Met Gala 2021 best fashion moments

The MET Gala is back. After a long year of waiting, protracted due to the pandemic that cancelled the 2020 edition, the most glamorous event of the international star system put the spotlight back on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's steps. The 2021 dress code was American Independence, a tribute to the exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, which will open to the public on September 18, and which suggested a shower of red-white-blue outfits, full of stars and glitter. This hypothesis was only partially correct. Because the mood of the last night was not a simple celebration of the US flag or of the greatest American designers, but a true nostalgic tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood and to the icons of the past.

Everyone expected Billie Eilish (host of the gala together with Timothée Chalamet, Amanda Gorman and Naomi Osaka) to appear in Gucci or with a contemporary look, instead the singer opted for a voluminous dress by Oscar de la Renta, a bit Peach Blossom Barbie style, matched with a soft blonde bob and a beauty inspired by Marilyn Monroe. On the lips, however, no 50s red lipstick, but a nude lipstick. Definitely more literal the homage of Kaia Gerber who wore the same dress, also by Oscar de la Renta, worn by Bianca Jagger at the Met in 1981. Some other examples? For Yara Shahidi the inspiration came from Josephine Baker; Gigi Hadid with her asymmetrical black and white Prada, looked like a modern Rita Hayworth; while Emily Blunt's Miu Miu dress recalled the model worn by Hedy Lamarr in the movie Ziegfeld Girl.

Billie Eilish in Oscar de la Renta @metgala2021__

Zoe Kravitz in YSL

Zoe Kravitz in YSL

Kaia Gerber in Oscar de la Renta @metgala2021__

Megan Fox in Dundas

Kendall Jenner in Givenchy Courtesy of Givenchy

Kendall Jenner in Givenchy Courtesy of Givenchy

Gigi Hadid in Prada @whowhatwear

Gigi Hadid in Prada @metgala2021__

Olivia Rodrigo in YSL

Hailey Bieber in YSL @whowhatwear

Rosé in Saint Laurent @_seleianalor_

Kim Kardashian in Balenciaga @vue.ai

Emily Ratajkowski in Vera Wang @lametgala

JLo in Ralph Lauren @ellesverige

JLo in Ralph Lauren

Lily-Rose Depp in Chanel @gossip_jo

Rihanna in a custom Balenciaga @bilanluxe

Zoey Deutch in Atelier Versace Courtesy of Versace

Eiza González in Versace Courtesy of Versace

Emma Chamberlain in Louis Vuitton Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Naomi Osaka in Louis Vuitton Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Grimes in Iris Van Herpen @sacred_rose_of_jericho

Donatella Versace in Versace Courtesy of Versace

Lupita Nyongo in Versace Courtesy of Versace

Taylor Hill in Versace Courtesy of Versace

Maisie Williams in Reuben Selby

Emily Blunt in Miu Miu @emilybluntofficial

Yara Shahidi in Christian Dior

Yara Shahidi in Christian Dior Courtesy of Dior

Carey Mulligan in Valentino Courtesy of Valentino

Bee Shaffer in Valentino Courtesy of Valentino

Courtesy of Valentino

On the red carpet there were many looks that mixed nude and bling-bling effect such as Zoë Kravitz in Saint Laurent, Emily Blunt in Miu Miu or Kendall Jenner in Givenchy as well as many voluminous models with a great scenographic effect such as the Valentino creations for Carey Mulligan and Bee Shaffer or Rihanna's black Balenciaga dress. The same brand also for Kim Kardashian who brought the concept of total black on another level. The queen of KUWTK arrived at the Met together with the designer Demna Gvasalia with a mini-dress with a long train, Knife socks boots tight, long and a balaclava that completely covered her face. 

Rihanna in a custom Balenciaga & Asap Rocky @metgala2021__

Kim Kardashian in Balenciaga @metgala2021__

Hailey Bieber in YSL & Justin Bieber in DrewHouse @metgala2021__

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello both in Michael Kors @metgala2021__

Channing Tatum in Versace & Zoe Kravitz in YSL @speakingvogueblog

Ben Affleck & JLo in Ralph Lauren _luvbennifer_

Brooklyn Beckham & Nicola Peltz in Valentino Courtesy of Valentino

Kim's outfit is included in the list of "the weird ones", those stars who play with their image as Lil Nas X did in total gold Versace, Hunter Schafer in a very sci-fi Prada with a silver spider on the face, Grimes in knight version or Maisie Williams super dark in a look designed by her boyfriend Reuben Selby.

Lil Nas X in custom Versace Courtesy of Versace

Lil Nas X in custom Versace Courtesy of Versace

Lil Nas X in custom Versace Courtesy of Versace

Maluma in Versace Courtesy of Versace

Timothée Chalamet in Rick Owens top, Haider Ackerman blazer & Chuck Taylor @vue.ai

Channing Tatum in Versace Courtesy of Versace

Adrien Brody in Dior Courtesy of Dior

Pete Davidson in Thom Browne Courtesy of Thom Browne

There were also several statement dresses with a strong political message such as Cara Delevigne's bulletproof jacket by Dior decorated with the phrase "Peg the Patriarchy", a message of female empowerment coined in 2015 by Luna Matatas. Highly contested were the outfits of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn B. Maloney. The first attended her Met Gala in a white Brother Vellies dress, long to the feet, on which we read the slogan "Tax The Rich". The U.S. Congresswoman is fighting since 2019 to tax more heavily the population groups with the highest incomes and allocate those taxes to fund services such as health care or the Green Deal, but to many her presence at the gala seemed to be contradictory for the high cost of the ticket (35 thousand dollars!). Carolyn B. Maloney, on the other hand, attended the event wearing a dress with the typical colors of the suffragettes and the slogan "Equal Rights for Women". A choice that sounds a bit hypocritical given that, as @diet_prada also points out, in 2001, the Congresswoman dressed in a burqa to justify the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Brother Vellies

Cara Delevingne in Christian Dior Courtesy of Dior

Carolyn B. Maloney in Antonios Couture @obsessedwithversace

Megan Rapinoe in Sergio Hudson

Dan Levy in Loewe

As already mentioned, even for beauty, the inspiration comes from vintage, from the Golden Age of Hollywood with red lips, cat-eyes, waves and '50s hairstyles in the spotlight. The looks to copy? Gigi Hadid, a bit Jessica Rabbit, with blue eyeshadow, eye-liner and a very high ponytail; Kristen Stewart's curly 50s pinup bangs; Rihanna's dark lipstick that can also be worn with a simple beanie; Emma Chamberlain's graphic and colorful eye-liner.

Gigi Hadid in Prada @erinparsonsmakeup

Gigi Hadid in Prada @erinparsonsmakeup

Zoe Kravitz in YSL

Kristen Stewart in Chanel @f_kstew

Billie Eilish in Oscar de la Renta @metgala2021__

Naomi Osaka in Louis Vuitton

Olivia Rodrigo in YSL

Kendall Jenner in Givenchy Courtesy of Givenchy

Emma Chamberlain in Louis Vuitton

Emma Chamberlain in Louis Vuitton @chamberlainitalia

Rihanna in a custom Balenciaga @metgala2021__

Rihanna in a custom Balenciaga

Rihanna in a custom Balenciaga

Vittoria Ceretti in Michael Kors @bilanluxe

JLo in Ralph Lauren @jlo

JLo in Ralph Lauren @ellesverige

Emily Ratajkowski in Vera Wang @lametgala

Cara Delevingne in Christian Dior

Amanda Gorman in Vera Wang @metgala2021__

Lily-Rose Depp in Chanel @lametgala

Kaia Gerber in Oscar de la Renta @lametgala

Hailey Bieber in YSL

Kate Hudson in Michael Kors

Megan Fox in Dundas

Megan Fox in Dundas

Yara Shahidi in Christian Dior

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello both in Michael Kors

Megan Thee Stallion in Coach

Emily Blunt in Miu Miu @emilybluntofficial

Maisie Williams in Reuben Selby @gotandmore

Grimes in Iris Van Herpen @sacred_rose_of_jericho