The American icon has arrived.
Kim Kardashian graced the red carpet at the 2021 Met Gala on Sept. 13 wearing an OMG-worthy custom ensemble designed by Demna Gvasalia, the creative director of Balenciaga. It's clear we can always expect the unexpected with Kim's fashion picks—even a 75" ponytail!
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star's full-body look included a face covering and black tee under a matching t-shirt dress paired with an incorporated bodysuit, topped with jersey boots. The outfit corresponds with Kim's new curated BDSM-inspired bodysuits she wore during Kanye West's DONDA listening parties and New York Fashion Week.
Kanye also opted for a face covering and black hoodie sweatshirt at the Met Gala, with the rapper taking athleisure to the luxe level. Kimye even posed together for a pic on the carpet.
While Kim somewhat strayed from the theme of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York's new costume collection, "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion," the mother of four definitely slayed while doing so. And, though Kim is known for her body, the SKIMS founder's face was completely disguised in her Balenciaga reinvention of a black tie ball gown.
The mysteriously covered-up dress is just the latest head-turning look for Kim on the Met Gala red carpet. In 2019, with Kanye by her side, Kim wowed in a "wet" nude dress that broke in the Internet, as fans wondered just how she could walk in such a tight corset! "Tomorrow morning, getting delivered hot and fresh donuts," Kim joked at the time to E! News.
She later gushed to Zuri Hall on E!'s Live From the Red Carpet that designer Thierry Mugler spent eight months crafting the button-up minidress, built around the inspiration of a "California girl stepping out of the ocean, on the red carpet, wet, dripping." The theme of the 2019 ball was "Camp: Notes on Fashion."
Kim previously opened up about feeling "nervous" at her first Met Gala as Kanye's plus one in 2013 while pregnant with North West. "I didn't know anyone & I'm sure no one wanted me there lol," the KUWTK alum tweeted in May 2019 of her Givenchy gown. "I did my own lipstick & the color is so off. I went home & cried after of insecurity but this is one of my fave looks now."
By 2014, the Vogue cover star was invited on her own, and called walking the famed red carpet with confidence a "dream." This year, Kim reprised her 2017 Met Gala look in one important way: by making a solo appearance, without Kanye in tow.
And this year, Kim has outdone herself once again in a Balenciaga creation. Relive all of Kim's daring Met Gala entrances below as she adds to the "Lexicon" of American fashion tonight.
Kim wore this face-covering look by Balenciaga Creative Director Demna Gvasalia, who also designed similar styles worn by both her and Kanye West at his Donda album listening parties in previous months.
California native Kim harnessed the dripping wet look of stepping out of the ocean thanks to an impressive custom Thierry Mugler mini dress for the 2019 Met Gala, "Camp: Notes on Fashion."
The mogul dazzled in this gold look, while nailing the year's "Heavenly Bodies" theme.
Inspired by the theme, the E! star stepped out in this bondage look as she headed to an afterparty in New York City.
The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star arrived to the Met Gala sans her hubby in a minimal white gown just a few months after her robbery in Paris.
"I thought Balmain was the perfect choice for me and Kanye, especially," Kim says. "I think Kanye's look is a little bit more downplayed with the denim mixed with all the Balmain bling."
"I wanted a silver theme," Kim says. "I kind of thought everyone was going to go with that, but I still really wanted to do it...I just wanted to go for it and be a bling-y, sexy robot." The gala's theme was "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology."
"The beading is just SO beautiful," Kim says.
"My custom Roberto Cavalli gown is one of my fave dresses ever," Kim says. "It was the first dress creative director Peter Dundas designed for Cavalli." The gala's theme was "China: Through The Looking Glass."
"My dress was originally made of this amazing leather with metallic detailing," Kim says, "but we decided at the last minute to redo it in blue satin."
"Working with Alber Elbaz for my custom gown in 2014 was such a pleasure," Kim says of her Lanvin look. The gala's theme was "Charles James: Beyond Fashion."
"I thought it was so cool," Kim says of the look. "It got a lot of criticism and I didn't care because I really loved it."
In one of her most iconic looks, the star made headlines after she wore this floral printed dress with matching gloves.