Every Beyoncé Met Gala Look So Far
Every Beyoncé Met Gala Look So Far
Sophie Dodd, Kelsie GibsonMon, May 4, 2026 at 10:20 AM UTC
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Credit: Getty (3)
No one shuts down the Met Gala red carpet quite like Beyoncé.
The "Halo" singer made her first appearance at the event in 2008 in a sweet, princess-y Armani Privé gown.
In the years that followed, she got bolder, firmly securing the spotlight in a series of striking Givenchy Haute Couture gowns — notably her 2015 nearly bare look that consisted of delicate lace and some strategically placed Swarovski crystals.
She hasn't walked the famous Met Gala steps in a minute (her last appearance was in 2016 for the theme "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology") but fear not: Beyoncé will be one of the co-chairs at tonight's event, so we're certain to be graced with Queen Bey's royal style, and we won't even have to wait until the end of the red carpet to see it.
From her first appearance to her latest a decade ago, look back at Beyoncé's best Met Gala red carpet looks through the years.
2008: Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
BeyoncéCredit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty
This strapless pale pink Armani Privé gown shows just how much Queen Bey has refined her style over the years. Featuring a sweetheart neckline and ribbon detail, it was decidedly more understated than the major statements she'd go on to rock years later.
Still, Bey shimmered at her Met Gala debut —her chest and arms sparkled with a luminizing glitter and she lined her eyes in metallic silver and gold eyeshadow. Pale pink lipstick matched her pink-and-emerald earrings and bracelet combo, and she grounded the look with a sparkling black bow-shaped clutch.
2011: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
BeyoncéCredit: Marion Curtis/StarPix/REX/Shutterstock
After a two-year hiatus from the red carpet, Beyoncé returned to the Met Gala in this curve-hugging Emilio Pucci gown. The elaborately embroidered black-and-gold mermaid gown dazzled onlookers with shimmering sequins, a high collar and a flared tulle skirt.
While the dress flattered Bey's curves, its fishtail silhouette ended up making it nearly impossible for her to walk, let alone to make her way up the famous Met steps. Luckily, Ty Hunter and husband Jay-Z were quick to get in formation and help carry the singer to the top.
Bey rocked a middle part again, this time twisted up into a chic chignon. She kept the rest of her look minimal with peachy blush and lip gloss, Lorraine Schwartz jewels and Sergio Rossi heels.
2012: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations
BeyoncéCredit: Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic
"I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress" is essentially Bey's Met Gala motto. The pop icon ruffled some feathers with her first-of-many show-stopping Givenchy gowns when she decided at the last minute to attend the 2012 Met Gala. Most people have the event on their radar for months leading up to fashion's big night out, but Bey had just given birth to daughter Blue Ivy a few months before and was busy rehearsing for The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. The day of the event, she informed then-stylist Ty Hunter she wanted to go, and in a matter of hours (yes, hours) they managed to pull this look together, according to WWD.
The sheer boldness of this heavily jewel-embellished gown and its ombré feathered train made this one of Bey's most talked-about fashion moments. The barely-there gown featured a nude bodice with black lace and black gems snaking along the collar, down the center, along her sleeves and onto her hands. Underneath the sweeping train she wore black Givenchy ankle-strap stilettos.
"This dress was actually made for, I believe the MTV Awards or the Grammys," Hunter told Vibe. "Raquel Smith, who worked with me on Met Galas and has worked with me styling Beyoncé for many years called [Givenchy] to see if they happened to have the dress. We didn't know if they did, but if they had the dress it was gonna happen."
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"They actually came to the stadium where we were rehearsing and did the fitting," he revealed. "It just ended up working out. We ended up going to the Met Gala day of."
Bey kept her beauty look fresh and simple with a natural glow, glossy coral lips, black winged liner, and a sleek ponytail pulled back from a deep side part.
2013: Punk: Chaos to Couture
BeyoncéCredit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Think a statement dress with a "Halo"-esque train would be enough for Queen Bey? Think again. The fashion icon coordinated the details on her evening gloves and on her thigh-high boots to match the hem of her fiery Givenchy gown, which Ty Hunter (fondly referred to on the Internet as Bey's "train-fluffer") continuously smoothed out for photo ops as she made her way up the famous steps. Beyoncé stuck close to the punk theme, adding a black python belt with gold eyelets just below her waist-cinching python corset.
"The process for the Met Gala is normally like, we get a lot of sketches and we go and show her and let her pick which ones she wants. Majority of the time [Riccardo Tisci] will make 1-2 looks and go from there," Hunter told Vibe. "This was a go. It was wild, it was fire and he had the boots and a stiletto option as well."
Allowing her dress to take center stage, Bey kept her makeup to a light smokey eye and glossy nude lip, and wore her honey-colored tresses in beachy waves.
2014: Charles James: Beyond Fashion
BeyoncéCredit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
While all-black ensembles can be seen as "playing it safe" on the red carpet, Beyoncé was in no danger of earning that label. This sheer, heavily embellished Givenchy Haute Couture gown was the picture of edgy elegance, with its deep V cut mirrored by a thigh-high slit up the middle of the gown. Featuring a cinched waist, billowing sleeves and a flowing train, the dress's design was perfectly complemented by her chic netted veil and darkly elegant statement earrings.
Bey matched her lipstick color to the garnet stones in her dangling earrings, but otherwise left her makeup natural. To show off the veil, she pulled her hair back into a sleek bun.
2015: China: Through the Looking Glass
BeyoncéCredit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
To quote the queen herself: "If you got it, flaunt it; boy, I know you want it." Who else but Beyoncé could pull off this completely sheer Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci custom-made gown?
Only strategically placed multicolored Swarovski crystals and some floral embroidery kept her from being totally bare as she climbed the famous Met Gala steps.
The gown featured an open back and a bejeweled train, and while it looked delicate and ethereal, her then-stylist Ty Hunter revealed to WWD that it was actually one of the heaviest dresses she's ever worn.
Furthering the illusion that she was floating across the carpet, Beyoncé's suede Givenchy platforms featured a red stiletto heel that blended right in to the carpet as she made her way to the top. For her beauty look, she curled her hair and styled it in an ultra-high ponytail, and made sure her blue winged liner was on point.
2016: Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology
BeyoncéCredit: Karwai Tang/WireImage
This is Beyoncé, rocking a second-skin peachy nude Givenchy gown that can only be described as slaytex. The singer stunned in Givenchy Haute Couture for the fifth year in a row, but this time she went for a slightly flared mermaid-style finish rather than a showstopping train.
The puff-sleeve gown featured a whopping 2,000 pearl embellishments, which were worked into the pastel floral detailing around the bodice and bottom of the dress. Underneath it all, she had on towering Givenchy platforms in a pale nude. Bey grounded the look with a deep-blue smokey eye and black nailpolish, which drew attention to her Lorraine Schwartz rings and color-coordinated clutch.
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