Meet the Met | Bella Hirst

Ah, the Met Gala. This fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’ Costume Institute is unarguably fashion’s biggest night of the year. It’s chaired by VOGUE editor-in-chief Anna Wintour every year, and this year’s co-chairs are Timothee Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman. The guest list consists of only the most elite people from every industry — being invited is a spectacular honor, and a spectacular look must go along with it. This year’s (loosely-followed) theme was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”. So without further ado, here’s the ten best and worst looks from last night’s Met Gala!

*Absolutely no hate to anyone whose outfits I criticize, and liking a person’s outfit is not necessarily an endorsement of that person

10:

Worst: Evan Mock

The “Gossip Girl” reboot star was definitely trying, which is why he’s at the bottom of the worst dressed list. But the shoes? The mismatched socks? The face-covering helmet that’s half Darth Vader and half fish? Not to mention … shorts to the Met Gala? Each individual piece is bad, and together, it’s even worse.

Best: Emily Blunt

The actress looks absolutely stunning in her silver sequined dress, a popular choice for the evening (and a frequent one on this list). She sets herself apart with white fabric ribboning from the back, looking elegant without looking gaudy. The only reason she’s at the bottom of the list is the headpiece — a look like this needs a declarative headpiece or none at all.

9:

Worst: Rebecca Hall

The actress’ dress looks like the worst possible brainchild of a Victorian mother and Catwoman. She really took “Lexicon of Fashion” and said, “let’s put it all in one look, it’ll probably work!” It doesn’t. There was clearly a lot of thought put into this look, but no vision, which is disappointing.

Best: Yara Shahidi

I’m absolutely blown away by this “Grown-ish” actress’s look. It’s classy, it’s elegant. It feels old Hollywood but contemporary at the same time. It’s understated, but the train and beading add the perfect amount of boldness to make this look worthy of true Met Gala greatness.

8:

Worst: Diane Kruger

The thing that frustrates me the most about this model-turned-actress’s look is its clear thoughtlessness. Neon green never looks good on anyone, and it especially doesn’t photograph well. Aside from the color, the silhouette is … strange to say the least. The top has some potential to be edgy and fashionable, and a train is usually a good sign at the Met Gala, but the bottom of the dress quite frankly reminds me of Lord Farquad’s hair.

Best: Barbie Ferreira

The “Euphoria” actress looks absolutely stunning in this silver bejeweled look. It’s simple to take in, yet delightfully complex when you take a second look. The different components of the dress come together beautifully, and the shape complements her figure really well. My only complaint is that she could have done more with the hair.

7:

Worst: Whoopi Goldberg

I was expecting great things from this American icon. I did not get great things. Anything with too many ruffles is usually a miss, and this definitely is. It just feels … tacky. It’s not lower on the worst - dressed list because it feels intentional, like there was thought put into the look, and I can respect that.

Best: Megan Fox

We always love a queen who stays on theme, and this actress’ subtle reference to Bettie Page does just that. Her short bangs and red cutout dress reflect an iconic photo of Page’s, turning a classic icon into a modern icon. Of course, I expected nothing less from Megan Fox, who, references aside, looks absolutely stunning.

6:

Worst: Natalia Bryant

I can’t even begin to explain how much it pains me that there are five looks worse than this one. The model’s hair and makeup looks incredible, but the dress...need I explain? She looks like the human embodiment of a colorful disco ball. Shape of the dress aside, the pattern looks like a toddler spilled their craft box everywhere.

Best: Will Welch

The editor-in-chief of GQ had one of the best looks of the night. I love how the suit keeps a consistent pattern throughout, which allows new prints to show through without distracting from the overall look. This look is very well thought out and very well put together — undoubtedly one of my favorites.

5:

Worst: Kris Jenner

No, that’s not a screenshot from “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”. This is Kris Jenner at the Met Gala, wearing exactly what she wears every other day of the week. The only difference is the jet of fabric coming from her hip. It’s boring, it’s lazy, and I need to see more from Kris. She did not understand the assignment.

Best: Kendall Jenner

I told you silver beaded dresses would be a common theme on this list! Kendall looks absolutely stunning, and the dress fits her so well. It looks both effortlessly elegant and interesting enough for the Met Gala. The necklace finishes it off perfectly, and I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I adore this look.

4:

Worst: Samantha Barry

The editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine looks like she’s drowning in this Christian Siriano piece. It looks like the early 2000s and William Shakespeare had a baby — and not in a cool way. It feels like it was put together last minute, and from the EIC of a major fashion magazine, I needed more.

Best: Anok Yai

This supermodel came to play with her look. I can’t get over how stunning she looks — the star regalia on the dress provides the perfect level of brightness to balance out the look, while still remaining dynamic. The addition of the shawl was an excellent choice, as it adds a certain movement to the look that really puts it on another level.

3:

Worst: Megan Rapinoe

All love to Megan Rapinoe, but let’s be honest: this looks like something you would find in the Fourth of July section at Party City. She took the American fashion theme way too literally, and ended up looking frustratingly tacky. And she could’ve at least worn a wig — her hair color completely clashes with the look.

Best: Pete Davidson

Believe me, there is not a name I expected to end up on this list less than Pete Davidson, whose typical street un-style wouldn’t translate well to the Met Gala. But I’m blown away. This look is classy yet trendy, it’s intentional, it all works amazingly together. I only wish he didn’t have the same socks and shoes as Evan Mock.

2.

Worst: Kim Petras

She really said “horse girl, but make it camp.” It’s a consistent theme, I’ll give her that, but why? What is she trying to do with this outfit? The giant horse head is incredibly distracting, and the rest of the dress looks like it was made out of a curtain from your grandma’s house.

Best: Iman

This was definitely a risky look, but it came through as one of the highlights of the event. Iman looks as though she’s floating with her light, iridescent dress. It’s dynamic, it’s interesting, it’s heavily intentional, it’s camp meets heavenly bodies (the two past themes for the event). I can’t stop looking at this dress, and the headpiece really puts it over the top.

1:

Worst: Kim Kardashian

Kim Petras can rest easy knowing that she wasn’t the worst-dressed Kim at this event. My issue with this look isn’t that it’s ugly, it’s that it’s lazy. It feels like her real dress got lost, so they just threw some black fabric over her and called it a look. There seems to be no thought behind it, no concept, no creativity, no craftsmanship. Considering some of the looks that Kim has had in the past, this is disappointing. Undoubtedly the worst look of the evening.

Best: Lil Nas X

It should come as no surprise that artist Lil Nas X is my pick for the best-dressed person at the 2021 Met Gala. I mean, he showed up with three different looks, and not one of them was a miss. He stuck with gold throughout his whole progression, making everything feel deliciously cohesive and intentional. If this is his first Met Gala, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

In case you’re interested, here are some other people I considered for these lists!

Best:

Kerby Jean-Raymond

Shawn Mendes

Lil Baby

Gemma Chan

Cynthia Erivo

Mary J. Blige

Ayesha & Stephen Curry

Valentina Sampaio

Adam Mosseri

Worst:

Rihanna

A$AP Rocky

Normani

Margaret Qualley

Lily-Rose Depp

Kristen Stewart

Simone Biles

Ciara

Tracee Ellis Ross

Rose Leslie

Samantha Barry

Jordan Roth

Serena Williams

Laura Mulleavy

Maisie Williams

Dan Levy

Eva Chen

Tom Ford

Bee Carozzini