The Best Met Gala Naked Dresses Deserve Their Own Exhibition
Everyone from Cher to Beyoncé has used sheer dresses to honor (or defy) the dress code.
The Met Gala has never banned nudity on the red carpet like the Cannes Film Festival. In fact, the more sheer and naked dresses ascend those iconic steps on the first Monday in May, the better.
Decades before naked dressing became a trend in the eyes of It girls, guests of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art went sheer strictly for shock factor. No one expected Cher to make her Met Gala debut in a naked Bob Mackie dress. That's what made its few opaque feathers so special come Nov. 1974. (That's right, the month of May didn't always belong to the Met.)
The ball's naked dresses have garnered a gasp-inducing reputation over the years. Similar reactions bounced off the walls at the 2015 Met Gala, when Beyoncé wore nothing but illusion mesh and Givenchy gemstones for the “China: Through the Looking Glass" theme. The Grammy winner's naked dress was a lone wolf that year. Six dress codes later, Zoë Kravitz, Olivia Rodrigo, and Kendall Jenner made 2021's Met Gala one of the sheerest on record.
Now that naked dressing is a bona fide fixture among VIPs, the question isn't if stars will go sheer at the Met Gala—it's how many. Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton prioritized putting "the body back into discussions about art and fashion" for the 2026 Met Gala, so expect to see plenty of skin on May 4's red carpet. In the meantime, take a trip down the riskiest memory lane with the best Met Gala sheer and naked dresses in the event's history.
Cher's Naked Dress at the 1974 Met Gala
Cher arrived at the 1974 Met Gala in a naked Bob Mackie dress.
Cher was pro-naked dressing at the Met Gala as early as 1974, when she wore a beaded illusion gown from Bob Mackie, her longtime costume designer. Nude mesh made almost every element sheer, before white feathers decorated her cuffs and the carpet-grazing hem. The dress was so good, Cher went on to re-wear it on the cover of Time magazine.
Victoria Beckham's Sheer Dress at the 2003 Met Gala
Victoria Beckham channeled the lingerie trend at her first Met Gala.
The Met Gala was pretty opaque for the next two decades. Suddenly in 2003, Victoria Beckham made her Met debut in a lingerie-adjacent mini dress, featuring sheer cut-outs atop her torso, rhinestone paneling, and a lace-trimmed hem. Her slip added a sense of romance to the "Goddess: The Classical Mode" theme.
Rihanna's Sheer Dress at the 2011 Met Gala
Rihanna's Stella McCartney dress was sheer, until side paneling turned it naked.
Rihanna already had three Met Galas under her belt by 2011. She saved her sheerest select for the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" theme. Stella McCartney created a single-sleeved lace gown for RiRi, featuring a glittery train on one side, and a see-through strip on the other.
Anne Hathaway's Sheer Dress at the 2014 Met Gala
One of Anne Hathaway's sheerest dresses to this day debuted at the 2013 ball.
These days, Anne Hathaway rarely goes the risqué route. That's why her long-sleeve Valentino gown was so striking at the 2013 Met Gala. Hathaway sourced the maison's archives for a black, circa-1992 design to match the "Punk: Chaos to Couture" theme. She certainly understood the assignment, as evidenced by the dress's zig-zag beadwork, feather cuffs, and sheer shoulder slashes.
Beyoncé's Naked Dress at the 2015 Met Gala
Beyoncé set a high bar for naked dresses at the 2015 Met.
Beyoncé delivered the naked dress seen 'round the world at the 2015 Met Gala. The Grammy winner slicked her her hair back into a sky-high ponytail, promising every square-inch of her Givenchy gown a proper close-up. The pink, yellow, and green gemstones shielded only what was necessary from public view.
Jennifer Lopez's Sheer Dress at the 2015 Met Gala
J.Lo attended the same Met Gala in equally-sheer Versace.
Always on board for something sheer, Jennifer Lopez walked the same red carpet as Beyoncé in equally-clear mesh. The Versace dress's beaded dragon (an homage to the "China: Through the Looking Glass" theme) slithered from one shoulder, down her bodice, and onto the ombré red train.
Bella Hadid's Sheer Jumpsuit at the 2017 Met Gala
Bella Hadid turned heads in a naked jumpsuit at the Met in 2017.
Naked dressing hit jumpsuit territory at 2017's "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between" Gala, when Bella Hadid traded a gown for a lacy, long-sleeve one-piece by Alexander Wang. Her skin peeked through the pattern, as well as the completely-open, plunge back.
Kylie Jenner's Sheer Dress at the 2017 Met Gala
Kylie Jenner cascaded the Met steps in naked Versace.
Sure, fabric covered 80-percent of Kylie Jenner's Versace look at the 2017 Met. But most of it was see-through, including the bone-in corset beneath the top layer's nude, rhinestone-embellished netting. Rose gold shoulder fringe gave an otherwise-sleek silhouette some surprise volume.
Kim Kardashian's Naked Dress at the 2019 Met Gala
Kim Kardashian combined naked dressing and the wet look into one Met Gala moment.
It's a Kardashian-Jenner superpower to look naked while fabric conceals most of their body. Kim Kardashian showed naked dressers how it's done at the "Camp: Notes on Fashion" Met Gala, wearing a waist-snatching, wet dress created just for her by Thierry Mugler. The latex and silicone slip was surprisingly full-coverage beneath dangling, droplet-looking crystals.
Zoë Kravitz's Naked Dress at the 2021 Met Gala
Zoë Kravitz's Saint Laurent slip from 2021 is still the naked blueprint.
Zoë Kravitz has been going sheer for years. A standout arrived at the 2021 Met Gala, when she chose a Saint Laurent chainmail dress made entirely from fishnet rhinestones. It doubled as an endorsement of the exposed underwear trend: Her matching thong was impossible to miss.
Kendall Jenner's Naked Dress at the 2021 Met Gala
Kendall Jenner shined bright like a diamond in sheer Givenchy.
Kendall Jenner was genuinely dripping in diamonds (and not much else) at the 2021 Met Gala. The Givenchy couture gown drew inspiration from Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady but made it sheer with celestial crystals atop her nude corseted foundation.
Olivia Rodrigo's Sheer Outfit at the 2021 Met Gala
The 18-year-old defied expectations in sheer Saint Laurent.
Olivia Rodrigo took a page from Bella Hadid's playbook for her Met Gala debut in 2021. Instead of a naked dress, the pop star showed some skin in an off-the-shoulder, black catsuit from Saint Laurent. It all turned sheer beneath her feather-boa neckline.
Janelle Monáe's Naked Dress at the 2023 Met Gala
Janelle Monáe stripped down to just lingerie and a hoop skirt in 2023.
The Met Gala staircase has become the ultimate backdrop for Hollywood's best outfit changes. In 2023, Janelle Monáe dipped her toe in the trend with a custom Thom Browne outfit. Half-way up the stairs, she ditched the tweed, patchwork coat for nothing but a hoop skirt-turned-dress and lingerie set underneath.
Gigi Hadid's Sheer Dress at the 2023 Met Gala
Gigi Hadid paid homage to Karl Lagerfeld in black chiffon and pearls.
Gigi Hadid, on the other hand, arrived at the 2023 Met Gala wearing her naked Givenchy design front and center. It was more intricately-draped chiffon than dress, starting with a black corset beneath a see-through skirt. For the finishing touch, fabric draped over one of her shoulders before flowing behind her in a dramatic train. Even her gloves got the sheer memo.
Suki Waterhouse's Naked Dress at the 2023 Met Gala
Suki Waterhouse's first Met Gala came with a sheer Fendi slip.
Believe it or not, Suki Waterhouse didn't attend the Met Gala until the "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" theme in 2023. Her debut was just as ethereal as fans expected, thanks to the floral appliqués Fendi embroidered onto her plunge naked dress.
Emily Ratajkowski's Naked Dress at the 2024 Met Gala
Emily Ratajkowski sourced Versace's archives for her naked dress in 2024.
Emily Ratajkowski's long-sleeve, crystal-covered gown at the 2024 Met Gala is the naked dressing trend personified. It was actually a rare Versace Fall 2001 pull, featuring rose-shaped rhinestones that honored the "Garden of Time" dress code without being too on-the-nose.
Elle Fanning's Sheer Dress at the 2024 Met Gala
Elle Fanning looked every bit a princess on the 2024 carpet.
Full-coverage gowns never looked so naked before the 2024 Met Gala, a fact Elle Fanning proved so elegantly in a sculptural, crystal-clear Balmain dress. Her skin-colored bodysuit was visible beneath the bodice's glass-like garnish, but the birds fluttering atop her shoulders turned opaque.
Janelle Monáe's Naked Dress at the 2024 Met Gala
Janelle Monáe was wrapped in Vera Wang bubbles at the Met.
Monáe is the only style muse on this list twice, and for good reason. Jaws dropped again in 2024 when she wore custom Vera Wang couture. It seems the designer was influenced by a pond in the "Garden of Time," judging by the bubble-esque pailettes atop her neck, bralette, and transparent train.
Greta Lee's Sheer Dress at the 2024 Met Gala
Greta Lee sourced Loewe for this princess-y sheer pick.
Greta Lee showed up and out for her initial Met Gala in 2024. Loewe's then-creative director Jonathan Anderson sculpted her nearly-naked dress from white lace and 3D floral appliqués. They stretched from the Past Lives star's dome-like bodice, beyond a tattoo-revealing skirt, and onto a small but exquisite train.
Halle Berry's Sheer Dress at the 2025 Met Gala
Halle Berry pulled off risky cut-outs at the 2025 Met.
Once the 2025 Met Gala rolled around, Halle Berry knew there'd be no shortage of naked dresses on the red carpet. So, she did something to set herself apart from fellow fashion girls: chose a tuxedo-inspired, LaQuan Smith gown with sheer, carefully-carved cut-outs. It revealed just enough while still staying true to the "Tailored For You" dress code.
