The Best, Worst, and Most On-Theme Met Gala 2025 Looks

Happy Met Monday recovery day to all who celebrated. Here at the Cut, we spent fashion’s biggest night doing what we do best — judging celebrity red-carpet looks and yapping about them on the internet. This year’s event gave us plenty to talk about: Rihanna revealed her third pregnancy, Diana Ross showed up for the first time since 2003, Zendaya looked surprisingly understated, and our favorite men dressed to impress, including Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, and Bad Bunny.

The 2025 Met Gala theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which is said to be an expression of Black Dandyism. It is inspired by the work of Monica L. Miller, a professor and chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College, and her 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Miller describes Black Dandyism as “a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary — especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even,” according to Vogue.

The dress code was “Tailored to You,” which is a “nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear,” according to Vogue, that was “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation.” Some people who fit that bill best were Rihanna in Marc Jacobs, Diana Ross, Megan Thee Stallion in Michael Kors and André 3000 in Burberry (with a piano on his back.) Some people who missed it? Keep scrolling.

➼ Best Looks
➼ Worst Looks
➼ Weirdest Looks

She’s always worth the wait, especially when there’s a pregnancy reveal involved.

We collectively gasped when Ms. Ross hit the Met Gala red carpet for the first time since 2003 in this gown and cape, embodied with the names of her children and grandchildren.

Our problematic fave really ate the girls up tonight. The proportions are gag-worthy.

She knocked this out of the park — from the blunt bob that perfectly compliments the sharp shoulders of her structured gown to the thin brows and natural makeup.

This ponytail alone could earn Meg a spot on our best-dressed list. The sequined gown and white fur coat are great, too — old Hollywood glamour in the best way.

This king has a strong back and an even stronger point of view. Potentially the best-dressed man of the night.

This color is a breath of fresh air, and we love the addition of a sculptural train onto her blazer.

Behold, the definition of super-fine tailoring.

Safe to say Lorde summer starts now.

This tailored coat feels especially cool and unexpected coming from Cardi, who usually wows in opulent gowns with long trains and embellishments. Bonus points for the glam.

She is potentially the only person on the entire guest list who could pull off this look, which makes us love it even more.

Our boyfriend does not play about the Met Gala. No notes, just one question: What do we think he has in that duffel bag?

Alert! Alert! Alert! Hot man in a beret.

Pretty but underwhelming.

Our queen giving the perfect amount of drama for the Met Gala and a reimagined suit that’s so on-theme.

It’s fitting that what seems to be the first André Leon Talley nod of the night comes from Colman Domingo, one of this year’s co-chairs and a true modern dandy. Quickly after arriving, he changed into a second Valentino look, a delicious mix of prints and textures.

Honestly? I was expecting a bit more from him, but it’s still incredible and expertly tailored. The slightly flared pants are perfection.

My personal best-dressed of the night. It strikes the right balance of being on-theme but also so impactful and memorable — the perfect choice for her Met Gala debut. Oh, and those thigh-high Timberlands? Beyond.

The theme, but make it camp.

This is how you do a coordinated couples look.

Another day, another look that proves Miley and Alaïa are a match made in heaven. We also love her fresh glam and simple, sleek updo.

Proof that there are a million different ways to do a suit.

So Dandy! So dashing! So happy to be here!

Tore, as usual.

Even though the fit is slightly off, we love the silhouette and flower-adorned shoulder.

Year after year, celebrities try (and fail) to choose a look that’s on-theme and true to their personal style — but Emma Chamberlain succeeded with this deconstructed pinstripe-suit dress.

Finally, some color!

It’s understated but so elegant and on-theme. The hair is sort of a miss, but we’ll look past it.

Another strong contender for best dressed. The buttercream shade is interesting and unexpected, especially considering how much black and white we’ve seen on the carpet tonight, and the silhouette is so striking without doing too much. We also love that she’s holding a fan with André Leon Talley’s face on it.

Okay now this is the type of menswear we like to see. A suit jacket is nice but a full-length overcoat with a train and severe shoulder pads is a million times better.

We love the cut-outs, we love the little cropped jacket, we love train. Perfect.

10/10. No notes for the Model of the Year.

This dress that has what looks to be hand-stitched stripes is a bit of a let down after last year’s iconic Balmain sand dress, and honestly, we liked some of her pre-Met looks over the weekend better than this one. But it’s a solid interpretation of the theme and the coat is a nice tribute to André Leon Talley.

The actress chose a fitted dress made entirely of metal rulers, seemingly an ode to couture craftsmanship.

Rosalía also wore Balmain. The silicone sculptural dress was inspired was meant to evoke the shape of a couture atelier mannequin, the brand explained on Instagram.

This is a subtle take on tailoring … to say the very least. But she looks good and the dress is beautiful.

If you’re not even going to try to be on-theme, you really need to bring it in every other category: fit, styling, silhouette, etc. This is bad all around.

Great gown, beautiful gown. That’s all.

Once again, Kim looks extremely uncomfortable on the Met Gala red carpet. Do we think she can see?

We get it; it’s certainly tailored to her. But the combination of neon pink, silver, and sequins make it look costume-y, not fashion.

Oof. This would be ten times better if the skirt were closed in the front.

This is almost really fab, actually. But the ultra-high neckline is competing and clashing with her full, voluminous hair, which is distracting.

We love that she wore a small Black designer and the train is lovely, but the dress itself has way too much going on — from the embroidery to the micro-mini length and the exaggerated collar in a contrasting bright white shade.

While we love that Kendall took the opportunity to platform a Black designer, this look is far too simple for the Met Gala.

Proof that not even a billionaire can make a corset with mesh panels look expensive.

This is a rare miss for Miss Dula Peep.

She got the tailoring and suiting part of the theme, but the extravagance of Dandyism is missing.

This is a direct Josephine Baker reference and an homage to the Black fashion designer and costumer Zelda Wynn Valdes. Even though Gigi looks beautiful, we would have loved to see her step outside her comfort zone — a glamorous red carpet gown feels too safe.

The pantless look was not that great when Kendall Jenner did it a few years ago, and it’s not that great now.

Not a strong follow-up to her controversial trip to space.

Detached cuffs are never a good idea.

Girl, a durag? Be so for real.

Wait, the blue grill is … kind of a vibe?

While this embodies the opulent and exaggerated nature of Dandyism, it could use some editing. We prefer it without the feathered top hat, which she took off on the red carpet to reveal a matching red durag.

In case you missed it, that may or may not be a collage of faces of different women — including at least one that looks more than a little bit like Rosa Parks — on Lisa’s bodysuit. Big yikes.

Now … why would she wear this to the Met Gala when she wears this literally every day of her life? It’s so normal, it’s weird.

You know what? I’m going to hold my tongue, just this once. The internet trolls have already put this poor woman through enough. (And yes, for the record, she is on theme but the look itself is not good.)

A disappointing look from a legend. The gold wire fedora is particularly upsetting.

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