The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala, otherwise known as the Met Gala, might be the most-watched red carpet on earth. Some of it has to do with watching A-listers from every walk of life (movies, music, high society) in the same place. But most of it has to do with seeing how guests attack—or demure from—a given year's theme.
In years past, most famous guys (or, more accurately, their stylists) have done right by the black tie (or, on occasion, white tie) dress code by playing it safe. But thanks to history's pioneering menswear mavericks, men's celebrity fashion has shifted gears these last few years, which has propelled more and more famous dudes to really go there on the red carpet…especially when the Met Gala gives them carte blanche to do so. That said, let's also pour one out for the guys who either don't care, or care too much, that their Met Gala fits defy dress code, convention, and sometimes description. (Armor? Robot arms? Robot armor arms?)
Let's take a look back at the guys who have honored the night's fashion-first ethos through the years:
That year's exhibit: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”
Easily the accessory of 2019: literally your own head.
That year's exhibit: “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations”
To honor two designers who didn't/don't play by fashion's rules in their respective bodies of work, Jacobs threw on a Comme des Garçons lace polo dress, some boxer shorts (thoughtful), and bedazzled pilgrim shoes, which are really something we ought to see more of.
That year's exhibit: “AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion”
In 2006, the gala celebrated "Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion," and naturally the reigning king of transgressive fashion wore the most traditional outfit he could, in Clan Macqueen tartan to boot.
That year's exhibit: “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century”
We're never not in awe of Mr. Talley's ability to convincingly pull off a flowing cape, a drape-y caftan, an emperor-level coat, or some amalgam of all three. We can all learn a thing or two about owning the shit out of our wardrobes like Talley does.
That year's exhibit: “Cubism and Fashion”
It takes a brave man to wear a space-age Mylar-esque suit to the Met Gala. It takes a man with a serious commitment to giving zero fucks to wear it with sneakers.
That year's exhibit: “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity”
If ever there were a man alive who could not only get away with jeans on the Met Gala red carpet but make said jeans actually look...elegant, that man's name is Ralph Lauren.
That year's exhibit: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”
Lacy, racy, all-around killer.
That year's exhibit: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”
Not other men's look in recent Met Gala history has caused as much simultaneous internet combustion as when Malik stepped onto the museum's steps in these Versace metal armor/robot arms. Whether you think it's brilliant or you hate it, you have to give Malik credit for playing it anything but safe this year.
That year's exhibit: “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century”
We're pretty sure that year's dress code didn't call for “Best Going-Out Outfit.” But Hugo's fat-tie-and-leather-jacket combo was a dangerous liaison, so maybe they weren't too far off the mark.
That year's exhibit: “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years”
Chronologically, Alan's was just the first of many memorable kilts to grace the Met steps. (Indeed, it's one of the four kilts included in this list.) That, plus knee-high boots and a literal feather in his cap? Tough to beat.
That year's exhibit: “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between”
How do you make a classic tux a hell of a lot more interesting? Put a turtleneck underneath, pile the contents of an entire diamond mine on top, and finish the look off with a pair of next-level shades.
That year's exhibit: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
Next question: How do you top your impressive first-timer fit from the year before? If you're Migos, the answer is easy: Versace, Versace, Versace, Versace.
That year's exhibit: “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between”
There is only one man alive with enough swagger to pull off this Rick Owens look, and his name is Diddy. You want avant-garde black tie? Diddy will give you avant-garde black tie.
That year's exhibit: “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”
The MJ masterminds—Jacobs, the designer; Duffy, the businessman—did their part to pay homage to McQueen's genius (and his own Met Gala fit just a few years earlier). And if people didn't pick up on that, well, these are still two menswear mullet looks (business up top, party down below) that we appreciate.
That year's exhibit: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”
The first couple of fashion closed out the 2021 arrivals with two epic ensembles: Rocky in ERL (thrifted quilt robe and all), and RiRi in Balenciaga couture.
That year's exhibit: “Haute Couture”
Sequin. Formal. Pants.
That year's exhibit: “Rock Style”
Just a reminder that Steven Seagal was not only once invited to the Met Gala, but that he attended in the most (only?) Steven Seagal fit ever.
That year's exhibit: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”
The grown-out pink buzzcut seen 'round the world.
That year's exhibit: “AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion”
Here's a list of what Mr. Galliano is rocking in this photo: A fedora. A perm. A skull-and-crossbones necklace. No shirt. A lace-embroidered robe coat. A polka dot velvet vest. Sequined jeans. Exotic-skin cowboy boots. And most importantly: the supreme confidence to wear it all as if the look were a T-shirt and jeans. The Met Gala is all about taking a risk, and this might be the riskiest fit ever to hit the red carpet.
That year's exhibit: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”
Nothing is more Virgil Abloh than a tux jacket with the word “Modernism” airbrushed across it, which is exactly what cemented this an all-time look for the late designer.
That year's exhibit: “China: Through the Looking Glass”
Nailing a strict white-tie dress code and dressing up like a Disney prince are, in fact, two different things. That said, you have to give Wade credit for out-brooching everyone on the red carpet that year.
That year's exhibit: “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”
When is a button not just a button? When it's a massive crystal-encrusted Christmas-tree ornament masquerading as a button.
That year's exhibit: “The House of Chanel”
Sean Combs, aka Diddy, has never not had boss style on lock, but at 2005's Met Gala, the multi-hyphenate rich guy went all in with a cream pinstripe suit, a silver tie, an on-shoulder topcoat, and a healthy break at the bottom of his trousers that only rich guys who walk from the door of a chauffeured Phantom to their corner office can pull off.
That year's exhibit: “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy”
This look is peak Benjamin Bixby-era André, which is to say it's somehow elegant and unconventional at the same time.
That year's exhibit: “Goddess: The Classical Mode”
It's one thing to play around with a striped suit, it's definitely something else entirely when you use dining room curtains to create a striped suit.
That year's exhibit: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”
Jeremy Strong presents: Street Urchin Glamour.
That year's exhibit: “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century”
Fallon's chocolate brown shirt and slightly flared pants might not seem like an epic swerve, but in 2004 this was about as wavy as black-tie menswear got.
That year's exhibit: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
Jesus fresco, but make it Gucci.
That year's exhibit: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”
The Balenciaga designer and his then-muse Kim Kardashian baffled everyone when they appeared on the Met carpet sheathed in black like a pair of blank voids. Who else could attend the biggest IRL fashion event of the year dressed like NPCs, aka non-playable characters, in a video game?
That year's exhibit: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”
His-and-hers Chanel westernwear. Sheesh!
That year's exhibit: “Punk: Chaos to Couture”
The challenge to bring punk and formalwear together in 2013 wasn't an easy one for attendees, but at least Quinto played it smart: no sleeves and one blue pseudo-Mohawk.
That year's exhibit: “Poiret: King of Fashion”
It's one thing to wear cowboy boots with a suit. It's quite another to tuck your pants into said cowboy boots. But the Razorlight frontman did just that back in '07 and, most importantly, had the DGAF conviction to pull it off.
That year's exhibit: “China: Through the Looking Glass”
That Larry David got an invite to the fashion-heavy, ultra-exclusive Met Gala in itself is funny. That the comedian turned up looking this damn sharp is impressive.
That year's exhibit: “Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress”
Truth be told? The designer's floppy suit and banana-headband combo would look great on any contemporary red carpet.