Ah yes, the Met Gala! Although postponed by four months this year, the 47th annual Met Gala still provided us non-celebrities with an inside look into the wondrous world that is Hollywood. However, before we can really deep-dive into the various, alluring looks of the night, it is important to note what the Met Gala really is.

The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event held in New York City that benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically its Costume Institute, and it marks the opening of the institute’s fashion exhibition. This event started in 1948 as a small midnight supper and since Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, took over as co-chair in 1995, it has become one of the biggest fashion events and successful fundraisers around the world. 

This year, the theme was centered around American fashion and identity, with part one of the exhibit, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” opening September 18, 2021 and part two, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” opening May 5, 2022. With many artists, icons, and celebrities taking a different spin on the theme, we have decided to evaluate and rank these looks. The selected looks of the night will be judged out of a total of 30 points, earning up to ten points for each of our three categories: relation to theme, uniqueness, and Met Gala worthiness (does it belong at the Met Gala?). With over 100 attendees, it is unfortunately not possible for us to rank every single one, but we have chosen 15 looks that we feel offer a wide range of the fits modeled on the famous red carpet from the night.

So without further adieu, let’s begin!

15. Timothée Chalamet: 9.5/30

Setting the baseline for our list is Mr. Chalamet. His attire was overall disappointing and failed to wow either of us, especially for someone who was invited to serve as one of the co-chairs for the event. The majority of his missing points come from his fit not pertaining to the theme, thus resulting in us awarding him a solid 3 out of 10 for that category. Sporting a look created by Haider Ackermann, his whole ensemble consisted of a white tuxedo jacket matched with white sweatpants. Yes, sweatpants. And while some may argue that his classic, cream-colored Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars are an essential staple of American fashion today, the rest just did not give what needed to be given.

14. Frank Ocean: 12.5/30

Next up we have Frank. We are not going to lie, this one kind of hurt us, but he just did not really deliver. He did, however, turn some heads with his Shrek-like, robotic baby doll, which he named Cody. Even The Cut called him out on it, referring to Cody as “a little freak.” But to be honest, we would not mind being talked about like that if it meant being escorted to the Met Gala in the arms of Frank Ocean ;)) Ocean mentioned his inspiration for this red carpet look derived from America’s use of “movie magic,” but there was no further explanation concerning this comment. His baseball-cap-styled hat may also act as a supplement to his inspiration, for it showcases an off-brand version of the DreamWorks‘s logo. Now we aren’t going to go in on Ocean’s dispiriting look in hopes that his Met Gala fit fail was just a result of over exhaustion from working on a new album!

13. Kim Kardashian: 15/30

America’s favorite socialite walked the red carpet with probably one of the most talked about outfits of the night — a night black Balenciaga gown worn with a complementing train and mask. Kardashian has yet to publicly speak on the inspiration and meaning behind the dress, but instead, she is leaving it up to the interpretation of the audience. A very popular speculation about her outfit is that she is expressing her personal impact on American culture, for even with just her silhouette, we are able to associate the figure with her. We must say, her outfit was difficult to rate because while we do think it is out there, we both agreed that it only reached a 5 out of 10 for the “Met Gala Worthiness” category and a measly 5.5 out of 10 for the “Uniqueness” category. While her look may be ranked low on our list due to its lack of stimulation, we find it worthy to mention that one of the most shocking aspects of her fit was not the full-body coverage, but instead that her ponytail hairstyle cost her $10,000!

12. Rihanna: 16/30

As a well-seasoned Met Gala attendee, Badgalriri is a familiar face upon the steps of the Met. In fact, her first appearance was back in 2007 with her debut Met Gala red carpet look appertaining to the then theme of “Poiret: King of Fashion.” However, once again, we are slightly disappointed, especially since she has attended this event in previous years and was notorious for having one of the night’s best fits. The night of September 13, Rihanna came in on the arm of her current beau, A$AP Rocky, wearing a large, black Balenciaga coat that to us resembles something related to a massive, designer Snuggie. While, the relation to the Met Gala theme seems a little lost upon solely looking at her red carpet photos, Rihanna captioned her Met Gala Instagram post “reppin’ for the immigrants. #MET21,” which leads us to believe that her look has some personal meaning to her Barbadian heritage. However, we do not feel that the inspiration was clear enough to constitute a high score for the “Relation to Theme” category, thus lowering her overall score by quite a bit.

11. Emma Chamberlain: 17/30

Miss Chamberlain definitely turned heads with her Met Gala debut look. Modeling a custom Louis Vuitton cutout, geometric, gold dress, Chamberlain took inspiration from American fashion of the 70s. We both loved the unique asymmetrical shape and material of the dress, but, as we have docked people for before, we feel that she could have done something more with her theme inspiration. It was a subtle nod towards disco-loving, bell bottom-wearing, funky fashion icons, but it just was not enough, especially for the Met. A majority of her points came from the “Uniqueness” category, for we do both agree that overall, with the bright green eyeshadow and gold hoops, her outfit was definitely one of a kind. Although she lands towards the end of the list, we believe that for her first Met Gala, she did fairly well!

10. Lil Nas X: 17.5/30

Taking a very Lady Gaga inspired approach to the Met, Lil Nas X came in with not one, not two, but three different Versace outfits for the night. At this point, we kind of feel like a broken record because we are a little lost with his interpretation of the theme with all three of his looks. In an interview with Emma Chamberlain, he revealed that he was trying to showcase a story of sorts and that with his first look, the oversized, gold cloak, he wanted to portray “royalty … like we’re in our shell.” His second look, the shiny, hard-shelled body armor, was meant to act as a physical metaphor for him “[building] this shield around [himself],” which could be in reference to him prior to publicly coming out. Lastly, his form-fitting, gold-sequined bodysuit was his coming out as his true self in the eyes of the public, whether that may be with his sexuality or his music or whatever it may be. We found the collection of looks to be intriguing for sure, but we still fail to really grasp the relation to theme here.

9. Billie Eilish: 18.5/30

Another first-timer at the Met Gala, Billie Eilish came in wearing a nude Oscar de la Renta tulle old Hollywood-esque dress that trailed behind it a 15 foot train, which was a not-so-obscure homage to Marilyn Monroe. While this was pretty on-theme for us, we did not find the dress itself to be all that exciting. There was something missing from the look that would make it perfect; maybe it was the  dress’s color or maybe it was the lack of accessories, but something was off. Additionally, we feel that the “old Hollywood” idea is a little basic and overdone, especially among celebrities, but we will not dock her too much for that since she did require that Oscar de la Renta discontinue the use of animal fur in his designs from now on.

8. Hunter Schafer: 19.5/30

First thought: Oh my god she looks amazing!! Second thought: Wait, how is this on theme? Schafer’s look was definitely one of our favorites of the night disregarding the whole theme aspect. But when rating this with the theme in mind, it definitely brought her score down. Come on, just look at her!! The spider, the contacts, the hair — it’s all just so captivating. The Euphoria star displayed a look that could be traced back to the 90s grunge aesthetic along with a very sci-fi feel. Schafer’s makeup artist, Sandy Ganzer, remarked in The Vanity Fair that “‘she’s got an anime, sci-fi heart in her core.’” We would say that this was probably one of the most eccentric interpretations of the theme, but it did make for an astonishing red carpet fit!

7. A$AP Rocky: 21.5/30

Now, we know what you must be thinking; How is he so high on this list? Aside from a slight bias because of how beautiful this man is, his fit is pretty on theme. The organizing principle of the “America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibit is a patchwork quilt and the idea that it serves as a metaphor for the varied cultural identities of the United States. After finding an antique quilt at a thrift store — funny enough a woman recently identified the quilt as her great grandmother’s — A$AP went to ERL (Eli Russell Linnetz) to craft the rest of this look. The result was a custom silk taffeta tuxedo underneath the thrifted quilt that was spiced up a bit with a couple personal touches.

6. Kendall Jenner: 22/30

As much as I, Hallie, hate to admit it, Kendall is nearing the top five of this list. Nothing personal, but I definitely was not expecting her to be this high on our list just because I feel that there were definitely more worthy outfits of the #6 spot, but we just do not have the time or mental capacity to rate every single person that attended the event. However, we both feel that she had one of the best interpretations and executions of the theme. Another take on the old Hollywood aesthetic, Jenner was inspired by Audrey Hepburn or more specifically, Hepburn in the 1964 film My Fair Lady. Sparkling in her Givenchy naked dress, she wore thousands of rhinestones and crystals as she walked up the Met steps. Additionally, she got ranked one of the highest on our list for “Met Gala Worthiness” with a score of 7.5 out of 10 from us just for the wow-factor that the dress itself brought with it. Yet, on a final note, but we think we can all agree that Jenner played it a little safe with this fit, especially since this dress seems very much in her wheelhouse and she could have tried a different style and done something a little out of the ordinary for her.

5. Iman: 24/30

Coming in at #5 is supermodel Iman. While not very on theme, Iman racks up most of her points from the uniqueness of her fit and how it just screams “Met Gala”. This jaw dropping outfit is brought to you by Dolce and Gabbana (the designer currently making their way back from a racism scandal) and British designer Harris Reed. The golden ensemble includes a shiny, aurous bustier and trousers; a tiered, feathered hoop overskirt, and matching headpiece. This outfit is giving off more of Lorde’s Solar Power than “America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” but we appreciate the effort put into the attire. Honestly, there is not much else to say about this look other than WOW.

4. Nikkie de Jager: 24.5/30

Miss NikkieTutorials really came in with a bang. While she was not the only attendee honoring an American legacy with her look, she was one of the few who was able to execute it well. Her teal, tulle, mermaid styled gown was sprinkled with flowers that complimented her flower headpiece. All of this, plus the ribbon hanging from the dress that read “Pay It No Mind,” were all in reference to the late trans icon and LGBTQ+ activist, Marsha P. Johnson who was one of the leading advocates at the 1969 Stonewall Riots. This homage led us to give her the second highest ranking for the “Relation to Theme” category with an overall score of 9 out of 10. She really was a head-turner at the event!

3. Yara Shahidi: 25/30

To be honest, neither of us knew who Yara Shahidi was prior to the Met Gala, but we definitely won’t forget about her after seeing her fit. The Black-ish actress paid tribute to American-French entertainer Josephine Baker in a custom Christian Dior gown with intricate beading and a train paired with elbow length gloves and a diamond choker. Like Kendall Jenner and Billie Eilish, Shahidi went for the classic old Hollywood look, and let us just say that she crushed it. Not only was the look itself gorgeous, but it was also unique, on theme, and it undeniably belongs on the carpet of the Met Gala, thus earning her a spot in the top three of our list with a total of 25 out of 30 possible points.

2. Saweetie: 26.5/30

Although we were a little concerned after #TheSaweetieMeal collab with McDonald’s, the Icy Grl rapper definitely pulled through with her Met Gala red carpet look. The Met Gala first timer hit the red carpet showing a lot of skin in a muted ruby red Christian Cowan gown composed of 10 million crystals. However, the most impressive component of her gown was her incorporation of the Black American Heritage flag and the Filipino flag on the two panels of her train. When asked about why she included these flags, Saweetie told E! that they are “‘what makes me an American girl,” earning her an 8.5 out of 10 for the theme category. From winning her first VMA the night before to rocking the red carpet, needless to say she is a woman of many talents.

1. Quannah Chasinghorse: 30/30

Last, but most certainly not least, we have Quannah Chasinghorse. We could ramble on for days about the genius of this look, but unfortunately we have already surpassed our word count limit about ten people ago. Chasinghorse’s take on the theme was what we would probably consider one of the most on-point interpretations. At only 19 years old, the model showcased her Hän Gwich’in and Oglala Lakota heritage for her Met Gala debut, wearing handmade, authentic Navajo turquoise jewelry and a gold, lamé dress. Growing up for part of her childhood on the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Chasinghorse noted to Vogue that “‘it’s extremely important to represent and bring authentic and true American culture to this year’s theme.’” In the same interview with Vogue, she revealed that prior to the event, she “‘was listening to Native music and artists to help [her] feel more empowered, and [she] was extremely excited to show the world the beauty of native indigeneity.’” Honestly, what could be more American than the culture of those who inhabited and cultivated this land first?

And with that, we have finally reached the end! We must disclaim again that this list is completely opinion-based, so our verdicts on the looks may differ from your own and that’s okay! Listed below is the breakdown of each look in respect to the three categories with the purple columns being Hallie’s scores and the green columns being Kaylin’s if you wish to see the thoughts behind this madness!

Who do you think had the best look at the 2021 Met Gala?

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Nikkie de Jager

Quannah Chasinghorse

Iman

Saweetie

Yara Shahidi

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