The Met Gala is just a few days away (Monday, May 2nd, FYI) which can only mean one thing – trawling through the archives and reliving some of our favorite fashion moments from one of the most stylish and prestigious events in the yearly fashion calendar. The A-listers lucky enough to attend the event hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute go in many different sartorial directions on the red carpet every year, usually to coincide with the theme of the year, but one common theme that always seems to dominate the red carpet, regardless of the dress code, is the flesh flashing one.
A-listers aren’t shy about showing off their enviable bodies in a number of different ways on the red carpet, be it through a provocative plunging front or a dangerously high slit; sometimes even both! But another one of our favorite ways to see Hollywood’s biggest names’ bodies is through the sheer and see-through dress trend, which never fails to make jaws drop on the red carpet. And you can bet that the Met Gala has seen its fair share over the years! Here are just a few of our many, many faves from the past few years…
Jennifer Lopez in 2015
J-Lo has so many outfits that will go down in history (that green Versace dress from the 2000 Grammy Awards is always at the top of our list!) and her 2015 Met Gala look is definitely among them. The 52-year-old Marry Me star's sheer and figure-hugging Atelier Versace dress was truly show-stopping, and we have no other words!
Emily Ratajkowski in 2019
Back in 2019, EmRata treated fans to a half naked dress, and half actual nakedness thanks to her see-through custom Dundas dress that allowed her to flaunt her figure and rock hard abs all at the same time. And the 30-year-old model definitely understood the assignment, as the 'Camp: Notes on Fashion' theme was all about the "love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration." And Emily's headpiece, and ensemble in general, was just that!
Zoë Kravitz in 2021
We think the celebs were making up for lost time (or one missed year thanks to the pandemic in 2020) at last year's Met Gala, as they went bigger and racier than ever! Zoë was one of the many stars who bared it all on the red carpet for the 'In America: A Lexicon of Fashion' theme, and the 33-year-old Big Little Lies actress's see-through Saint Laurent metal dress (complete with matching thong, no less) has lived rent free in our minds ever since!
Kim Kardashian in 2015
The 41-year-old SKIMS founder has had many head-turning Met Gala looks since her 2013 debut in the infamous floral Givenchy number that she wore when she was pregnant with daughter North West, but her sheer 2015 ensemble was one of our favorites; and the truest to Kim's signature figure-hugging and figure-flaunting style.
Kendall Jenner in 2021
Once upon a time the Kardashians (and therefore the Jenners) weren’t deemed A-list enough to receive an invite to the Met Gala *can you imagine?* but we're so glad that that's no longer the case. We can't imagine a life where this embellished silver naked dress that left absolutely nothing to the imagination didn’t exist!
Halle Berry in 2017
The 55-year-old Oscar-winning actress should have won an award for her 2017 Met Gala look too, as we are still obsessed with it five years on. Halle Berry slayed on the Met Gala red carpet – her first ever one, if you can believe it! – and she definitely understood the assignment of the 'Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between' theme with her Atelier Versace sheer embroidered jumpsuit-meets-dress-combo.
Beyoncé in 2015
Where do we start with this utterly jaw-dropping look?! The 40-year-old "Be Alive" singer's arrival for the 2015 Met Gala, which had the 'China: Through the Looking Glass' theme, was definitely worth the wait thanks to the see-through Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci flower-encrusted masterpiece. Just wow!
Kylie Jenner in 2017
Both Kendall and Kylie Jenner have dominated the Met Gala red carpet ever since they first strutted onto it, but the 24-year-old Kylie Cosmetics founder's 2017 look whereby she was literally dripping in jewels in a naked Versace gown was our absolute favorite. Sheer dress plus endless bling plus platinum blonde cropped wig equals a winning sartorial combination every time!
Irina Shayk in 2021
The 36-year-old former Victoria's Secret Angel never fails to make a statement on the red carpet (or on the runway or street, for that matter) and her nude Moschino dress which consisted of a sheer bodice and strategic floral detailing was utterly breath-taking!
