The 20 best and worst-dressed celebs at the 2025 Met Gala, according to fashion critics

For once, white women at the Met Gala were faced with something of a challenge. It’s not a costume party, and no one is required to show up on-theme, although social media watchers tend to eviscerate anyone who fails to do so. One way to go is simply to ignore the theme completely and show up in a standard gala gown, working standard glam. Let’s face it, she’d have likely looked silly in a Zoot suit. And this is the most polished and impeccable she’s ever looked on a red carpet. It was a good choice.

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It’s giving Diana Ross as Mahogany (with a little bit of Bianca Jagger at her wedding). Zendaya is among the smartest stars when it comes to utilising fashion to send messages or make points, and she understood that, on a night paying homage to the styles of Black men, she’d do well to go for simple and impeccable over her usual theatrics on the Met Gala red carpet. This night isn’t about her, and she’s letting you know, in a very chic way, that she understands that.

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This gorgeous stunner of a gown was a recreation of one worn by Josephine Baker in the 1930s, which means it was a smart and poignant way to tip her hat to the theme while still getting to work a killer dress. The 1940s hair looks amazing on her and coordinates really well with the design. That’s the kind of styling we like to see for the Met Gala: fun and adventurous, with a sense of history and flair to it.

Like Zendaya, she seemed to want to take a step back from the spotlight this time, quietly paying tribute in this light and lovely suit with a floaty chiffon cape and boater hat. It has an appealing play between masculine and feminine, and the colour looks amazing on her. Love the matching mani.

We thought there’d be way more gowns with men’s suiting details on this red carpet. We’re kind of happy to be wrong about that because it means that attendees managed to avoid clichés or easy interpretations. In this case, we absolutely love how this gown utilises menswear elements but remains fully its own thing. It’s modern, sharp, respectful, and looks stunning on her.

She mentioned the design paid tribute to her father and grandfather, and their shared Edo heritage. The beading is gorgeous and eye-catching. We’re not entirely convinced the jacket coordinates all that well with the dress, but we appreciate that she was marrying her heritage, her family, and the themes of the night all in one garment. It’s sharp and different.

We would have liked to have seen more of these kinds of overt homages to the legendary André Leon Talley, but it takes a very special man to pull of that kind of flair. Fortunately, Brian Tyree Henry, who devised this look along with Nigerian brand Orange Culture, always understands the assignment. While the coat tends to pull all the focus, for us, the gloves, chain, brooches, and boots are what make it, along with that stunning colour. The cuffs bug us a little, but the rest of it looks so good, we’re willing to pretend not to see them.

As a co-chair, a designer, and a music legend, Pharrell might have been feeling a lot of pressure to get this one right if he was the kind of guy who tended to worry about such things. But he’s the kind of guy who does everything with an enviable smoothness, which is why he showed up in a pearl-encrusted jacket and flares, looking completely unfussed–and perfect.

Oof. Halle, we love you, but that is tacky, lady. Head-turning, for sure. And we do like the hat and the dramatic makeup. But the neckline is proportionally awkward, and any dress that gives the impression that the wearer can’t take a deep breath or make a sudden move without risking total exposure is… well, it’s definitely an adventurous choice for the Met Gala.

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You say the word “dandy” to Chappell Roan and of course her mind is going to go straight to Elton John. She’s practically his granddaughter. No, it’s not really theme-specific, but it’s glam, it’s high-impact, it’s perfectly suited to her, and it takes a great picture. We might have liked a more high-fashion sort of look for her, though. It suits her, but it doesn’t look very new or fresh, which is a letdown.

The co-chair wanted to pay tribute to his hometown of New York, so he sported a very practical umbrella and ensemble from his own design studio, which pulls from both formal menswear and streetwear elements. It marries its various inspirations very well, and the whole look suits him perfectly while allowing him to stand out from the other co-chairs.

We’ve got to give Thom Brown credit for coming up with the cleverest womenswear take on the night’s theme. Lorde came dressed as a sexy cummerbund, essentially; a minimalist, modern homage to formal menswear without any of the cliches or common tropes associated with such attempts. It’s sexy and sharp. It may not have the kind of luxe richness one tends to associate with dandyism, but we’d rather see stars come to the Met Gala in something that reflects their own taste and aesthetic than show up in a costume that doesn’t suit them.

We love that she took her Black dandy inspiration from an English perspective, which allowed her to stand out from all of the other female dandies there. The top hat is a fabulous touch, and the silhouette cleverly mimics a 19th-century gown, once again marrying male and female design elements. We love the richness of the textiles, but there’s a point at which maximalism tips over into mess and this collection of layers and materials just barely manages to avoid that.

We so want to be supportive of her current style iteration. We think wanting to sport a clean face and stay away from over-the-top glamour makes perfect sense for her in this period of her life and career, but she always chooses the wrong kind of outfits for a clean-face look. This level of sparkle pretty much demands styling that ups its level. Since she doesn’t want to do that, she should consider dramatically minimalist styles to set off her face. This just looks like she’s in the middle of a fitting, especially since the dress looks two sizes too large.

So many women came in the kind of salutes to Black Dandies we would have expected, but in retrospect, we should have been able to predict that she’d be the one to show up in a salute to Black Dandy nerds. (A compliment!) This is cute, hilarious, perfectly suited to her, and strangely kind of chic. We’re not entirely convinced the pattern-mixing works, but we’re also not convinced that it’s supposed to. We might normally suggest that this comes too close to costume, but this actually looks like something she’d wear to, like, the Grammys. Love the afro.