If ever there was an excuse to transform, it would be for the Costume Institute’s annual Met gala. And while slipping into an extraordinary sartorial confection can do wonders, directional hair and makeup is an essential part of the equation. In fact, there are plenty of instances where hair and makeup catapulted a star’s look into bold new territory.
In the ’80s, Cher traded in her choppy raven mullet for a sleek updo that highlighted her vivid violet gaze, fuchsia cheeks, and dazzling winged ear adornments, while in the ’90s, Iman bucked the decade’s minimalism with deep ruby red lips and her caramel lengths woven into a towering braided updo topped off with a sparkling brooch. In 2004, Amber Valletta tapped into the “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century” theme by taking beauty cues from Marie Antoinette with a powdered blonde pouf and swirls of rosy blush.
A theme that begged for a renegade turnout was 2013’s “Punk: Chaos to Couture,” where Miley Cyrus gelled up her platinum pixie to spiky, electric-shock effect, and January Jones bleached her brows to punctuate her graphic Siouxsie Sioux–inspired eye makeup. No detail is too insignificant for Rihanna, of course, who shut down the 2015 “China: Through the Looking Glass” red carpet wearing a gilded crystal floral headpiece atop her crimson bob in that yellow robe number by Chinese designer Guo Pei. Looking toward the future while musing on 2016’s “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” theme, Taylor Swift unveiled a white hot dye job, while Ciara opted for a shimmering silver shade for a metallic gleam.
While every year calls for its own special flair, leave it to 2020’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion” to up the ante on drama and theatrics. From Ezra Miller’s trippy eye makeup statement to Lily Collins’s ode to Priscilla Presley on her wedding day to Elvis-with a teased, floral-adorned bouffant-playing dress-up was practically the name of the game. Ahead of this year's event, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” here's a look back at the Met gala’s top beauty transformations of all time.
Cher
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Costumes of Royal India,” 1985
Iman
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala “Christian Dior” exhibition, 1996
Amber Valetta
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century,” 2004
Miley Cyrus
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Punk: Chaos to Couture,” 2013
January Jones
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Punk: Chaos to Couture,” 2013
Rihanna
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “China: Through the Looking Glass,” 2015
Taylor Swift
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” 2016
Katy Perry
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” 2016
Ciara
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” 2016
Cara Delevingne
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between," 2017
Dree Hemingway
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between," 2017
Zendaya
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” 2018
Lily Collins
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” 2019
Lupita Nyong’o
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” 2019
Ezra Miller
Right: At the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala exhibition of “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” 2019
