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A Lookback At The Met Gala’s Most Incredible Outfits
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A Lookback At The Met Gala’s Most Incredible Outfits

We’ve indulged in some of this year’s Met Gala outfits, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results — we’re even reconsidering renaming it the Met Gaga after her stunt. From exotic gowns to powerful jumpsuits, fashion has the power to break the internet, and the biggest statements made are the ones we remember most. We do love a bit of outrage though, here’s a selection of celebrities who have shaken proceedings up with their outfit choices.

Queen of Pop, Madonna

Madonna is a household name, and no doubt you’ve owned at least one of her albums. Her rise to stardom was unprecedented, inspiring young women to express themselves with her empowering anthems and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

She loves to be expressive with her music too, which has got her in trouble before. Madonna has embraced scandal throughout her career, and she continues to turn heads. She took the 2018 Met Gala by surprise with a shock performance, wearing antiquity inspired clothing to channel the divinity of the theme of the event, ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’. However, her figure-hugging black lace ensemble back at the 2016 Met Gala was dismissed by many, but she used it as an opportunity to deliver a message to her critics. She repurposed fashion, making her statement about more than just clothes, with true Queen of Pop conviction. In an era where popstars emerge all of the time, Madonna continues to reign above the one-hit wonders.

Queen of Fashion, Donatella Versace

When you think of women in fashion, no doubt you’ll picture a chic platinum-haired queen named Donatella Versace. The artistic director and vice president of the fashion powerhouse which bears her own namesake is also a mother, model and muse. Madame Versace is a walking embodiment of couture, and she has carved her impressive career despite having no formal fashion education. In fact, Donatella had set her sights on becoming a teacher prior to becoming heavily involved with her late brother Gianni Versace’s thriving business.

She’s never been afraid to push limits in fashion. So much so that after the iconic Jenifer Lopez 2000 Grammy’s appearance, Google were prompted to create their image search feature, to deal with the demand for people looking to set their eyes upon the dress Donatella designed. Her garments have graced red carpets across the world worn by a whole host of famous faces, including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Serena Williams, Gisele Bundchen and Blake Lively. Despite this, Donatella can’t sew, and she has never produced a piece herself. Yet her breath-taking portfolio boats unrivalled extravagance, and it has secured her place as a leading force in the world of fashion.

King of Fashion, Marc Jacobs

Although he started out in fashion young, he’s made his mark and is an influential figure for good. Known as the ‘boy wonder’, he led the grunge era which decorated the pages of all major glossy magazines throughout the 1990s. Often, Marc Jacobs has spoken about the influence that his grandmother had on him, encouraging him to grow his hair long and learn to knit. He commends her for allowing him to pursue all avenues of self-exploration, and he once said ‘’No one ever said you can’t be a fashion designer – No one ever said, ‘You’re a boy and you can’t have long hair’”, and Jacobs has continued to live by this sense of freedom. Unknown to many, Marc Jacobs is also the creative director at Louis Vuitton, achieving a gross revenue of $5 billion, by branching out into luggage, accessories and a new clothing range.

Cast your mind back to 2012 and you’ll remember this fashion hunk rock a black lace dress paired with white underpants. He stated that his outfit choice was made in order to avoid being boring, and the Comme Des Garçons dress was far from lacklustre. Jacobs may have downplayed the statement himself, but the dress threw convention out of the window.

Princess of Pop, Rihanna

With countless awards under her belt, Rihanna is not one to mess with when it comes to her wardrobe. Rihanna was discovered by Jay-Z during his time as president of Def Jam Records and offered an on-the-spot contract by the music mogul. After being crowned the winner of Gilette’s Venus Breeze competition in 2007. She insured her legs for $1 billion, showing Rihanna’s tendency to never do anything in small measures.

Her outfit at the 2017 Met Gala was another Comme Des Garçons creation, designed by Rei Kawakubo who was part of the inspiration for the overall event, ‘Art of the In-between’, paired with thigh-high tie up stilettos. No one does avant-garde like ‘Bad Gal RiRi’, and she followed in her own outrages footsteps from the years gone by – in 2015 she wore a canary yellow cape and exquisite headdress, celebrating the ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’ dress code. Bold is brilliant in the eyes of the unstoppable hitmaker.

Partner in Crime, Helen Lasichanh

Everyone knows that Pharrell and his wife Helen Lasichanh break the rules when it comes to style. Despite her preference to lead a private life, she has shone in the spotlight from time to time, wearing some vibrant pieces to express her unique style. She and her husband are quite the duo, their choice to wear coordinating plaid pieces to their own wedding in 2013 set a daring, experimental tone in their attitudes towards fashion. She and her husband are known to have twin wardrobes, with a shared love for UGG boots and Sacai duffle coats. Alongside setting trends, Helen Lasichanh is a mother of four, showing us all that you can do both.

Remember her look from 2017? Well, you might remember the memes that came along with it. Her Kawakubo garment was designed so that she couldn’t use her hands while wearing it, but she certainly captured the theme of the evening. The outfit blurred the lines of fashion as we know it, abandoning the classic silhouette in favour of an abstract, post-modern inspired figure.

Understanding the Met

Everyone knows that the Met Gala is the biggest night in fashion. It is a regular feature in the calendar of all famous faces, and every arrival onto the red carpet is a spectacle in its own right. The media waited four hours to get a picture of Jay-Z and Beyoncé in 2015, taking to the grand staircase more than fashionably late. Outfits go beyond clothes at the Met, as proven by Cara Delevigne’s 11 hours’ worth of body art which she sported at the event in the same year.

You may remember the famous bathroom mirror selfie too. Instagram queen turned entrepreneur Kylie Jenner captured seventeen guests in the infamous shot in 2017. Anna Wintour’s efforts to enforce a social media and photography ban flopped, and Kylie and the gang broke the rule in style. With an approved list of 600 guests, how could the Met Gala not be outrageous? The evening is filled with fashion statements and bold characters expressing themselves, but controversy will never not be glamorous, and this year’s instalment didn’t disappoint either!

Sources:

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https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/j-lo-green-versace-dress-responsible-for-google-image-search

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https://artlistr.com/marc-jacobs-7-interesting-facts/

https://www.vogue.com/article/rihanna-met-gala-2017-red-carpet-dress-comme-des-garcons-best-dressed

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https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/red-carpet/2018-met-gala-all-the-facts-and-figures-you-need-to-know/image-gallery/b20df2f6a4f62d318202bd86b7e53264?pos=11

 

Top image credit – Unsplash | Infographic illustrations courtesy of Quiz Clothing