A Look At The Most Spectacular Fashion From This Year's Met Gala

The boundary-breaking fashions of Rei Kawakubo and her spectacular line Comme des Garcons are the subject of a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which guests celebrated at last night's Met Gala. Those in attendance were asked to wear "avant-garde" clothing in tribute, though by the looks of things, not everyone got the message. Still, there were some standouts...

One of the earliest celebrities to hit the red carpet was Katy Perry, who was also one of the gala's co-chairs. Perry made a terrific statement in a frothy red gown with veil from Maison Marigela. It wasn't a Kawakubo design, but it was interesting. In their write-up of Perry's look, Tom & Lorenzo summed up the point of the Met Gala's theme:

Look, here’s our Met Gala take in a nutshell: The theme each year refers to the accompanying exhibition in the Met’s Costume Institute. This year’s theme pays tribute to Rei Kawakubo and her work as lead designer at her label Commes des Garcons. The Met Gala isn’t a costume party and the theme of the event isn’t a dress code. Kawakubo’s work is not at all easy to pull off for even the most experienced fashionistas, so we’re not inclined to get too worked up if attendees went their own way. We’re going to judge them not according their strict adherence to the theme, but according to our own particular set of criteria for the Met Gala, which can be summed up succinctly as “Go big or stay home.” The way we see it, Met Gala attendees should be dragged for wearing safe and pretty fare; the kinds of dresses and gowns that would look perfectly at home at a film premiere or an awards ceremony. That is not what the Met Gala is for. It’s for BIG FASHION MOMENTS.

Rihanna, who timed her entrance to be on the later side, effectively regained her place as the Queen of the Met Gala. In 2015, for the Chinese fashion exhibit's gala, she wore a huge cape by Guo Pei, which promptly became a meme. This year, her Comme des Garcons outfit reminded everyone, "Oh, yeah, maybe we should pay tribute to the night's honoree."

Tracee Ellis Ross wore a terrific blue brocade CdG dress while Helen Lasichanh wore a CdG dress that had no arms. Lasichanh's husband, Pharell Williams, said helping her was like being in Weekend at Bernie's.

The NY Times' fashion critic Vanessa Friedman pointed out that if Caroline Kennedy could wear Kawakubo, "what was everyone else doing?"

Click through to some of our favorite looks from the night, including Priyanka Chopra's Ralph Lauren trench coat gown; stunning suits on Cara Delevigne and Aymeline Valade; Rita Ora's over-the-top deconstructed gown from Marchesa; Claire Danes' ravaged Monse top; and Maggie Gyllenhaal's embellished tunic and pants from Marni. Also, there's a cute picture of Sarah Paulson and Madonna.