Behind every great look from a Met Gala heavyweight, there are usually five equally brilliant looks, and then one terrible one. The first one.
After years and years of highly publicised, meticulously documented Met Galas, it can be hard to recall looks from just five years ago, let alone the 2000s or, god forbid, the 2010s. As such, many celebrities have an easy time hiding their Met debuts, especially if there’s a long list of iconic looks to bury it beneath.
But in keeping with this year’s Met exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, we are excavating some of those long-forgotten early Met looks. Rihanna might be red carpet royalty now, but she was once a prom queen in Georges Chakra. And Bella Hadid may be the queen of slinky chic, but even she had a messy debut (in custom Topshop, no less). Here, we look back at the first time our devout Met heavyweights set foot on those hallowed stairs.
Zendaya
The reigning Crown Princess of the Met Gala and this year’s host, Zendaya first attended the Met Gala in 2015, when she was just 18 years old. The theme was China: Through the Looking Glass, and Baby Z wore a dress by Sicilian designer Fausto Puglisi, who you’ll likely know for his more recent work at Roberto Cavalli. “We spent so much time together with her and Law Roach, her stylist, and her father,” Puglisi told the Standard in 2023. “She is so profound. Such an artist, she’s so deep.”
Bella Hadid
Also making her debut in 2015 was baby-faced Bella Hadid, who attended with her old friend Hailey Bieber (then Baldwin). She wore custom Topshop, if you can believe it, with a tight top-knot, golden clutch and painted black toenails. It will not go down as one of Bella’s best looks, but its innocence is quite adorable. Plus, RIP Topshop.
Beyoncé
Queen Bey first appeared at the Met Gala in 2008, when the theme was Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. She wore a blush pink Givenchy gown with emerald earrings, which wasn’t anywhere near on-theme but that’s okay because a) people didn’t stick to the dress code nearly as much back then, and b) Beyoncé can do what she wants.
Rihanna
Bad Gal RiRi arrived at the 2007 Met Gala in the midst of her Good Girl Gone Bad era, complete with a bang-heavy pixie cut and fingerless gloves. She paired these rather major accessories with a crystal-embellished Georges Chakra gown, giving her look a bizarrely prom-esque energy. The theme was Poiret: King of Fashion. She has come so far.
Nicole Kidman
Throwing it all the way back to 2003, we have Nicole Kidman and, according to Getty, an “unidentified man” (aka Adrien Brody, who won Best Actor at the Oscars that year). This was Kidman’s first Met, the theme was Goddess: The Classical Mode, and, to be fair, Nicole was looking pretty goddess-like in her sheer Tom Ford-era Gucci.
Victoria Beckham
Also gracing the Met’s steps for the first time in 2003 was Victoria Beckham, wearing Dolce and Gabbana. Flanked by both designers, Posh oozed 2000s glamour with strappy stilettos, a massive blowout and a mega tan.
Jared Leto
To put it bluntly, men don’t tend to be Met Gala reliables. There are a standout few every year — Harry Styles in 2018, Timothée Chalamet in 2021, and Brian Tyree Henry in 2023 come to mind — but few are actually consistently big hitters. So, like it or not, one of the most consistently talked-about men on the Met Gala red carpet is Jared Leto. He made his debut in 2016, when the theme was Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology, wearing Gucci.
Lady Gaga
With so many excellent Met looks to choose from, Gaga’s 2015 red carpet debut is oft forgotten, partially because it’s only technically her debut. She performed at the 2010 Met Gala, but failed to make it to the red carpet. For China: Through the Looking Glass, she wore a feathered, kimono-style Balenciaga ensemble. It’s not bad, but it’s far from her best.
Kim Kardashian
The earliest of the Kar-Jenner clan to make a Met Gala appearance (as Kanye West’s date) was Kim Kardashian in 2013, wearing a now-infamous floral Givenchy number while pregnant with her first child, North West. The dress is most remembered for the memes is spawned, and Kim is very aware of this — in fact, she told Vogue in 2019 that she “cried all the way home” about it. Perhaps this is why she’s gone so hell-for-leather at Met Galas since.
Kendall Jenner
Before Kendall was sporting phoenix feathers feathers and bleached brows on the Met steps like a good fashion girlie, she was playing it safe in 2014, wearing a column dress that was — you guessed it — custom Topshop. The jumpscare that is Phillip Green behind her is a little bit of a giveaway.
Kylie Jenner
The number of Kar-Jenners in attendance at the Met always causes an issue, either because of nay-sayers questioning why they’re invited in the first place, or actual Kardashians questioning why they aren’t (Khloé was notably absent on the stylish steps until 2022). Kylie finally breached the fortress in 2016, when the theme was Manus X Machina, and the Kar-Jenner clan were in their Balmain Army era. Everyone wore designs by Olivier Rousteing, except Kendall, who wore Versace. Bit rude.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams is a longstanding Met attendee, having first attended the gala in 2004,when the theme was Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion And Furniture In The 18th Century. Serena didn’t exactly don a robe à la française, but it was 2004, so who cares? Not Anna Wintour, apparently, as Williams went on to host the Met Gala in 2019.
Gigi Hadid
Making her debut the same year as her sister, Gigi Hadid first ascended the Met steps in 2015. At this point, older sister Gigi was considerably more famous (Gigi would go on to win International Model of the Year in 2016, whereas Bella had only just made her runway debut) so her first Met is far better documented than the few off-kilter pictures we have of Bella. The theme was China: Through the Looking Glass, and Hadid wore a crimson dress by Diane von Furstenberg.
A$AP Rocky
One of the only other interesting men to watch at the Met each year is A$AP Rocky, who you’ll now remember for his impressive co-pilot work alongside Met Gala queen Rihanna. He’s worn quilts, kilts and ruffled tuxedo shirts — but first, in 2014, he wore a basic black suit, with a long Topshop tuxedo jacket, while attending alongside his model ex-girlfriend Chanel Iman. The prominence of Topshop in Met Gala debuts should be studied.
Cardi B
Cardi B has only attended four Met Galas, but in that time she’s already cemented herself as one of the most exciting arrivals of the evening. She usually opts for cinched silhouettes with expansive skirts and trains, or goes so heavy on the bling you wonder how she can even walk. For her first Met Gala, Cardi did not disappoint, arriving in custom Moschino, matching with the brand’s former creative designer Jeremy Scott. Regal, pearlescent and positively stuffed with embellishments, the already impressive look was completed with a holy headpiece.
Blake Lively
It might seem mad that Blake made her Met Gala debut at the same time as Beyoncé, but this was 2008, and Gossip Girl was at the peak of its hype. With the help of Serena Van Der Woodsen, Lively had established herself as a style icon of the time, and so to the ball she went. The theme was Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, and she wore a strapless Ralph Lauren gown with black plumage at the hem. Not very superhero-y, but maybe that’s what the gloves were getting at.
Sienna Miller
If indie sleaze ever becomes the theme of the Met Gala (unlikely, but stranger things have happened), you’d better believe that this sequined gold Burberry mini dress and black tights combo would make a reappearance. It was worn by Miller for the 2006 Met, where the theme was AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion, so Burberry was pretty on point. The actress actually re-wore her Met look for a night out Noel Gallagher at Chiltern Firehouse in 2019, which may be one of the first public re-wearings of a Met outfit ever. We stan a sustainable queen.
