[Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell] When you're incredibly excited about the theme for this year's Met Gala, that you could never let anything rain on your parade.
[Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell] And of course, you'd have another dress just in case.
[Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell] Or another.
[Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell] Or you know, clothes are just too overrated sometimes.
[Cody Fern in Maison Margiela] Cody Fern took his red carpet style up a few notches with (once again) Maison Margiela, playing on some of the tackiest references; namely cowboys boots, full length leather gloves and sheer fabrications.
[Dapper Dan in Gucci] Just a man, living up to his monicker.
[Cardi B in Thom Browne] When Rihanna couldn't make it to the Met Gala this year, and they needed someone to step it up (but also look kind of similar?).
[Anderson .Paak in Gucci] This is quite possibly the only time that one can't go wrong in anything Gucci.
[Pom Klementieff in Salvatore Ferragamo] It's quietly dramatic and totally unexpected.
[Hamish Bowles in Maison Margiela Artisanal] It's feathers, heels, ribbons and the colour purple—CAMP.
[Laverne Cox in Christian Siriano] Stunning.
[Alessandro Michele in Gucci] We love how Alessandro Michele has completely embraced the theme (Gucci is also backing the exhibition) and is in something we've never seen him in before.
[Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter] It's not only rhinestones and glitter. Benedict Cumberbatch shows how to take on the theme by embracing a character instead of going all flashy.
[Cole Sprouse in Salvatore Ferragamo] Because a suit can't just be any regular suit at this year's Met Gala.
[Florence Welch in Gucci] Florence Welch also looks like she's about to breathe some magic fairy dust right to your face.
[Gal Gadot in Givenchy Haute Couture] Honestly, Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman costume would make for a great homage to the theme. But this equally heroic creation does about the same, and probably a tad more comfortable too.
[Priyanka Chopra in Christian Dior, and Nick Jonas in Dior Men] We can't help but liken Nick Jonas to a butler, helping his queen make her way to the ball.
[Anna Wintour in Chanel] She wears practically the same silhouette every single time. Let's all give Anna Wintour some credit for switching it up with a plush cape of feathers.
[Celine Dion in Oscar de la Renta] The quintessential Queen of Camp, Celine Dion did not disappoint with her showgirl-meets-Cher outfit.
[Ezra Miller in Burberry] The Many-Faced God lives!
[Elizabeth Debicki in Salvatore Ferragamo] It's a big puffy bow in pink.
[Madelaine Petsch in Jean Paul Gaultier] She's a fairy! How apt.
[Tracee Ellis Ross in Moschino] Turning up to an art gallery like a piece of art.
[Gemma Chan in Tom Ford] In this dress, Gemma Chan could qualify as a finalist for the Miss Universe pageant. Kudos to her for maintaining composure and balance with that structure on her head.
[Ryan Murphy in Christian Siriano] This is just a trypophobia trigger.
[Lizzo in Marc Jacobs] Singer Lizzo looked like she stepped right out of the set of Moulin Rouge.
[Lewis Hamilton in Tommy Hilfiger] We're not sure if the Derek Zoolander similarity was a conscious decision but...
[Cara Delevingne in Dior Haute Couture] Pride represent.
[Lupita N'yongo in Versace] Let's play a game of 'Count the Rainbows'. This is commitment.
[Hailee Steinfeld in Viktor & Rolf] Viktor & Rolf's spring 2019 couture collection was made for the theme; someone had to wear one.
[Mark Ronson in Valentino] We don't think we've ever seen Mark Ronson's hair that flat and slick.
[Omari Hardwick in Gucci] Jacquard suiting, silk textures and jewellery—a modern aristocrat.
[Janelle Monae in Christian Siriano] Janelle Monae wears many hats in real life—she's a singer, songwriter, actress and producer—and manages to do so on the pink carpet.
[Harry Styles in Gucci] Can we just say that we predicted this outfit for Harry Styles (albeit in a different colour)?
[Jared Leto in Gucci] This might stripped from Gucci's autumn/winter 2018 collection, but the effect is still stellar.
[Zendaya in Tommy Hilfiger] If Zac Posen's dress for Claire Danes during the 2016 Met Gala glowed in the dark, this iteration by Tommy Hilfiger lit up the entire time on the pink carpet.
[Katy Perry in Moschino] And here's Lumière.
[Michael Urie by Christian Siriano] Full-on Victor Victoria.
[Diane von Furstenberg in Diane von Furstenberg] There were more than one Lady on the pink carpet. Diane von Furstenberg dressed up as Lady Liberty as an homage to the 75th anniversary of the day her mother was arrested and sent to Aushwitz.
[Jordan Roth in Iris Van Herpen] Broadway producer Jordan Roth, brought with him the inside of a theatre—the campiest architecture there is.
[Joan Collins in Valentino] You can't have a gala celebrating all things camp, without a camp icon in all her 'Dynasty' glory.
[Darren Criss in Balmain] When else to bust out a harlequin jacket but now? There's nothing funny about this impeccable outfit choice though.
[Natasha Lyonne in Jean Paul Gaultier] Such a simple but super trippy look.
[Taron Egerton in Salvatore Ferragamo] This is pretty camp-lite but beats wearing a simple tuxedo to the event. And we get it, not every guy can embrace sequins and intense makeup.
[Saoirse Ronan in Gucci] At this point, we're wondering why isn't everyone in Gucci?
[Zoë Kravitz in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello] Simple but also weird?
[Kylier Jenner and Kendall Jenner in Versace] Yeah, well, if there was a basic outfit to this year's Met Gala, anything resembling a showgirl would definitely be it.
[Billy Porter in custom The Blonds] Entering the red carpet on a chaise lounge hoisted by a group of topless men, Billy Porter as the night's male Cleopatra draped in gold; utterly campy.
The first Monday in May, is what the fashion-loving community would refer to as the Met Gala. The annual high-brow dinner event, marks the opening of a new exhibition within the Costume Institute of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. And because it is in honour of the Costume Institute after all, there's almost no reason for measured restraint and minimalism (unless the occasion called for it, for course).
This year's Met Gala however, is quite possibly the one where no guest in attendance should have held back. Taking reference from Susan Sontag's essay 'Notes on "Camp"', the exhibition celebrates individuality and all things unexpected, unapologetically loud, and queerness. Camp: Notes on Fashion was poised to bring out the gaudy, tacky but also curiously attractive. And a majority of attendees did just that.
Well, except maybe Kanye West and Frank Ocean, who both looked like they didn't quite get the memo. (But could dressing the opposite of what was expected, somehow be described as 'camp' too?)
It's quite difficult to point out the worst looks on the pink (of course) carpet at this year's Met Gala, because 'camp' by definition, isn't exactly bound by any sort of fashion rules. If anything, our picks for the best and most outrageous are simply chosen because they embodied what the theme was all about, and took unexpected risks.
And for some of them, they just looked ridiculously elaborate, one can't help but experience a mix of bewilderment and awe.
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Scroll through the gallery above to see our picks of the best and most outrageous looks on the pink carpet of the 2019 Met Gala.
All photos by Getty Images.
