Met Gala 2025 highlights: Red carpet arrivals, theme, celebrities and more

Rihanna rocked her baby bump during a fashionably late appearance on the carpet, hours after her partner A$AP Rocky confirmed the news.

Rihanna closes out Met Gala with baby bump debut

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris was among the guests at tonight's Met Gala.

Former second gentleman Doug Emhoff posted photos of the couple getting ready for the event to his Instagram page. "We spent a beautiful evening at the Met celebrating the Costume Institute spring exhibition," he wrote in the caption, thanking "all involved for a beautiful evening."

Harris, the former Democratic presidential candidate, wore a custom black and white dress designed by Off-White creative director IB Kamara, according to Vogue.

“Art has always had a significant impact on not just culture, but also our policies and politics,” Harris told the publication. “Artistic expression—whether it’s dance, music, visual arts, or fashion—has a way of capturing the mood and language of the people without words. Art has the power to shape the conversation about where we are today and where we need to go.”

From Zendaya to Keke Palmer to Nicole Kidman, the stars did not disappoint tonight. Look back on all the looks with our red carpet gallery.

Dapper details on the carpet.  Getty Images

It’s only fitting that some of the biggest Black designers and stylists were represented on the blue carpet Monday night for the Met Gala’s first event centered on Black history, style and fashion. 

Musician Pharrell Williams, who is also Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director, designed looks for several celebrities including Sabrina Carpenter, who joked about not being able to use the restroom in her outfit. 

Fashion house Balmain was responsible for several looks with designer Olivia Rousteing at the helm. Lionel Nichols for Balmain worked on outfitting Jeremy O. Harris, actress Priyanka Chopra, and Grammy award-winning artist Rosalía, and also played a role in the construction of Diana Ross’s unbelievable gown. 

Lewis Hamilton and FKA Twigs both wore menswear designer Grace Wales Bonner, who is known for blending sportswear and tailoring.

Janelle Monáe arrived in not one, but two looks, designed by Thom Browne and Paul Tazewell, the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design for “Wicked."

The first look was an oversized, boxy suit jacket with red, white and black striped patterns, then a slimmer-fitting half-red, half-black suit underneath.

To complete the looks, a black bowler hat with a clock face monocle attached.

Janelle Monáe channels the Monopoly Man on the Met Gala red carpet. Mike Coppola/MG25 / Getty Images for The Met Museum/

Long after the Vogue live stream ended, Kim Kardashian was spotted on the carpet in a tight-fitting, textured black gown with cutouts with pearl details.

Kim Kardashian arrives fashionably late to Met Gala

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She completed the look with a low-tipped hat hiding half of her face.

The reality TV star and entrepreneur is known for her Met Gala looks, which over the years have drawn a mix of praise and scrutiny.

The presence of two men loomed large over the Met Gala’s blue carpet, and while they have been gone for years, their influence in fashion has clearly not been forgotten. 

Several people, including La La Anthony, Anna Wintour and Pharrell Williams, wore pieces by designer Virgil Abloh, who died in 2021 at 41. He founded his innovative brand Off-White, before joining LVMH in 2018, where he became the first Black American artistic director for a French luxury fashion brand. Anthony, who was co-hosting Vogue’s live stream coverage, wore a look that Abloh designed for his 2020 line. 

“Virgil was more than a designer—he was a visionary, he was my friend, and someone who changed the entire game for so many of us,” Anthony said. “I wanted to carry his legacy with me throughout the evening, to remind people of the doors he opened and the culture he built. It wasn’t just fashion. It was love, history, and respect wrapped up in a beautiful garment.”

Another major figure whose presence was felt on the blue carpet was former Vogue creative director André Leon Talley, who died in 2022 at 73.

“We love everybody here, we respect everyone here,” Anne Hathaway told Vogue tonight. But, “we wanted Andre to look down from heaven and scream, ‘glamour!’”

Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour spoke about his influence in coordinating the event, and wrote about him for her editor's letter in the latest issue of the magazine.

After the Vogue live stream wrapped, rapper Cardi B was spotted on the red carpet in an all green outfit.

The rapper had hid her look with umbrellas as she made her way to the Met Gala.

Cardi B attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

A$AP Rocky, a Met Gala co-chair, revealed his partner Rihanna, is pregnant with the couple’s third child.

“Rihanna’s outfit tonight is ... I don’t know, whatever, just don’t cover her baby hump, you dig?” he said in an interview on the carpet.

The singer did not join her partner on the carpet at the event. But her look, which revealed her bump, was captured in images that circulated online.

In 2023, Rihanna revealed her second pregnancy during her Super Bowl halftime show performance.

Vogue's 2025 Met Gala carpet stream has come to an end. But many celebrities are continuing the festivities inside, where non-guests are not allowed.

Don't worry: Photos and video from the actual event usually end up online eventually, with some stars sharing snapshots of their evenings and the performance after the fact.

And of course, there's always the late arrivals.

Music icon Stevie Wonder said celebrating Black dandyism at the gala was not only a "wonderful thing" but an opportunity to spread love among Black people all over the world.

To Lala Anthony on Vogue's livestream of the red carpet event, Wonder said: "The reality is God has celebrated what we have done since the beginning of time. . . We created style, whether it be in music, dance or the most important thing: love. We have to commit ourselves. Black men all over the world, Africa, everywhere, pull yourselves (together) and bring the world together, because that's what's needed most of all in life today--love, not confusion, not hate."

Stevie Wonder attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

Shakira took the red carpet in a baby pink dress with a grand train, designed by Prabal Gurung. It "fit like a glove almost instantly" she told E! News.

"This is my only chance to celebrate before I go back on the road," the singer said. She'll be going “from Met Gala to Met Life” as she prepares for her first full-scale U.S. stadium tour beginning next week.

Shakira attends the 2025 Met Gala. Theo Wargo / FilmMagic

Blink and you might have missed him.

Damson Idris stuns with Met Gala outfit reveal

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Damson Idris wowed at the 2025 Met Gala with a dramatic outfit reveal, arriving in a Formula 1-inspired suit and helmet before unveiling a sleek burgundy look underneath.

Keke Palmer, wearing a Vera Wang gown inspired by Dorothy Dandridge — the first Black woman to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award — describes her look as “a little masculine with a feminine tribute.”

“Pretty much just wanted to inhabit the tailoring but also the history of Black culture, fashion as a tool to enter spaces that often were not allowed,” Palmer told Vogue, adding that she was inspired by “all the doors that [Dandridge] opened for us with fashion and beauty.”

Finally, one member of the Kardashian-Jenner crew has arrived.

Kendal Jenner is wearing a gray skirt suit designed by Torishéju. The reality TV star and model and her siblings and mom Kris Jenner are often guests at the Met Gala. So far, no sign of any of the others.

Jenner's pal Hailey Bieber was also spotted on the carpet nearby.

Quinta Brunson said she’s wearing Sergio Hudson tonight. The designer told her he’s dressed 16 people for the Met Gala.

Her outfit, she said, is inspired by the legendary performer and entertainer Josephine Baker.

Quinta Brunson attends the 2025 Met Gala. Kevin Mazur/MG25 / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

R&B star Usher is on tour in Europe, but wanted to attend the gala so badly that he flew in from Berlin, Germany to attend, he said told Vogue.

Not only that, "while the rest of you get to enjoy New York City" at the conclusion of the gala, Usher said he plans to fly to London after the festivities Monday night to resume his performances.

The things we do for fashion.

Usher and Jennifer Goicoechea Raymond attends the 2025 Met Gala. Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

Fashion designer and haberdasher Dapper Dan made his third appearance on the carpet in a Zoot suit inspired by his hometown of New York City's Harlem.

"This is the most important moment of my career right now," the 80-year-old designer told Vogue. "My theme of the night is true Harlem dandy era, which I date to the Harlem Renaissance."

Dapper Dan. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

At the center of his look is the symbol of sankofa, a word from the Twi language in Ghana meaning to "go back" or retrieve.

"Everything that I'm trying to say today is about how do we bring the culture up, and how do we go back and get what we need to bring it back here" he said.

When she wrote her 2009 New York Times bestselling book, "Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity," Monica L. Miller said the notion of it being the inspiration for the 2025 Met Gala never occurred to her.

So, watching it all come to reality was "extraordinary, surreal, really fantastic," she said," during a Vogue live-streamed interview with LaLa Anthony. "I never anticipated this when I wrote the book. I didn't imagine it when I got the call. But I'm just delighted.

"It's hard to describe. I'm delighted and curious and inspired. And I'm so thankful."

She said she was proud there was a rhythm and blues element to the occasion.

"Rhythm and blues is how Black people experience culture and history," Miller said. "So it was really necessary to be true to that. In the exhibition, we have moments of blues moments. . . which are necessary to get to the rhythm."

Shah Rukh Khan tonight became the first male Indian actor to attend the Met Gala. Wearing a look designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Khan told Vogue that he’s both nervous and excited. He said he hasn’t done many red carpets — as he’s “very shy.”

“I have little kids who are very excited about [the Met Gala],” Khan, whose look also included a walking stick with a jeweled tiger’s head, said. “I don’t know if I would have come here on my own, but when [Mukherjee] suggested that I should come, they went, ‘wow.’”

Shah Rukh Khan attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

The Met Gala carpet is expected to wrap up soon. But the Vogue feed is still going strong. Too many celebrities, not enough time to admire all their looks.

Hollywood couple Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas understood the assignment.

"The theme for us is about collaborating with excellent people who have a real sense, a real 360 view of this theme and what it means," Nick Jonas, who worked with designer Bianca Sanders, said.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who is wearing Balmain, said she was excited about the theme because of the "excellence" behind it.

"To me, it's an expression of what fashion has been," she said. "There's such a power to it."

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas attend the 2025 Met Gala. Mike Coppola / MG25 / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Designer Michael Kors is singing Megan Thee Stallion’s praises.

“She is, I mean, this is the ultimate female dandy,” Kors told Vogue, when describing the rapper and her look. “It’s swagger. It’s all about presenting yourself in the most fabulous way at all times. She always does it."

The rapper is wearing a silver sequin gown and white fur coat tonight.

Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

The carpet is estimated to end at around 8 p.m. ET, begging the question: Who will arrive fashionably late tonight?

Some fans have wondered whether this will be the year superstars Beyoncé and Taylor Swift break their Met Gala hiatus. (Both have not attended since 2016.)

We're not optimistic but remain hopeful for a spotting of one of the pop culture icons. In the meantime, other late comers keep showing off impressive looks.

Jon Batiste brings his musical flair to Met Gala 2025

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Jon Batiste gave his own musical introduction on the carpet tonight, stepping on with saxophone in hand and playing a few notes while stopping for photos.

The Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter is wearing a tailored, polka-dot suit jacket with a white flower on the lapel.

And then, moments later, Batiste was spotted on the steps playing a tune to tennis icon Serena Williams — a little delight.

This is the third year Sabrina Carpenter is attending the Met Gala. But the pop superstar said she's "never been to the bathroom once, because I’ve never been able to use it in my outfit."

This year she's wearing a brown body suit in a look designed by fellow musician and Louis Vuitton menswear creative director Pharrell Williams.

If she does end up being able to use the restroom tonight, she said she'll "let everybody know what it looks like."

"I’m sure it’s just a normal museum bathroom," she joked, "but I’m excited to find out."

Sabrina Carpenter attends the 2025 Met Gala. Kevin Mazur / MG25 / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Rapper Doechii is at her first Met Gala wearing Louis Vuitton inspired by Julius Soubise, a character from Monica L. Miller's book, "Slaves to Fashion," which was the inspiration for the night's theme and Costume Institute exhibition.

Doechii, the third woman in the history of the Grammy's to win best rap album for "Alligator Bites Never Heal," said she was heavily inspired by '90s rap on the project.

Michael Loccisano / Dia Dipasupil / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

"I felt inspired by the theme, as a student of hip hop," Doechii told Vogue. "I feel like that's very dandy."

With a long Louis Vuitton suit jacket paired with plaid shorts and matching mini purse, Doechii completed her look with the signature designer logo daintily placed on her cheek.

Formula 1 race car driver Lewis Hamilton, who is British and Grenadian, said fashion helped him gain a "sense of self" when he was young.

“I felt like I had to conform particularly in the world I compete in," he said. "My father and I are the only people of color there. As I got older I realized, I found my sense of self. I got confidence from wearing fashion, and how you can express yourself from what you’re wearing. After that I went on this journey. Fashion’s really helped me become the person I am today."

Hamilton, a Met Gala co-chair, wore an ivory suit by Grace Wales Bonner and inspired by legendary band leader Cab Calloway and the Harlem Renaissance.

"The ivory represents purity," he said, while the shells represent currency. "We wanted to pay homage to the culture of Africa by the power of adornment. The suit is so fly, I love this."

Lewis Hamilton Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

Bad Bunny said he has no plans of going viral again at this year’s Met Gala. But he was excited to show off his Prada outfit, which the Puerto Rican rapper told Vogue took months to prepare.

He teased his upcoming residency in Puerto Rico this summer, describing it as “like a huge party,” with “a lot of feeling, a lot of energy.”

The artist also just announced his new world tour, which fans noticed skips the U.S.

Bad Bunny attends the 2025 Met Gala. Theo Wargo / FilmMagic

Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway is wearing a custom Carolina Herrera column dress with a tailored white button-down designed by Wes Gordon. She said her look was inspired by the late Vogue creative director André Leon Talley, who died in 2022.

"We love everybody here, we respect everyone here," Hathaway told Vogue. But, "we wanted Andre to look down from heaven and scream, 'glamour!'"

The star is among the handful of celebrities who cited the designer when asked what inspired their looks. Wintour also wrote an essay for Vogue's recent issue addressing the theme and Leon Talley, saying "he understood that, especially as a Black man, what you wore told a story about you, about your history, about self-respect. And so, for André, getting dressed was an act of autobiography, and also mischief and fantasy, and so much else at once."

One of the co-chairs of the Met Gala, A$AP Rocky, said jokingly in a Vogue pre-gala interview that he was upset that actor and fellow co-chair Colman Domingo was his grandmother's favorite.

"I'm feeling some kind of way," he said, laughing. "He stole my whole grandma. She's in love with him."

Met Gala Co-Chair A$AP Rocky attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

A$AP said he would take a selfie with Domingo and send to his granny. "She said, 'That's my boy. I don't care if he's married. I'll take him from his husband.'"

By the way, the rapper designed his very own elegant navy blue suit that he paired with Christian Louboutin dress shoes. The Harlem-raised star said he was inspired by the classic film "Harlem Nights."

Gigi Hadid donned a golden glittering dress designed by Miu Miu, telling Vogue that she worked with fashion editor and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson.

The dress is an homage to Zelda Wynn Valdes, a fashion designer who in the 1940s was trained by her uncle in mens' tailoring and went on to open her own dress-making store in New York City's Washington Heights.

Gigi Hadid attends the 2025 Met Gala. Neilson Barnard/MG25 / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

"She took her training from her tailoring background and brought that to female form," Hadid told Vogue on the carpet. "I think she that she really took on the essence of Black dandyism, which is to mix these strong fashion pillars and mix them together in a way that you feel like you’re really expressing yourself individually."

Diana Ross knows how to make an entrance.

The Grammy-winning singer wore a white crystal-embellished gown that took over the blue carpet as she walked up the steps.

Ross told Vogue that her son Evan Ross, who joined her at the event, persuaded her to go. She hadn't attended the Met Gala since 2003.

Evan Ross and Diana Ross attend the 2025 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

When asked about her inspiration behind the look, Ross said it's a "family gown." The train "has the names of all my children and my eight grandchildren so everybody’s name is embroidered in that," she said.

"She is the Met ball," her son Evan added.

For famed gymnast Simone Biles, getting ready for the Met Gala was more stressful than prepping for the Olympics — “only because I trained for the Olympics for my whole entire life and this is just like a one-day event.”

The gold medalist, who is attending with her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, told Vogue that the two are in a long-distance relationship, so she’s excited to spend a night at the Met Gala together ahead of their anniversary tomorrow.

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens attend the 2025 Met Gala. Theo Wargo / FilmMagic

Zendaya has arrived in an all-white suit with floppy white hat and a small, silver snake detail on the upper back of the suit jacket.

Zendaya steps out in an all-white suit at the Met Gala

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Anna Wintour, co-chair of the gala, told E! News that this year's exhibition is about "optimism, hope and community."

"This exhibition was planned several years ago when we were in a different political climate, but I think it has taken on a sense of purpose and a sense of urgency," Wintour said. "I just hope that people see the exhibition and understand the talent that is involved in putting it together and the incredible designers that we're putting a spotlight on in the show."

Anna Wintour, Met Gala Chair, attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

Wintour also mentioned the inspiration and influence that Vogue creative director Andre Leon Tally, who died in 2022, had on the theme of the show.

On the Vogue livestream, Wintour said she sees the event as one way to “stand with the Black community.”

“I’m very, very inspired seeing how much it means to the Black community,” she said. “I think it’s full of creativity. It’s putting the spotlight on amazing Black talent. It’s about self-respect and joy and confidence. Liberation. And at this moment in our political history, I think it’s important to stand next to the Black community.”

Actress Sydney Sweeney is wearing a black-beaded Miu Miu gown, telling Vogue it's her third time wearing the designer at the Met Gala.

“I always feel they bring such beautiful stories to every dress," she said, adding that the look is "paying homage" to Kim Novak, the classic Hollywood actress she will portray in the film "Scandalous."

The film marks Met Gala co-chair Colman Domingo's directorial debut.

"I’m doing a movie with Colman Domingo so we wanted to really just bring that to life," Sweeney said on the carpet. "I think such a beautiful story.”

Sydney Sweeney attends the 2025 Met Gala . Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

It's a working date night for NBC's Al Roker and ABC's Deborah Roberts, who are covering tonight's event for their respective networks.

The television news couple, who have been married since 1995, ran into each other on the carpet, both in black top hats.

"I didn't know you were going to be here!" Roberts said.

Red-hot actor Colman Domingo gave the Met Gala 2025 two different head-turner looks.

Domingo, a co-chair for the night's event, first entered the event in a royal blue gown-like piece that extended from his shoulder to the floor. Across the shoulders was white lace that stretched to his midsection, a seeming cross between broken angel wings and football shoulder pads.

'It means everything': Colman Domingo on celebrating Black dandyism

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Later, his look beneath the cloak was revealed: a bold black-and-white blazer, gray trousers with cuffs, a white shirt with a gray pinstriped collar, and a black-and-white polka dot kerchief serving as a necktie. He brought it all together with an oversized black boutonniere with small polka dots.

Yeah, he enjoys this event.

Wearing a custom Valentino suit, Domingo told reporters that he feels “like a king.”

“What I wore originally was sort of like a nod to not only crossing the seas…” Domingo said on the carpet. “But also, it was my mother’s favorite color, which is blue. And so, I wanted to tell a story tonight.”

Pharrell Williams, a Met Gala co-chair, said his fashion inspirations for this year’s theme are “the Black men of the working class.”

“They did the hard work, they do the hard work, but then when it’s time to get fresh, they get dandy and super fine,” Williams told Variety. “I’m inspired by the working class because that’s where I come from.”

The musician, who is wearing custom Louis Vuitton, also told reporters that his jacket is made of 15,000 pearls.

Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh attend the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Zendaya, who served as a co-chair of the 2024 Met Gala, is considered a fashion icon. The "Challengers" and "Dune" star last year turned heads with three separate, unique looks for the evening.

Law Roach, Zendaya’s longtime stylist, said they will both be at the event this year. However, he told E!, they are going “separately.”

“We are going to be on the Met Gala steps,” he told the publication last month. “Yes, separately this year.”

“That’s going to be really amazing,” he added. “We’re doing our own thing this year, which is exciting.”

Model Christian Latchman, the face of the Met's Costume Institute exhibit this spring celebrating Black tailoring, has arrived in a white suit, complete with a flowing train and a pale pink peony on his lapel.

Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

Latchman is on the cover of the museum's catalogue this year.

Dancers perform during the 2025 Met Gala's red carpet entrance.  Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

A collection of impeccably dressed men — dandyism at its finest — took up the legendary stairway to the gala for a performance. During the live feed the group was revealed to be Silk & Sound.

The group was led by Allen René Louis, a composer known for his soulful vocal arrangements.

These men entertained in a pre-gala moment by singing a smooth version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" to an appreciative crowd that seemed unbothered by the rain.

The hosts of Vogue's livestream have all arrived on the carpet.

Singer and actor Teyana Taylor arrived first, followed by “Saturday Night Live” star Ego Nwodim and producer La La Anthony.

Ego Nwodim attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Emma Chamberlain attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Emma Chamberlain also arrived on the carpet as a special correspondent.

Costume designer Ruth E. Carter has arrived on the carpet, with elements of a zoot-suit classic high waist and long, sparkly blazer.

Ruth E. Carter attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Carter did the costume design for new blockbuster "Sinners," which is headed toward $250 million worldwide at the box office since its release Easter weekend.

Carter became the first Black costume designer to win an Academy Award for her work on "Black Panther" in 2019. She also worked on "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," released in 2022.

Though the event has sparked conversation and marked evolution in the fashion industry for more than 75 years, the Met Gala has only featured a theme since 1978. The dress code complements each theme, which is determined by the Costume Institute’s annual spring exhibition.

2024: "The Garden of Time"

2023: "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty"

2022: "In America: An Anthology of Fashion"

2021: "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion"

2019: "Camp: Notes on Fashion"

Domingo, a co-chair of the gala, told Vogue that he met with Monica L. Miller, guest curator of the Costume Institute’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition, to prepare for this year.

Seeing Black mannequins moved him, he said, telling the publication: “I am a Black man who loves style, loves tailoring, and it struck me that I had never seen images like that—of myself, saying, I belong in these clothes. I always had to look for a vision outside of myself.”

While the Met Gala is not a political event, celebrity stylist Avon Dorsey said it — intentionally or not — is making a statement about the power and necessity of diversity, equity and inclusion, a set of practices the Trump administration has weaponized by deeming them “illegal.” 

“It is something that comes to mind, because the Met Gala has these themes that emphasizes all three of those touch points of DEI,” said Dorsey, who has dressed A-list talent including Michael B. Jordan, Winston Duke and Jay Ellis. “To highlight the importance of Black culture, specifically Black men, is something that’s needed in the world to stand up against the stereotypes and misinformation and push forward our reality.” 

Dapper Dan, a fashion icon in Harlem who grew up underprivileged, said dressing up in clothes purchased from Goodwill was his first introduction to the power of dandyism. 

“Even if the clothes weren’t mine, nobody knew how poor my family was,” he said in a Vogue video. “And for me, that was the birth of dandyism, because I saw the power of transformation that could take place with your clothes.” 

Deep blues and daffodils replace the typical red carpet color at this year's Met Gala, with accentuating walls of daffodils lining the walkway itself.

Internet sleuths had guessed that the secret carpet color would be blue, posting their theories on X ahead of tonight's event.

By 4:30 p.m., the speculation was confirmed as some early arrivals were photographed posing in front of the steps.

Teyana Taylor attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Zuri Hall attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

Deborah Roberts attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

By the time celebrities are to begin strutting their elegance into the Met tonight, they may need to watch their steps. Following a full day of rain, it will likely continue through the evening, with accumulation of up to a half inch, according to NBC New York.

Even with conditions less than ideal, celebrities customarily arrive by car and the red carpet — which is actually blue this year — will be covered, probably keeping the parade of fashion icons dry.

Al Roker is taking on a stylish new assignment at the Met Gala, setting foot on the iconic steps as he fills in for Sheinelle Jones’ red-carpet coverage.

Al Roker set to cover the Met Gala red carpet for the first time

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Every year, The Carlyle and The Mark Hotel become the go-to spots for celebrities as they get ready for the Met Gala. Both are located on the Upper East Side. Fans and photographers often gather outside the spots to catch the first glimpses of stars in their themed attire.

Michel Heredia, the director of sales and marketing at The Mark, told Women's Wear Daily that the hotel begins preparations a year in advance.

“The day after, we always get together and see what we did right, what we did wrong and we go over it to make it even better for next year,” he told the publication.

This year's gala raised a record $31 million before the doors even opened, museum CEO Max Hollein announced at a press preview this morning, according to The New York Times.

This is the first time the event has surpassed $30 million in its 77 years, breaking last year's record of $26 million.

Hollein said the gala serves as an opportunity for "an environment of celebration, of support, and of meaning," the Times reported.

The 2025 host committee features:

• André 3000
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Jordan Casteel
• Dapper Dan
• Doechii
• Ayo Edebiri
• Edward Enninful
• Jeremy O. Harris

A$AP Rocky, Anna Wintour, Pharrell Williams.  Getty Images

Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour has chaired the gala since the 1990s.

This year’s co-chairs include: actor Colman Domingo, musicians Pharrell Williams and A$AP Rocky, and Formula One competitor Lewis Hamilton.

For the first time at the glamorous Met Gala in New York, Black men — their style, expression, elegance, creativity and versatility — will be on full display. Using as inspiration the 2009 bestselling book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Disasporic Identity,” by Monica L. Miller, tonight’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” opens the door for Black men to demonstrate their versatile and globally influential fashion sense on the red carpet during fashion’s big night. 

This year's gala brings Black dandyism into focus. Justine Goode / NBC News; Getty Images

“Black style is really related to thinking about how fashion and power connect,” Miller said in a YouTube video about making Vogue’s Met Gala issue. “The way that people are styled or fashioned or fashioned themselves in response to the degree of agency that they feel.” 

Miller, who curated the Costume Institute’s spring exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is bringing Black dandyism into focus. Black dandyism, which reaches at least as far back as the Harlem Renaissance from 1918 to the mid-1930s, celebrated life in times that were not socially or politically celebratory for Black people.

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Tickets to the Met Gala are a whopping $75,000, with tables of 10 priced at $350,000.

Celebrities who make the coveted guest list are invited by high-profile brands who purchase entire tables at the event. This year's sponsors include Louis Vuitton, Instagram, Africa Fashion International, Tyler Perry and Condé Nast.

Money from the sales goes toward funding the Costume Institute’s yearly budget, according to The New York Times.

LeBron James, an honorary chair of the gala, said he will not be attending tonight due to a knee injury he sustained at the end of the season.

The Los Angeles Lakers star said his wife, Savannah James, will still be attending in his absence.

"Hate to miss an historical event!" the NBA icon posted on X today. "My beautiful powerful Queen will be there holding the castle down as she always has done!"

While the gala itself is strictly off-limits to the press (attendees must abide by a no-phone policy), the event is most famous for its red carpet, which can be watched via livestream on Vogue.com, YouTube or E!.

This year, singer and actor Teyana Taylor, actor and producer La La Anthony and “Saturday Night Live” star Ego Nwodim will host the Met Gala livestream for Vogue. Emma Chamberlain will be a special correspondent.

Expect to see a slew of memes, hot takes and outfit reviews populate social media platforms such as X, TikTok and Instagram all evening.

The entire night will focus on celebrating Black culture. Watch more in the "TODAY" segment.

Met Gala 2025: What to know about the theme, co-chairs, more

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Guest arrivals are scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET, but some celebrities may show up fashionably late.