged.

Doja Cat – 2023

The 2023 theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” sparked criticisms as soon as it was announced. A testament to the Chanel designer was disputed due to the sheer number of crude comments and conservative views Lagerfeld offered throughout his career. Doja Cat was one of the handful of celebrities who honoured Lagerfeld with a nod to his Birman cat, Choupette.

The “Say So” artist dressed in a custom Oscar de la Renta gown with more than 350,000 hand-embroidered silver beads. The dress had a hood and cat-like ears to match her makeup prosethetics designed to resemble Lagerfeld’s furry friend. Not only did Doja Cat dress the part, she acted like a cat too, meowing instead of talking. Some viewers were put off by this entire facade, labelling it as the “worst” of the night.

Kylie Jenner – 2022

Just six months after Off-White’s creative director and founder Virgil Abloh suddenly passed away, Kylie Jenner honoured her close friend at the 2022 Met Gala. The dress code was “Gilded Glamour,” and the Sprinter founder wore the fall/winter 2022 finale Off-White couture wedding gown completed with an attached short sleeve T-shirt and a backward baseball hat fashioned on top of a veil.

While Kylie’s intention was to pay tribute to Abloh, wearing a design from his final collection, many questioned her for wearing the frilly-bottom gown. More specifically, critics were angered that she seemed to ignore the theme entirely knowing she could get away with it and still get invited back the next year.

Taylor Swift – 2016

The Midnights performer has been criticised for her style choice on and off the red carpet for years. One of her most questionable ensembles, the custom Louis Vuitton dress for the 2016 Met Gala, majorly struck a cord with passionate fashion fans. For the “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” theme, Swift tapped the French fashion house. The concept was centered around innovation, focusing on the future of the digital age and how it intersected with clothing design.

Swift opted for an intergalactic metallic, three-tiered frill dress with leather wrap pumps. She decorated the look with a brand new bleach bob and purple lipstick. This would be a marker for the beginning of her Reputation era, and it wasn’t well-received, with many divided on her “Bleachella” red carpet moment.

Frank Ocean – 2021

The “Ivy” singer’s 2021 Met Gala outfit has been deemed one of the most outrageous in the event’s history. Ocean was accompanied by an unusual and unexpected accesory for the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibit - a plastic neon green baby. His outfit was quite simple and understated, donning a black Prada suit and vest with a plain white shirt peaking out from underneath. However, Ocean channelled a whimisical nature by bringing a doll to match his green hair. With a theme that elicited expressions to American fashion, the artist’s response was largely misunderstood.

Amy Schumer – 2022

On the night meant to honour the beauty of fashion through the golden age in America, the comedian donned a conservative, all-black coat dress by Gabriela Hearst. While others dazzled in sparkly garments reminscent of classic cinema and old Manhattan, Schumer looked like she was protesting the dress code choosing a dark monochromatic outfit. Fans bashed the celebrity’s look online, arguing she appeared like she was attending a “funeral” in the double-breasted jacket.

Katy Perry – 2010

The 2010 Met Gala, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” celebrated a cultural shift in the country at the start of a new decade. Most attendees showed national spirit in red, white, and blue, but the “Roar” singer went off in a different direction. The vibrant artist chose to wear a multi-colour LED strapless gown designed by Cute Circuit with a geometric pink crystal statement necklace. Her motivation was to represent fearless women with the astonishing glow-up garment. However, critics claimed her look was too loosely connected to the theme.

Dan Levy - 2021

The Schitt’s Creek star may not have upset the masses with a plastic baby accessory, but the TV actor wasn’t a favourite from the 2021 Met Gala either. Levy stepped onto the cream-coloured carpet in a Jonathan Anderson original. He embodied the globe, donning ballooned puffer sleeps, a polo shirt with an embroidered queer couple kissing in the centre, and grid leggings. The ensemble was finished with what could only be described as “Jane Birkini-fyed” double buckle combat boots and a piece of literature in hand. Levy’s look, bedazzled with Cartier diamonds, was an ode to the LGBTQ+ community in America. The powerful message spewed on the carpet in blue, green, and pink hues.

Sarah Jessica Parker – 2016

As Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker usually got away with wearing almost anything (emphasis on the almost). She’s a model for fashion risk-takers in television and on the street, in and out of character. But Parker seemingly misinterpreted the dress code for the 2016 Met Gala, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”.

Her take on the digital age in white capris, a matching corset, and double-breasted gold button military jacket with pleated chiffon sleeve cuffs didn’t translate. The entire look, an ode toHamilton, was by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. Their idea played on innovation in a non-technical sense: thought and fabrication. Parker decorated the all-white ensemble with a large gold pendant necklace and blue pumps that could’ve been easily mistaken for the cherised blue Manolos she wears to her courthouse wedding with Mr Big in SATC.

Jared Leto - 2022

Evidently, every celebrity at the 2022 Met Gala had a different interpretation of oppulence in the golden age. The 52-year-old musician saw a double entendre in gilded glamour. Leto showed up to the Metropolitan Museum in a get-up that excited and upset viewers all at once. He wore a tweed tuxedo with stitched flower bouquets, pink bow ties, studded hair broach, dark shades, and a red clutch with a gold metal clasp. Next to him was no plastic accessory but a real life copy. Leto brought Gucci’s then creative director, Alessandro Michele, as his twin for the night. He called it, “Double Victorian Gilded Trouble”.