From nudity to p*gging: The most scandalous Met Gala outfits in its 75 year history

It was a pretty safe year for fashion at the Met Gala, so let’s take a look at the most controversial and scandalous Met Gala looks ever, which got people talking for days.

Cher’s iconic naked dress

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Cher broke the runway back in 1974 when she showed up in a near-nude dress, back before it was common to see this at every Met Gala. The dress was designed by Bob Mackie, her iconic, longtime collaborator, and was mega controversial at the time. Speaking on the backlash, Bob Mackie talked to People years later about its impact. See the dress here.

“The place went crazy,” he said. “I’ve never seen so many photographers just come out of the shadows at the Met and take her picture. And of course, she was in every newspaper the next day, and they’ve been printing it in the last 50 years, over and over again.

AOC’s ‘Tax the Rich’ look

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Left-wing American politician and activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is no stranger to controversy, but her infamous Tax The Rich ” dress was a whole other level. Public reactions were incredibly mixed. Some people praised her for calling out rich people; others branded her a hypocrite for attending an event for rich people, which many pay thousands to go to. She responded to the criticism in an Instagram post.

“The medium is the message,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Instagram.

“NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public. I was one of several in attendance. Dress is borrowed.”

“The time is now for childcare, healthcare and climate action for all,” she wrote. “Tax the Rich.”

The Kim K Marilyn Monroe moment

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In 2022, Kim Kardashian outraged many by wearing the actual real-life Happy Birthday dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing to John F Kennedy. The archived dress was allegedly damaged after Kim wore it.

“I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,” she told Vogue. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”

Katy Perry’s alleged plagiarism graffiti look

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Jeremy Scott, a designer for Moschino, got in hot water after a graffiti artist accused him of plagiarism for Katy Perry’s 2-15 Met Gala dress. The case was settled privately a year later, before it went to trial, and Katy never spoke out about the lawsuit.

Sarah Jessica Parker was accused of racism for this look

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One of the most controversial Met Gala themes was China: Through the Looking Glass. It was branded as “orientalist”, but still the night went ahead, and some celebs got dragged for their looks, including Sarah Jessica Parker for the headpiece she was wearing.

“We were pretty deep into the [dress] design, myself and this wonderful tailor here in New York, and then H&M called, and they said they have this initiative called Conscious Collection, where they use sustainable fabrics.”

She added, “They reuse fabric and vintage pieces and organic cottons. So I said, ‘Look, this is where I am in the process, how do you feel?’ And they basically dug up every piece of old fabric they could find in Sweden, and it’s all been incorporated into this. And I knew I wanted poppies all over, and so we found somebody in New York to hand-embroider all these.”

Marc Jacobs’ sheer outfit turned heads

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The man, the myth, the legend – Marc Jacobs joined the whole naked outfit trend back in 2024. He designed the outfit himself (of course), which prominently showed his bright white boxers.

Cara Delevingne’s very pointed message to the patriarchy

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Rounding off with a classic, Cara Delevingne’s “peg the patriarchy” vest/top, designed by Dior. This 20211 look was some people’s first introduction to “pegging” as a concept and did exactly what it was supposed to do – provoke conversation.

Featured image via Matt Baron/Shutterstock