This year’s Met Gala, themed Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, is one for the history books — as one of the worst red carpets to take place outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan.
For starters, the theme is unfortunately confusing. Though the Costume Institute exhibit honors the elegance of black American dandyism and its elevated tailoring, as a theme for a red carpet, it’s clear folks were better off forgoing the dress code and wearing whatever they please.
I have long been a fan of not following Anna Wintour’s dress code for the Met Gala, and this year was especially true. Here, I break down who got it right and who got it oh so wrong.
Best Dressed: Diana Ross in Ugo Mozie
Diana Ross has not attended the Met Gala in over 20 years, so it was seemingly appropriate for her to return on a night meant to embody flamboyance.
In this Ugo Mozie look, Ross certainly stopped traffic, even if it had little to do with the theme and so much more to do with what the Queen of Motown Records means in the American psyche.
For a personal touch, Ross had the names of her children and grandchildren sewn into the train.
Diana Ross at The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Diana Ross at The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty Images)
Diana Ross at The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Worst Dressed: Amelia Gray Hamlin in Valentino
Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna’s daughter Amelia Gray was apparently channeling 1930s Harlem. I’m not sure Florence Mills would agree.
This look has all the maximalism that consumers have come to know of Alessandro Michele who is now in charge at Valentino, the problem is that it is, quite frankly, just ugly. If you must wear a durag, stay home.
Amelia Gray attends “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, the 2025 Costume Institute Benefit, at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Amelia Gray attends “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, the 2025 Costume Institute Benefit, at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Best Dressed: Lana Del Rey in Valentino
Lana Del Rey is having her own renaissance these days. After marrying a swamp boy from southern Louisiana, Lana has been all smiles as she was on the carpet in this breathtaking gown from Michele at Valentino.
There is a sort of Joan Collins quality to the gown that takes cues from the Italian fashion house’s runway collections of the 1980s. The satin and velvet bow that fastens a feather jutting out the back as well as the gold alligator clips in Lana’s hair are the subtle extravagances that get the theme of dandyism just right.
Lana Del Rey attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Lana Del Rey attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
Lana Del Rey attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Worst Dressed: Kim Kardashian in Chrome Hearts
Kim Kardashian feels like she wanted to wear a slutty dress but was forced to follow the evening’s theme for fear of retribution from Anna Wintor so she threw on a leather fedora.
It is not stylish or elegant. It is, perhaps appropriate for Kim, cheap.
Kim Kardashian at The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Kim Kardashian attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by TheStewartofNY/Getty Images)
Best Dressed: Rihanna in Marc Jacobs and Stephen Jones
Since 2015, Rihanna has arguably become queen of the Met Gala carpet and with that comes a great sense to constantly outdo yourself. But instead of going bigger and bigger, Rihanna gets more refined with each year.
In this custom Marc Jacobs ensemble and Stephen Jones hat, Rihanna could have been a wealthy heiress aboard the Titanic and I mean that in the best way possible. It’s charming, elegant, and nostalgic for a time none of us lived through.
Rihanna attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2025 in New York, USA. Picture date: Monday May 5, 2025. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
Rihanna attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2025 in New York, USA. Picture date: Monday May 5, 2025. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
Best Dressed: Tom Ford in, presumably, Tom Ford
When I said I love attendees who forgo Met Gala themes, I meant it. The fact that Tom Ford consistently shows up looking like Tom Ford is such a refreshing twist, or nontwist, amid a sea of wannabes and fashion bottom feeders.
A man cannot go wrong with a smoking jacket and shades.
Tom Ford attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Tom Ford attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/MG25/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Worst Dressed: Patrick Schwarzenegger in Balmain
Since I’m on the topic of menswear, we need a total and complete ban on clowncore. Patrick Schwarzenegger in this Balmain suit is everything the dandies of yesteryear weren’t — trend-driven, ridiculous for ridiculous’s sake, obnoxious, and divorced from taste.
US actor Patrick Schwarzenegger arrives for the 2025 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025, in New York. The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
US actor Patrick Schwarzenegger arrives for the 2025 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025, in New York. The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Best Dressed: Zendaya in Louis Vuitton
Zendaya took the evening’s theme into her own hands in this Louis Vuitton three-piece custom suit, embodying Bianca Jagger on her wedding day. It’s a sharp, clean look with an immense attention to tailoring and detail — exactly the right interpretation of the theme.
Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)
Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)
Worst Dressed: Shakira in Prabal Gurung
I’ve got to respect Shakira to some degree at this point for always arriving at a red carpet dressed for a quinceañera.
Shakira attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2025 in New York, USA. Picture date: Monday May 5, 2025. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
Shakira attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2025 in New York, USA. Picture date: Monday May 5, 2025. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
Best Dressed: Pamela Anderson in Tory Burch
Pamela Anderson in this custom Tory Burch gown adorned in crystals and stones had really nothing to do with the evening. Yet and still, there is a paper doll aspect of it all that I really got a kick out of. It’s fun and whimsical without being absurd and comical.
Pamela Anderson attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)
Canadian-US actress Pamela Anderson arrives for the 2025 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025, in New York. The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Worst Dressed: Jodie Turner-Smith in Burberry
Willy Wonka but make him the gayest gay man that ever lived.
Jodie Turner-Smith at The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Jodie Turner-Smith attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)
Best Dressed: Monica Barbaro in Dior
Despite all of the ugliness on the carpet at the Met Gala, Monica Barbaro brought the most class in this custom Dior frock based on the Parisian fashion house’s iconic New Look.
Sure, we’ve seen this on Elle Fanning and others before, but its timelessness ensures it never gets old. Good fashion is forever.
Monica Barbaro attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by TheStewartofNY/Getty Images)
Monica Barbaro attends “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, the 2025 Costume Institute Benefit, at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
