The Met Gala’s Most Memorable Menswear Moments
-
Dimitrios KambourisTimothée Chalamet, 2021
That year’s exhibit: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.”
Timmy’s Haider Ackermann-designed tribute to Americana might have been the first time Chuck Taylors graced the Met Gala red carpet since Marc Jacobs wore them in 2013 (see below).
-
Dimitrios KambourisFrank Ocean, 2019
That year’s exhibit: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”
No better understanding of camp than wearing black nylon to a camp-themed gala.
-
Ray TamarraMarc Jacobs, 2012
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 Pilgrim shoes, which we’re sure were…comfortable.
-
John Shearer/GettyKanye West, 2016
That year’s exhibit: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”
We’re fairly certain that this is the first time exposed upper-man thigh hit the Met Gala red carpet. But we know for sure that this Balmain denim jacket is the most labor-intensive and, probably, expensive one ever made.
-
John ShearerDiddy, 2017
That year’s exhibit: “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons”
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.
-
Dimitrios KambourisN.E.R.D. (Shay Haley, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo), 2014
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.
-
Rabbani and Solimene PhotographyAlexander McQueen, 2006
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.
-
Dimitrios KambourisAndré 3000, 2008
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.
-
Neilson BarnardJared Leto, 2018
That year’s exhibit: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
Jesus fresco, but make it Gucci.
-
Ron GalellaElton John, 1995
That year’s exhibit: “Haute Couture”
Sequin. Formal. Pants.
-
George PimentelZayn Malik, 2016
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.
-
Kevin Mazur/MG19Jared Leto, 2019
That year’s exhibit: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”
Easily the accessory of 2019: literally your own head.
-
George PimentelRoberto Bolle, 2014
That year’s exhibit: “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”
It’s those finishing touches that just make the difference, like a well-placed tie bar, the right watch, or, in Bolle’s case, a bejeweled Dolce & Gabbana gauntlet glove.
-
TIMOTHY A. CLARYPsy, 2013
That year’s exhibit: “Punk: Chaos to Couture”
Never forget that Psy was once a guest at the most esteemed and exclusive fashion and cultural event in existence. Then again, having a one-hit K-pop star attend over hordes of desperate actors is pretty damn punk if you think about it.
-
Neilson BarnardMigos, 2017
That year’s exhibit: “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons”
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.
-
Neilson BarnardMigos, 2018
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.
-
Ron GalellaAndré Leon Talley, 2004
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 drapey 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.
-
Stephen LovekinMarc Jacobs and Robert Duffy, 2011
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.
-
Jim SpellmanAlan Cumming, 1998
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.
-
Larry BusaccaWill.i.am, 2016
That year’s exhibit: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”
Hardly surprising but still worth mentioning, because in 2016 Will.i.am found a way to out-Will.i.am himself with this hat/visor/post-cataract-surgery sunglass situation.
-
Evan AgostiniJohn Galliano, 2006
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.
-
Gregory PaceGerard Butler, 2003
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.
-
George PimentelNeil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, 2014
That year’s exhibit: “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”
Tweedledee and Tweedledu-hmm, both in Thom Browne.
-
Patrick McMullanDiddy, 2005
That year’s exhibit: “The House of Chanel”
Sean Combs, a.k.a. 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.
-
Steven Seagal, 1999
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.
-
Jamie McCarthyDwyane Wade, 2015
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.
-
Stephen LovekinMick Jagger, 2011
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.
-
Larry BusaccaJustin Bieber, 2015
That year’s exhibit: “China: Through the Looking Glass”
We don’t expect Bieber to adhere to the rules
allany of the time, which is why this dragon-embroidered Balmain jacket stands out, even if it was a little too on the nose for that year’s theme. -
Patrick McMullanRalph Lauren, 2010
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.
-
Dia DipasupilChadwick Boseman, 2018
That year’s exhibit: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
Just three months earlier, Boseman made history as the first man to wear Givenchy Haute Couture on the Oscars red carpet. While we didn’t expect him to turn up at the Met Gala in something run-of-the-mill, we also didn’t expect the Black Panther star to arrive at his first Met Gala so poped out.
-
Jimmy Fallon, 2004
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.
-
Jamie McCarthyZachary Quinto, 2013
That year’s exhibit: “Punk: Chaos to Couture”
The challenge to bring punk and formal wear together in 2013 wasn’t an easy one for attendees, but at least Quinto played it smart: no sleeves and one blue pseudo-Mohawk.
-
Evan AgostiniJohnny Borrell, 2007
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.
-
George PimentelLarry David, 2015
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.
-
Stephen LovekinMarc Jacobs, 2013
That year’s exhibit: “Punk: Chaos to Couture”
Jacobs is no stranger to epic Met Gala fits (this is his third rig to be featured in this slideshow), and in 2013 the über-talented designer and ultimate fan of fashion turned up in the dottiest suit ever to ascend the museum’s red-carpeted steps.
-
George PimentelJaden Smith, 2017
-
Patrick McMullanJohn Lydon, 2006
That year’s exhibit: “AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion”
This is precisely how we want Johnny Rotten himself to turn up to a fancy gala celebrating Brit style. It’s a rare time when expectation actually meets reality, here in all its clashing patterned glory.
-
Karwai TangHarry Styles, 2019
That year’s exhibit: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”
Lacy, racy, all-around killer.
-
John ShearerA$AP Rocky and Rihanna, 2021
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.
Scott just released his Cactus Jack-branded Air Trainer 1s, originally slated to drop last December, alongside a collection of…
Copyright © 2022 50 Is More Fun. All rights reserved.