Why Didn’t That Look Work?

A deep dive into the bad looks of the Met Gala 2025 according to the pros — P.S. don’t take this personally.

With the Cannes Film Festival in full , the 2025 Met Gala may no longer be big news. But here at For Fashion's Sake, there's still plenty to talk about fashion's most important night. With a dress code that alluded to personal style and identity as well as the exhibition's theme, celebrities and designers could finally acknowledge and celebrate the numerous contributions of black fashion. There were some wonderful looks — you can check my personal favorites here.

But, as always, there were those that missed the mark. In some cases, the look itself wasn't necessarily bad; perhaps it just wasn't the right look at the right place and at the right time. In other instances, the look was simply bad, inappropriate, or hideous. As someone who enjoys judging — and I know you do too — I will explore why those looks didn't work. But with some expert insight, of course.

Stylist Andria Cindi believes that most of this year’s Met Gala misses came down to one thing: tailoring, or the lack of it. ‘‘The (exposition) theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, with a dress code of Tailored for You, and yet so many looks felt unfinished, ill-fitted, or disconnected from the wearer’s style,’’ she tells me. Think poorly constructed suiting, ensembles chasing micro-trends, off-theme garments, and those all-too-frequent moments when a guest looks visibly uncomfortable. ‘‘We expected a few fashion misses, it’s a challenging theme, but some looks felt off because the invites didn’t feel intentional,’’ Cindi states. When celebrating 300 years of Black fashion, the absence of icons like Erykah Badu, Katt Williams, Jidenna, Wisdom Kaye, and Janet Jackson wasn't just noticed — it felt disrespectful. ‘‘These aren't just names on a mood board,’’ the stylist says. ‘‘They're the blueprints of style.’’

The Met guest list? Call it eclectic. While some key fashionistas were clearly missing, there were other figures that felt like filler — no shade, just facts. But when discussing why a look didn't work, it’s essential to center the conversation on intention: namely, honoring the dress code and the theme — especially when the event celebrates and represents a historically marginalized community that embraces dressing as a form of self-expression. ‘‘Black style has never been about fitting in,’’ Cindi reminds us, ‘‘It’s about tailoring the moment to you, not the other way around.’’

Whether you were tailored for the moment or visibly out of place, whether you missed the memo or dressed as half-sleep, trust: we saw it. Below, discover why that look didn’t work — according to some of fashion’s sharpest minds.

Amelia Gray

‘‘Amelia Gray’s look was one of my least favorites. It was out of touch in a way that was incredibly predictable. One of my concerns going into this Met theme was the possibility that it would repeat the faults of the China: Through the Looking Glass theme, which was openly presented as 'the history of Eastern aesthetics told through a Western lens.' Whether it’s the West reimagining the East or European designers and stylists reimagining Black fashion, shallowly interpreting cultural aesthetics is how caricatures are created—and that’s exactly what her look felt like.’’ — @chloeikennedy coordinator for @HFMetGala and essayist.

“I think aside from the construction of the actual look being extremely poor and it just being lace overload, it was just so tasteless putting a white woman in a durag.” — Cosmopolitan’s social specialist Corinne Bickel AKA @MIUCCIAMUSE.

‘‘She was just so wrong on every level. And the durag… It is such a pain for me to say this because Alessandro is one of my favourite designers because I love his maximalist aesthetic. Everyone complains about it which is probably why he’s been trying to do Valentino differently but the lack of clarity and vision in his design is worse that any amount of unedited maximalism could be.’’ — Fashion commentator @chaoswintour.

Joe Burrow

“It looks like he was at a post-game press conference and strolled over to the Met Gala.” — Journalist Antonio Padilla AKA @immaculate.style.

In his Instagram stories, Padilla explained to a follower: “A suit with white sneakers is something he can wear to the football stadium on a Sunday, but not to the Met Gala.”

“Not only am I shocked that he wore sneakers to the biggest fashion event of the year, but sneakers with a SUIT. That’s insanity. Maybe he could’ve made the shoes work if he committed to an entire ensemble around them. But this feels random, ill planned, and the suit isn’t even tailored. The theme was about tailoring!” — Fashion journalist and stylist Katherine Sinner.

Sydney Sweeney and Gigi Hadid

‘‘Sure anything can be tailored for (jeans, shirts, dresses etc) but in the context of the theme for the exhibition dresses aren’t the focus nor the subject depicted for the event itself. Anyone can wear a beautiful gown but if you wanna at least show a little interest in the theme itself you could have seen that the focus of the dress code was MENSWEAR. Sometimes choosing something safe doesn’t necessarily mean it is the right thing to do.’’ — Fashion blogger Gabriela behind @schiaparelli.archive.

‘‘While the met exhibition focused on black style and thus was sort of the basis for the theme (dandyism, masculine fashion etc) the dress code was focused on tailoring. And to most people that means suits. When that can actually mean gowns too. To see who missed the mark it's important to see the intent of the celeb, the brand, as well as the inspiration. And also how it works with the constraints of the brand and such. For a lot of people for example the Miu Miu attendees, Gigi Hadid and Sydney Sweeney, missed the mark greatly, Sweeney more so due to her inspiration (Kim Novak in Robert Aldrich's 1967 film The Demon of Women). Gigi Hadid was more forgiven due to her working with a black stylist (Gabriella Karefa-Johnson) and paying homage to designer Zelda Wynn Valdez and Josephine Baker. And to be fair her dress was tailored to perfection. But Sydney Sweeney's homage I think was more seen as a faux pas due to who she was paying homage to and the only connection being her in a movie Colman Domingo was directing. I think her look missed more of the mark than others due to that.’’ — Linda Sumbu AKA @itgirlbackup

Hailey Bieber

‘‘At the event, she wore a black blazer dress and…that was it. I felt that she puts more effort in her everyday looks, while her Met Gala outfit felt extremely lazy. I felt this way about a lot of the fashion “it girls” actually — Kylie, Kendall, etc — because Black Dandyism was such a versatile theme prided in extravagance. To show up at an event as important as this one, especially on the rare occasion that it celebrates Black people’s contributions to fashion, in the laziest of outfits felt borderline disrespectful especially when you consider that these girls co-opt Black culture at their convenience. Hailey Bieber’s look was extremely underwhelming with no true thought or intention behind it, and I wish the invite went to someone who actually would’ve showed up in something more exciting,’’ — NYC based freelance writer and creator of In Due Time, India Roby.

Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner

‘‘Tailoring isn’t just about suits, it’s storytelling, especially in Black fashion. Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner leaned too hard into office siren aesthetics, missing the cultural depth of Black dandyism,’’ — Stylist Andria Cindi.

Megan Thee Stallion

‘‘I liked the intention of Megan Thee Stallion’s Josephine Baker tribute, but the execution of the tailoring fell short for me. Megan had expressed concern with the tailoring of the bust during the fitting but seemed to be shut down by Michael Kors. With an exhibit highlighting fine Black tailoring and a dress code explicitly named 'tailored for you,' the Kors team has a responsibility to design for the bodies they are dressing.’’ — @chloeikennedy coordinator for @HFMetGala and essayist.

“I feel like it was improperly tailored to her body, and did not really represent the theme of the Met, which was black dandyism. I feel like her stylist didn’t do well in creating a cohesive look that actually matched the theme,” — Fashion commentator @pradamanicc.

Did you notice any fashion faux pas at the Met, too? Go on, spill your thoughts — this is a safe space. And send this to your most fashion-obsessed friend so they can join the roast.