The red carpet has seen some truly spectacular gowns. Indeed, there's a reason couture fashion designers see these creations as wearable pieces of art: They can take thousands of hours and tons of money to make. We have a wealth of luxurious gowns and outfits on this list, from wildly expensive dresses to pieces that broke boundaries for their construction to dresses that were made with extraordinarily luxe material. Some gowns were designed to complement millions of dollars' worth of jewelry. We also have gowns that were elevated by the wearer, making their worth even higher than it was before. Keep reading to discover the most extravagent red carpet gowns ever.
Beyoncé, 2016 Met Gala
Designed by Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci, Queen Bey's latex and beaded gown was literally wearable art (and somewhat of an homage to her tour outfits at the time, according to Vogue). It was rumored that each pearl on her gown cost $8,000, per Teen Vogue. (We'll let you do the math!)
Amber Valletta, 2004 Met Gala
The Met Gala has become a serious vehicle for enormous gowns, but this 2004 dress on Amber Valletta was worn before that time—making it all the more daring and special. It's a corseted top with a John Galliano skirt; Valletta later told Vogue that Anna Wintour wanted her to "go for it," which helped usher in the current iteration of the event's dress code.
Charlotte Rampling, 2016 Oscars
According to Forbes, Charlotte Rampling's Armani Prive gown cost an estimated $125,000. If you look closely, you'll see that on top of the silk jacquard base material, the geometric pattern is actually embroidered with multi-colored Swarovski crystals.
Cate Blanchett, 2014 Oscars
According to Vogue UK, Cate Blanchett's total Oscars look cost about $18 million (!). The gown was Armani Prive, worth an estimated $100,000, and it was sufficiently sparkly to complement her Chopard jewelry (earrings with 62 opals, diamond bracelet and ring) that was worth millions.
Kate Winslet, 2007 Oscars
Your brain might not automatically jump to "ornate" or "expensive," given the relative simplicity of Kate Winslet's silk, mint-colored Valentino gown, but its reported value of $100,000 makes it one of the most expensive Oscar dresses ever, according to Vanity Fair.
Julia Roberts, 2001 Oscars
This black and white Valentino dress is vintage and, according to Roberts, was a last-minute choice for the event. Per Vogue Australia, the gown cost $125, 850, and was made of velvet and satin (the back is incredibly delicate and ornate). And she won for Erin Brockovich in it!
Charlize Theron, 2014 Oscars
Per Vogue Australia, Charlize Theron's black sculptural Christian Dior gown cost $132, 521 and has impressive stealth details like a deep neckline and some sheering at the bottom. But the bespoke Harry Winston necklace around her necklace was the star at $15 million.
Princess Diana, 1985 White House Dinner
Known as the "Travolta gown" for obvious reasons (Princess Diana danced with the actor and pulled off this incredible twirl), it's not clear how much the the blue velvet Victor Edelstein gown cost originally, but it was sold at auction in 2019 for over $340,000.
Janelle Monáe, 2020 Oscars
Now that is some serious sparkle. Janelle Monáe eschewed her characteristic black and white aesthetic for this stunning, silver Ralph Lauren gown, which was custom-made, featured 160,000 Swarovski crystals, and took 600 hours to make (per Business Insider).
Mindy Kaling, 2024 Met Gala
If you like big, dramatic trains, the Met Gala is your event. This architectural dress designed by Gaurav Gupta features a removable cape that draped dramatically in back (and is actually semi-sheer). The pleated fabric also featured some subtle but intricate beading.
Lil Nas X, 2022 Grammys
The 2022 Grammys gave us this majestic Lil Nas X outfit, a pearl-encrusted armor-esque suit by Balmain. It sometimes makes lists of Lil Nas' most expensive outfits ever, due to the crystal and pearl butterfly detailing, diamond earrings, and pearl platforms.
Audrey Hepburn, 1954 Oscars
This gorgeous Givenchy gown on Audrey Hepburn is worth, according to Vogue Australia, a glorious $174, 018 (she wore it way back in 1954!). The bateau neckline was very unusual for an Oscars dress at the time, and it's considered one of the most classic gowns of the century.
Penélope Cruz, 2007 Oscars
If you know your red carpet gown history, you'll remember this intricate, feathered dress on Penélope Cruz. It's Versace, and it was uniquely ornate for its time (meaning that it was almost immediately copied all over the red carpet for years afterward).
Karlie Kloss, 2014 Met Gala
This was still a bit before the "wear the biggest dress you can" era of the Met Gala, so Karlie Kloss' glorious Oscar de la Renta gown (with impressive train) was still a standout. Kloss and de la Renta had a longstanding relationship, and this would likely have been one of his final designs before he died in 2014.
Jeremy Pope, 2023 Met Gala
With one of the longest Met Gala trains ever, Jeremy Pope wore a custom Balmain outfit that stretched nearly 33 feet long. To quote the Balmain site, it featured a "hand drawn illustration of Karl Lagerfeld—in [homage] to the evening’s man of the hour—which required over 5,000 meters of silk chiffon and 70 seamstresses to complete."
Lady Gaga, 2019 Golden Globes
Lady Gaga needed a dress that would stand up to her more than $4.9 million worth of jewelry (by Tiffany & Co.) so this lilac Valentino, with glorious puffed sleeves and train, fit the bill quite nicely (and cost almost $200,000). Dying her hair to match was the cherry on top—and very Lady Gaga.
Gigi Hadid, 2022 Met Gala
It makes sense that Gigi Hadid would be the one to pull off this wine-red Versace cape dress (which looks a little like a fancy puffer coat), complete with burgundy corset, latex jumpsuit, knee-high boots, and matching jewelry. Per Hadid's Instagram, it was "inspired by the exaggerated proportions that womenswear took on in the 1800s."
Cate Blanchett, 2007 Oscars
Per Vogue Australia, this pretty and sparkly black gown on Cate Blanchett cost $265, 046. It's a one-shoulder Armani Privé, and that shimmery look isn't a trick of the eye—it's actually from Swarovski crystals. It's an old joke, but a good one, that it's a good move to go to the Oscars matching the trophy.
Princess Diana, 1997 Cannes
This simple and beautiful periwinkle blue gown on Princess Diana (at her only Cannes appearance) was actually a rewear: She wore this Catherine Walker silk chiffon gown not once but three times to public events. At auction, it sold in 2011 for over $137,000.
Cardi B, 2019 Met Gala
This stunning and enormous Thom Browne gown on Cardi B features some impressive numbers: 30,000 feathers in total, 2,000 hours, and 35 people to make. Also, the breast plate featured 44 carats of rubies valued at $250,000 alone, setting a high bar for the Met Gala's "camp" theme that year.
Nicole Kidman, 1997 Oscars
Nicole Kidman's embroidered, chartreuse John Galliano for Christian Dior gown apparently cost $2.65 million (although that may have included seven figures paid to Kidman to wear it—reports vary). The color was divisive (Joan Rivers famously said it made her want to puke), particularly for the Oscars at the time.
Zendaya, 2017 Met Gala
Here, Zendaya is in Dolce & Gabbana, which was a pretty clear refutation of the modern Comme des Garçons theme (per Vogue) but still exceptionally detailed. The ForeverMark yellow diamond ring and coordinating drop earrings added another layer of impressive intricacy.
Paris Hilton, 2017 Hollywood Beauty Awards
Paris Hilton loves sparkles, but she really upped the ante at the Hollywood Beauty Awards: This $270,000 August Getty gown was designed with a whopping 500,000 Swarovski crystals and took eight months to make, so it was appropriately named the "Million Dollar" dress.
Grace Kelly, 1955 Oscars
Grace Kelly attended the Oscars (and won) in a light green Edith Head French silk gown that was reportedly the most expensive gown worn at that event to date. Back then, it only cost around $4,000 (which, in modern money, would be in the ballpark of $50,000), and was technically a rewear that Kelly had debuted once before.
Zoë Saldaña, 2016 Met Gala
When you want to look like an anthropomorphic peacock, you go to the Met Gala. So that's what Zoë Saldaña, in Dolce & Gabbana with a matching clutch and Louboutin heels, is doing with her long, long, long train (that draped dramatically up the stairs).
Lady Gaga, 2019 Oscars
That Tiffany & Co. necklace around Lady Gaga's neck? Alone, it's estimated to be worth about $40 million, no big deal. Her entire red carpet look reportedly cost around $41 million (technically, this figure might be looks, plural; she wore two black dresses and one of them was Alexander McQueen).
Elizabeth Taylor, 1970 Oscars
Elizabeth Taylor wore this stunning, lilac chiffon dress to the 1970s Oscars (in 1999, it apparently sold for $167,500). But the star of the show is undoubtedly the Burton-Taylor diamond—which started as a ring and then was converted to a necklace—worth millions.
Lupita Nyong'o, 2015 Oscars
Pearls on pearls on pearls! Look closely and you'll see the impressive detailing on Lupita Nyong'o's Oscars dress, which apparently was a white Calvin Klein gown with about 6,000 pearls sewn onto it. It cost an estimated $150,000 to $198,846 to make.
Jennifer Lawrence, 2013 Oscars
Jennifer Lawrence tripped up the stairs in this fabulous, patterned Dior dress, making it instantly recognizable as one of her best looks. But it also cost between $4 and $5.3 million, reportedly, making it the chicest and most expensive trip in all of history.
Blake Lively, 2022 Met Gala
Blake Lively was co-chair at the 2022 Met Gala, so she pulled out all the stops, wearing an Atelier Versace gown that literally "patina-ed" on the carpet (starting out rose gold and then turning green thanks to a reversible train), like the Statue of Liberty.
Rihanna, 2015 Met Gala
No list of ornate and luxurious red carpet gowns would be complete without Rihanna in her history-making 2015 Met Gala dress. It really ushered in a new era for the event, for which the theme was "China: Through the Looking Glass." This Guo Pei cape apparently weighed more than 50 pounds and took 50,000 hours to make.
Marilyn Monroe, JFK's Birthday, 1962
This gown had a second life when Kim Kardashian briefly wore it to the Met Gala, but the pink sequined gown by Jean-Louis Berthaulto that Marilyn Monroe wore when singing "Happy Birthday" to John F. Kennedy Jr. sold at auction for more than a million dollars.
