After two years of cancelled or rescheduled events, the Met Gala is back in its usual slot of the first Monday in May.
This year, the dress code is all about the Gilded Age in America – the period from 1870 to 1890, which was all about glamour and opulence. With Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Regina King and Lin-Manuel Miranda hosting the event, celebrities walking the red carpet are expected to pull out all the stops in white tie and OTT outfits.
While we can’t predict what everyone will wear, we’d put good money on a few celebrities opting for the nearly naked trend. The fad for see-through, barely-there outfits has dominated red carpet fashion for years now, and shows no sign of slowing down.
These are some of the most risqué outfits in Met Gala history…
1. Beyoncé
Beyoncé caused a stir by turning up late to the 2015 Met Gala in a revealing Givenchy outfit that was all illusion netting and artfully placed crystals. We’re not entirely sure how it fit into the theme of ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’, but the outfit – along with that mega high ponytail – has gone down in fashion history.
2. Jennifer Lopez
2015 really was the year of revealing outfits, with Jennifer Lopez wearing a Versace gown, with sizeable hip-baring cut-outs and a dragon emblazoned on the front.
3. Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid skipped a traditional gown for the 2017 Met Gala, instead opting for a skin-tight, semi-sheer black catsuit with a scooped back. The outfit was so tight, Hadid apparently had to be sewn into it before hitting the red carpet.
4. Nicki Minaj
Also in 2017, Nicki Minaj amped her tiny bodysuit up a notch with the addition of a statement train – leaving plenty of leg on show. The outfit was by H&M, and paid tribute to the theme of the night with an obi belt featuring the face of Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo.
5. Kendall Jenner
Kendall Jenner has worn countless nearly naked dresses on the red carpet – it’s very much part and parcel of her style. One of her more risqué efforts came in 2016, when she wore a dress by lingerie brand La Perla that was basically all see-through.
6. Zoe Kravitz
The theme of the 2018 event was ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’, and Zoe Kravitz’s Saint Laurent outfit was a dress of two halves. On one side, the black lace dress was relatively demure (if a little see-through), and the other was much racier – only held together by two black bows, creating a major leg moment.
7. Lady Gaga
As one of the chairs of the 2019 Met Gala, Lady Gaga was always going to put on a show – and she definitely didn’t disappoint. The singer and actor started off the red carpet in a voluminous pink dress, covering almost every inch of skin – but slowly shed her clothes to reveal four separate outfits, ending the performance in skimpy black underwear and her signature platform boots.
8. Emily Ratajkowski
The 2019 theme was all about campness, and who could be more joyously camp than Cher? Emily Ratajkowski walked the red carpet in a midriff-baring silver outfit by Dundas, complete with a winged headdress – seemingly paying tribute to Cher’s early fashion collaborations with Bob Mackie.
9. Hailey Bieber
In a Noughties throwback nobody saw coming, Hailey Bieber caused a stir in 2019 in pale pink gown with a revealing back and a built-in thong strap peeping out.
10. Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo attended her first Met Gala in 2021, in a sheer black lace Saint Laurent bodysuit with a feathered accent.
11. Kim Kardashian
While most of the outfits on this list feature sheer panels, cut-outs and a whole lot of skin on show, Kim Kardashian’s 2021 outfit was the polar opposite. Instead of baring all, she completely covered every inch of herself in swathes of black – even wearing a face mask she could barely see through. For Kardashian, image is hugely important and central to her brand – so what could be more risqué than being entirely covered up?
