The 100 best dressed men in Met Gala history
What defines a menswear moment? The Met Gala offers up some clues. Here, we take a look at the biggest fits in the history of the fashion spectacle
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THE MET GALA red carpet has always been a place for celebrities to pull out all the stops – and that doesn’t just go for the female attendees. Yet at previous iterations of the event they call ‘fashion Christmas’, menswear has been scrutinised for not trying hard enough. “Boring!” some people watching from home in sweats will comment online. “He didn’t even try!” exclaim others, or, “Really?! A tuxedo?”
And herein lies the question: what defines a menswear moment on the Met Gala red carpet?
In its modern incarnation – a viral internet bonanza – attendees strive to create not just an outfit, but a moment. And if we look back on some recent memorable moments, you could argue the night’s female attendees walked so the guys could run. Lil Nas X disrobing from his Matryoshka doll revealing his C3-PO armour, then skin-tight glittered jumpsuit in 2021? It contained echoes of Lady Gaga’s 20-minute long performance art piece during Camp: Notes on Fashion in 2019. Or any train for that matter (Jeremy Pope is a big fan) – Rihanna’s omelette yellow Guo Pei robe in 2015 was patient zero.
This year’s exhibition theme of ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’, though, is the first time a theme squarely focuses on race (and the first in more than 20 years to celebrate menswear; 2003’s ‘Bravehearts: Men in Skirts’ was the last time a theme was centred on menswear). And with the dress-code being ‘Tailored For You’, and with an emphasis on black style and creativity, we can expect some more additions to this list that explore tailoring in meaningful ways.
So, as we anticipate the moments to come, we glance back on the 100 most memorable menswear looks at the Met Gala of all time.
The best menswear looks in Met Gala history
Alexander McQueen, 2006
Karl Lagerfeld, 2008
David Beckham, 2008
Paul McCartney, 2011
André Leon Talley, 2011
Christian Louboutin, 2011
Mick Jagger, 2012
Marc Jacobs, 2012
Wearing Comme des Garçons and Manolo Blahnik shoes
Spike Lee, 2015
Justin Bieber, 2015
Wearing Balmain
Hamish Bowles, 2015
Adrien Brody, 2015
will.i.am, 2016
Kanye West, 2016
Jared Leto, 2016
Zayn Malik, 2016
Wearing Versace
Pharrell Williams, 2017
Jaden Smith, 2017
Wearing Louis Vuitton
Michael B. Jordan, 2017
Wearing Ralph Lauren Purple Label
Rami Malek, 2017
Wearing Dior Homme
Wiz Khalifa, 2017
Wearing Thom Browne
A$AP Rocky, 2017
Wearing Calvin Klein 209W39NYC
Travis Scott, 2018
Wearing Alexander Wang
Jaden Smith, 2018
Wearing Louis Vuitton
Andrew Garfield, 2018
Wearing Tom Ford
Lewis Hamilton, 2018
Michael B. Jordan, 2018
Wearing Off-White
Donald Glover, 2018
Wearing Gucci
Chadwick Boseman, 2018
Wearing Atelier Versace
Virgil Abloh, 2018
Wearing Louis Vuitton
Troye Sivan, 2018
Wearing Valentino
Takeoff, Quavo, and Offset, 2018
Wearing Versace
Pharrell Williams, 2018
Wearing Chanel
Billy Porter, 2019
Harry Styles, 2019
Wearing Gucci
Dapper Dan, 2019
Wearing Gucci
French Montana, 2019
Wearing Gucci x Dapper Dan
Frank Ocean, 2019
Wearing Prada
Omari Hardwick, 2019
Wearing Gucci x Dapper Dan
Jared Leto, 2019
Wearing Gucci
Telfar Clemens and Ashton Sanders, 2019
Wearing Telfar
Dev Hynes, 2019
Wearing Gucci
Lena Waithe and Kerby Jean-Raymond, 2019
Wearing Pyer Moss
Jeremy O. Harris, 2019
Wearing Gucci
Anderson Paak, 2019
Wearing Gucci
Timothée Chalamet, 2021
Wearing Haider Ackermann and Converse shoes
Leon Bridges, 2021
Wearing Willy Chavarria
Evan Mock, 2021
Wearing Thom Browne
Lil Nas X, 2021
Wearing Versace
Frank Ocean, 2021
Wearing Prada
Dev Hynes, 2021
Wearing Louis Vuitton
Tyler Mitchell, 2021
Wearing Bode
Justin Bieber, 2021
Wearing la maison Drew
Taika Waititi, 2021
Wearing Prada
Pharrell Williams, 2021
Wearing Chanel
Pete Davidson, 2021
Wearing Thom Browne
A$AP Rocky, 2021
Wearing ERL
Kid Cudi, 2021
Wearing Louis Vuitton by Virgil Abloh
Lee Pace, 2021
Wearing Thom Browne
Jeremy Pope, 2021
Wearing Dion Lee
Jacob Elordi, 2022
Wearing Burberry
Harris Dickinson, 2022
Wearing Dior Men’s
Kodi Smit-McPhee, 2022
Wearing Bottega Veneta
Jeremy Strong, 2022
Wearing Archivio J.M. Ribot
Lenny Kravitz, 2022
Austin Butler, 2022
Wearing Prada
Leslie Odom Jr., 2022
Wearing Fendi
Ashton Sanders, 2022
Wearing Casablanca
Anderson Paak, 2022
Wearing Gucci
Shawn Mendes, 2022
Wearing Tommy Hilfiger
Evan Mock, 2022
Wearing Head of State
Jack Harlow, 2022
Wearing Prada
Kid Cudi, 2022
Wearing Kenzo
Alessandro Michele and Jared Leto
Wearing Gucci
Stormzy, 2022
Wearing Burberry
Riz Ahmed, 2022
Wearing Angelo Urrutia
Baz Luhrman, 2023
Wearing Thom Browne
Taika Waititi, 2023
Wearing Prabal Gurung
Bad Bunny, 2023
Wearing Jacquemus
Usher, 2023
Wearing Bianca Saunders
Jeremy Strong, 2023
Wearing Prada
Jeremy Pope, 2023
Wearing Balmain
Pedro Pascal, 2023
Wearing Valentino
Ke Huy Quan, 2023
Wearing Dior Men’s
Jared Leto, 2023
Robert Pattinson, 2023
Wearing Dior Men’s
Ben Simmons, 2024
Wearing Thom Browne
Omar Apollo, 2024
Wearing Loewe
Josh O’Connor, 2024
Wearing Loewe
Jeff Goldblum, 2024
Wearing Prada and Tiffany & Co. jewellery
Jaden Smith, 2024
Wearing Thom Browne
Jeremy Strong, 2024
Wearing Loro Piana
Colman Domingo, 2024
Wearing Willy Chavarria
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Wearing Loewe
Harris Dickinson, 2024
Wearing Prada
Morgan Spector, 2024
Wearing Willy Chavarria
Lewis Hamilton, 2024
Wearing Burberry
Michael Shannon, 2024
Wearing Balenciaga
Barry Keoghan, 2024
Wearing Burberry
Leon Bridges, 2024
Wearing Willy Chavarria
Related:
The 2025 Met Gala dress code is going to be huge for menswear. Here’s why
