PICS: 65 Best Met Gala hair and beauty looks of all time

05/05/2024

It’s Met Gala time, and for the glam squads behind the famous faces who are attending fashion’s big night out, it’s the culmination of many months of work. Every little detail from lipstick colour to hairstyles and jewellery will be discussed and debated so that everyone looks the best they have ever looked.

The Theme for the Met Gala 2024 is ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reimagining Fashion’ and it’s been predicted that florals and flowers will dominate that famous staircase in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Today’s top videos

But, that remains to be seen, all we know is that we will be on the edge of our seats until the red carpet begins. Ahead of the Met Gala 2024, here are 65 of our favourite hair and beauty looks from down the years, which one gets your vote?

Zendaya – Heavenly Bodies, 2018

pics: 65 best met gala hair and beauty looks of all time

ZENDAYA PIC: GETTY

Zendaya stopped short of bringing her horse and a sword to the 2018 Met Gala. Dressed in Versace, the pretty actress and model had a distinct look of Joan of Arc on the night complete with a Norman-style wig and strong brow. It’s a wild look but it’s brilliant.

Beyonce – China: Through The Looking Glass, 2015

BEYONCE PIC: GETTY

Beyonce doesn’t do shy and retiring, we know that much. In 2015, Bey looked incredible in Givenchy for the Gala, shimmering along the pink carpet in a sheer gown embellished with colourful gems and the highest ponytail you could get. What went unnoticed though was her shoes with their beautiful heel detail, see can you make them out above? 2015? We’d wear them now.

Kim Kardashian – Camp, 2019

KIM KARDASHIAN PIC: GETTY

We could pop up Kim’s all-black Balenciaga outfit from another Gala but without doubt one of her all-time best Met Gala looks was in 2019 when she wore a mind-boggling Mugler dress. The late designer created an outfit that defies logic with its incredibly tiny waist and even the fabric looked like a second skin. In terms of detail, it’s one of the best dresses ever worn to the Gala.

Jennifer Lopez – China, 2015

JENNIFER LOPEZ PIC: GETTY

Do you think maybe ‘strategic beading’ is a thing in fashion? If it isn’t it should be. Yes. these sheer dresses are fully lined in flesh fabric, that is not really skin you’re looking at but JLo looks as though she has risen from the red carpet in her Versace gown at the 2015 Met Gala. With her hair flowing, it was one of her best looks ever.

Rihanna – Heavenly Bodies 2018

RIHANNA PIC: GETTY

Rihanna wore John Galliano and served some serious attitude at the 2018 event. The theme revolved around fashion and religion which caused a bit of a stir with some of the outfits on display. Rihanna’s look was especially commented on because the bishop’s mitre on her head looked ready to fall off at any minute.

Rihanna – Comme des Garcons, 2017

RIHANNA PIC: GETTY

Rihanna again, because she really brings energy to the night and deserves to be on the best Met Gala looks list twice if not more. In 2017, the singer wore Comme des Garcons in what looked like a dress made from butterflies from a distance. She also wore a topknot and had a blush that went up to her eyes, starting a 2022 beauty trend seven years before we all became obsessed with blusher.

Billy Porter – Camp, 2019

BILLY PORTER PIC: GETTY

Actor Billy Porter arrived at the 2019 Met Gala on a black bed carried by six shirtless men in gold trousers like a Pharoah from Ancient Egypt. If that isn’t making an entrance we don’t know what is, we’re earmarking that hack for the Christmas party in 2022. Billy’s The Blonds outfit was all levels of wild, from the gold winged cape to the beading up and down the suit beneath. Even his eye makeup and the gold touches on his face were mesmerising.

Blake Lively – Heavenly Bodies, 2018

BLAKE LIVELY PIC: GETTY

Someone else who always has one of the best Met Gala looks every year is Blake Lively, and we can’t wait to see what and who she wears if she’s at this year’s event. In 2018 for the religiously-themed Met Gala, she wore Versace, a royal-looking embroidered gown with a massive train and a crown on her head covered in tiny spikes. Stunning.

Lady Gaga – Camp: Notes On Fashion, 2019

LADY GAGA PIC: GETTY

At the Camp Met Gala in 2019, you could have forgotten about the whole night out thanks to Lady Gaga’s performance on the pale pink carpet. Her Brandon Maxwell look came off in four stages, from a candy pink cape down to a black ballgown followed by a slinky pink column dress until finally, she was in her underwear pulling a bar cart and talking to someone on her phone. In the past, we may have had similar nights out but we’d never have slept in our makeup after if it involved those lashes. Wild.

Billie Eilish – Celebrating In America, 2021

BILLIE EILISH PIC: GETTY

Looking every inch like she was channelling Marilyn Monroe from beyond the grave, singer Billie Eilish really surprised everyone with her Hollywood look. Wearing Oscar de la Renta, America’s most famous couturier, with a blonde wig, the Bad Guy singer looked unrecognisable from her usual grungey self.

Kendall Jenner – Comme des Garcons, 2017

KENDALL JENNER PIC: GETTY

Kendall Jenner really turned heads at the 2017 Met Gala in this mesh gown from underwear brand La Perla. A sheath of slate grey with strategic folds and a built-in bodysuit, little was left to the imagination. It didn’t move though, if you’re considering something similar do have it made to fit perfectly and pair it with a red lip like the reality star.

Cara Delevingne – Heavenly Bodies, 2018

CARA DELEVINGNE PIC: GETTY

Slightly bonkers, model Cara Delevignge’s Christian Dior Couture gown is as stark and dramatic as you could get. To be fair, there’s just a tuft of pink hair popping through that helmet of a hat she’s wearing. We wonder how she had a drink or dinner after the Gala, that was probably awkward.

Christina Ricci – Schiaparelli & Prada, 2012

CHRISTINA RICCI PIC: GETTY

There’s just something impossibly sweet about this Thakoon gown that Christina Ricci wore to the 2012 Met Gala. The blush colour is perfectly toned with the Wednesday Addams star’s porcelain skin and the back of the dress had a huge bow that led down to an elegant train. Her slicked-back hair, feline flick and red lip are classic and timeless.

SJP – American Woman, 2010

SARAH JESSICA PARKER PIC: GETTY

In 2010, Sarah Jessica Parker proved her position as a fashion icon by resurrecting the world’s love of Halston, the designer with one of the most stylish and edgy creations ever seen in the US. It brought the brand back to the fore for a while and SJP rocked total Carrie vibes with her smoky eye and the flower pinning back one side of her hair. Just cool, you’d know SJP would serve up one of the best Met Gala looks without even trying that hard.

Bianca Jagger – Hollywood Design, 1974

BIANCA JAGGER PIC: GETTY

We end our best Met Gala looks list with another Halston look, this time on Bianca Jagger who attended with her then-husband, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in 1974, a year after the Gala first started. The pretty red and sparkly dress with an obi-style belt and chic beret was striking and dare we say it could be worn today. Jagger was perennially stylish, from turbans and chic tailored dressing it’s no wonder she was a style icon in the 70s. Those 15 are our favourites from down the years, scroll on to see 50 more fabulous Met Gala looks.