Met Gala 2025: 53% of readers say this star had the best Met Gala red carpet look ever — plus more about this year's theme

Yahoo

05-05-2025

It's Met Gala Monday! The first Monday in May is reserved for the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute fundraiser in New York City, orchestrated by Vogue's esteemed editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. The event has been unofficially been called fashion's biggest night, thanks to the array of meticulously-crafted looks from the hottest designers modelled on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art by the who's who of film, music and fashion.
Last week, we asked Yahoo Canada readers to weigh in on some iconic Met Gala looks from the past. More than 7,600 votes were cast — and the results might be surprising.
Keep reading to learn more about who our readers thought has won — and lost — the Met Gala red carpet
Click here to learn more information about the 2025 Met Gala and this year's theme
Blake Lively's architecturally-inspired gown at the 2022 Met Gala was a clear winner for best dressed, having earned more than 53 per cent of reader votes.
The look was designed by Atelier Versace for 'In America: An Anthology of Fashion' and featured a reversible skirt that mimicked the oxidization process of the Statue of Liberty. Lively's show-stopping turn on the museum's steps where she quickly transformed her dress was a memorable Met Gala moment that's certainly hard to top.
Rihanna's bold canary gold ensemble at the 2015 Met Gala earned her second place in our Met Gala best dressed poll with 14 per cent of votes.
The dramatic look embodied the theme of "China: Through The Looking Glass" and took more than 50,000 hours to create.
The Kardashians and this custom Schiaparelli look aren't for everyone. The star's ensemble at the 2023 Met Gala "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" featured more than 50,000 pearls, but it was a swing and a miss with Yahoo Canada readers. Kardashian's look was dubbed the worst of the Met Gala, earning 45 per cent of reader votes.
Woodley's Joan of Arc-inspired look at the 2018 Met Gala skewed more Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz than an homage the theme of "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination." The Ralph Lauren look earned 19 per cent of reader votes to earn the title of runner-up for worst dressed.
Earlier this year, the museum's Costume Institute announced its 2025 exhibition, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.' The exhibit is based on the 2009 book by Monica L. Miller 'Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.'
The exhibit includes 12 sections that each represent an element of dandy fashion with particular focus on dress in the United States and Europe Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook (a space for dancing, drinking and enjoyment) Heritage, Beauty, Cool and Cosmopolitanism.
This year's Met Gala co-chairs include actor Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams.
Historically, a dandy was a man in the late 18th and early 19th century who was meticulous about his clothing, grooming and styling.
Dandy fashion focuses on superb tailoring, meticulousness, an appreciation for the effort and passion for clothing. Men who were considered dandies were passionate about clothing and their appearance to the point that it was both criticized for their preoccupation and obsession with beauty and aesthetics while simultaneously impacting the way society looked and dressed. They were, in a sense, an early influencer whose fashion was usually a step ahead of everyone else.
Dandyism as a movement wasn't necessarily entirely superficial. Some dandies embodied almost a spiritual and intellectual appreciation and understanding for beauty as a whole. 'Genius dandies' elevated the aesthetic and title to something larger than material goods.
Black dandyism at its core is a sign of power and rebellion. Black men embodied the idea of a 'self-made' man within a society designed to suppress them starting in the late 1800s. Clothing, specifically dandy-inspired clothing that was meticulously tailored and styled, was a symbol of access to finery, an appreciation for beauty and the ability to move beyond social constraints of class and race.
The concept of Black dandyism has expanded to describe the power and impact of Black people and their style on society and traditionally white spaces. In modern day, Black dandyism has been used as a way to describe how Black men created a cultural shift in power dynamics using clothes in sports and entertainment. An example would be how NBA players transformed pregame and red carpet attire from a traditional suit to looks that express their unique sense of style. These looks not only change how people behave and dress within these structures, they simultaneously impacting the way the rest of society dresses — whether or not they are given the credit.
Most designers use the Met Gala theme as a jumping off point to explore an element of the exhibit itself. For this year's exhibit, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," some designers may play literally to the aesthetics of the 18th or 19th Century dandy, with era-appropriate attire and simply adopt the element of attention to detailing and grooming.
But don't be surprised if some designers take direct inspiration from Black dandies in history like entertainer George Walker, sociologist and editor W.E.B. Du Bois or poet and activist Langston Hughes. Some may also choose to pay tribute to women who broke cultural barriers like author Zora Neale Hurston or entertainer and WWII Resistance fighter Josephine Baker or embody style elements of the Jazz Age. Similarly, some guests may dress in drag to exhibit the traditional dandy style.
Others may take the expansive view of Black dandyism and choose to showcase looks from prominent figures in music and entertainment from the '70s, '80s, '90s or '00s.