8 celebrities who dressed like Hollywood icons on the 2022 Met Gala red carpet

August 2024 ยท 6 minute read
2022-05-03T20:13:23Z

"Emily in Paris" star Ashley Park said the Mimi So jewelry she wore with her Prabal Gurung ensemble was inspired by Audrey Hepburn.

Ashley Park was inspired by Audrey Hepburn. George Rinhart/Corbis/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Park paired her hot-pink corset dress with "beautiful neckpieces," including a one-of-a-kind waterfall necklace by So. 

The actress told People that her look was "an ode to Audrey." Hepburn most notably wore a statement neckpiece in the 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." 

"It's kind of like a deconstructed gilded-age look," Park said about her ensemble at the gala. 

Kim Kardashian arrived at the gala in the same dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

Kim Kardashian was inspired by Marilyn Monroe. Bettmann/Contributor/John Shearer/Getty Images

Kardashian borrowed Monroe's formfitting dress from the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida, for fashion's biggest night. The dress was so fragile that she only wore it to walk up the museum's steps and then changed into a replica, which is also owned by Ripley's, according to Vogue.

"I'm extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history. I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it and I won't be wearing the kind of body makeup I usually do," Kardashian told Vogue. "Everything had to be specifically timed and I had to practice walking up the stairs."

As Vogue reported, Monroe's original gown was designed by costume designer Jean Louis and was inspired by a sketch from Bob Mackie. 

According to the Ripley's website, Monroe told Jean Louis that she wanted to create an iconic look that would stand the test of time. 

"I want you to design a truly historical dress, a dazzling dress that's one-of-a-kind, a dress that only Marilyn Monroe could wear," she said, according to the museum. Jean Louis took Monroe's direction and created a skintight gown adorned with more than 6,000 hand-sewn crystals.

Emily Ratajkowski arrived in a two-piece Versace piece worn almost 30 years ago by supermodel Yasmeen Ghauri.

Emily Ratajkowski was inspired by former supermodel Yasmeen Ghauri. John Shearer/Getty Images

Ratajkowski wore a skin-baring colorful outfit from Versace's 1992 collection, which Ghauri debuted on the runway that year.

"I feel very lucky to be wearing this look," Ratajkowski said on the carpet, according to Harper's Bazaar.

The "naked" dress was designed with a heavily beaded halter top and a voluminous skirt with a dramatic train on the back. Ratajkowski paired the outfit with simple drop earrings and gold sandals. 

Gabrielle Union said her outfit was inspired by the late Diahann Carroll, who she called "a symbol of opulence and if you will, a gilded glamour."

Gabrielle Union was inspired by the late Diahann Carroll. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Union arrived at the gala in a sparkly silver Versace gown with a plunging neckline. The dress was designed with a detachable feathered train and a red floral accent around her waist. 

The actress told Vogue that she wanted her ensemble to pay homage to the "Black and brown people" that worked during the Gilded Age. 

"Because when you think about the Gilded Age and Black and brown people in this country, this country is built off of our backs, our blood, sweat, and tears," she said. "So we added these red crystals to represent the blood spilled during the accumulation of gross wealth by a few during the Gilded Age, off of the backs of Black people and people of color in this country."

Union added that the look was an homage to a gown that the late Diahann Carroll wore in 1960. 

"So this is inspired by Diahann Carroll, a symbol of opulence and, if you will, a gilded glamour," she said. 

Hailey Bieber looked angelic in a white silk gown that was an ode to Jerry Hall's dress on the YSL spring/summer 2002 runway.

Hailey Bieber was inspired by Jerry Hall. Pool SIMON/STEVENS/Gamma-Rapho/Gotham/Getty Images

Bieber's Saint Laurent gown was designed with a halter neckline and thigh-high slit. She accessorized it with black Wolford tights and a matching silk and feather jacket. 

"It's simple and feels elegant and chic," Bieber told E! on the red carpet.

Karla Welch styled Bieber's outfit with Tiffany and Co. jewelry. The stylist shared on Instagram that the look was also inspired by "an amazing passage about a young Vanderbilt in the #gildedage descending the stairs in white silk and feathers."

Julianne Moore's Tom Ford gown was inspired by the lavender dress that Jackie Kennedy Onassis wore to an event at the National Gallery of Art in 1963.

Julianne Moore was inspired by Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Arnie Sachs/CNP/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Moore told The New York Times that Kennedy Onassis' simple elegance inspired her. 

"I think she was somebody who was just indescribably elegant," she said. 

The actress added that when it came time to find a look for the Met Gala, she wanted to wear a comfortable outfit. 

"I usually want to wear something that makes me feel good," she said. "Tom [Ford] is very much about classic beauty and classic American fashion."

Kris Jenner was another celebrity who paid homage to Jackie Kennedy Onassis at the gala.

Kris Jenner was also inspired by Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Universal History Archive/John Shearer/Getty Images

The matriarch of the Kardashian-Jenner family arrived at the gala in a yellow Oscar de la Renta dress. Jenner even switched her signature pixie cut for a bob to match the former First Lady's famous hairstyle. 

Jenner told E! on the red carpet that she wanted her ensemble for the night to be "glamorous, chic, and easy."

According to E!'s Zanna Roberts Rassi, Fernando Garcia, the designer behind the look, described it as a "banana, crystal-embroidered caftan."

Jenner's outfit was inspired by a yellow dress that Kennedy Onassis wore during a state dinner at the White House in May 1961.

Paloma Elsesser knew she wanted her Met Gala outfit to look like undergarments, so Coach's creative director, Stuart Vevers, took inspiration from the vintage slip dresses Courtney Love wore in the '90s.

Paloma Elsesser was inspired by Courtney Love. Ron Davis/Taylor Hill/Getty Images

The model told Vogue that she wanted her Coach ensemble to showcase how the outfits worn during the Gilded Age required elaborate underwear like corsets and bustiers. 

Vevers added that when Elsesser and her stylist, Carlos Nazario, approached him with the concept, he was immediately drawn to Love's style in the '90s. 

"It juxtaposes a silk satin corset with the softness of antique lingerie silk and hand-embroidered lace," he said. 

The designer added that he wanted to mix styles from distinct eras in American fashion, from the Victorian age to the '30s and '90s. 

He said he wanted "to show how the next generation is creatively imagining the future of fashion through a personal point of view."

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