Kim Kardashian knows how to get people talking, especially when it comes to Met Gala fashion. Since her first appearance at the fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in 2013, when she walked the famed steps that serve as the dramatic backdrop to the night’s arrivals, wearing a long-sleeve, turtleneck Givenchy gown whose tight-fitting floral fabric made no secret of her late-term pregnancy with her first child, North West, Kardashian has made headlines with her Met Gala looks.
Since then, she’s never missed the event, serving up 10 more must-see looks in the years since. Who could forget the flesh-colored Thierry Mugler “wet look” dress she donned in 2019, or the 2022 controversy over Kardashian borrowing the Bob Mackie–designed dress famously worn by Marilyn Monroe to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden? The dress, on loan from Ripley’s Believe It or Not, was allegedly damaged during its sojourn with Kardashian, and Mackie later said it had been “a big mistake” to let Kardashian wear it. (Ripley’s later issued a statement saying that Kardashian “did not, in any way, damage the garment.”) Yet more controversy: Kardashian was quoted saying she lost 16 pounds in three weeks in order to fit into the garment.
Then, in 2024, she wore a Sleeping Beauty–inspired look designed by Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, with a corset so tight she called breathing in the getup “an art form” that she had to practice before the big night. Last year, in honor of the Met Gala 2025’s “Tailored for You” dress code that accompanied the spring’s Costume Institute exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” Kardashian turned to Chrome Hearts for a black two-piece look, embossed with alligator print. “Inspired by Lenny Kravitz, a modern dandy whose fluid, bold aesthetic, alongside icons like Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis, pioneered distinct and culturally significant aesthetics – shaping the way men dress for generations to come. Lenny’s signature Chrome Hearts style perfectly captures the spirit of this theme – Black style, razor-sharp tailoring, and dandy tradition,” she wrote about the look on Instagram.
Whether she’s dripping with thousands of pearls or covered from head to toe—face included—in black fabric, Kardashian is a can’t-miss at the Met Gala. Ahead, take a look at all of her looks through the years so far.
Follow along with Vanity Fair for live coverage of the Met Gala 2026 on Monday, May 4 as fashion’s biggest night unfolds.
This post has been updated.