Met Gala's Fashion Rebels: 4 Celebrities Who Defied Expectations on the Red Carpet

There is perhaps no bigger (or more extravagant) fashion event than the Met Gala. Every year, the industry's best and brightest gather to celebrate the museum's newest exhibit (also known as the Oscars of the East Coast), and celebrities, models and designers bring their sartorial A games to the red carpet to match.

This year's official theme is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," a tribute to the prolific designer who died in 2019 and used many muses for Chanel, Fendi, Balmain, Chloe and Patou. The exhibition will feature 150 different looks alongside original sketches from Lagerfeld's archives. Cochairs include Dua Lipa, Michelle Coel, Penelope Cruz, Roger Federer and Anna Wintour, and we expect to see plenty of reinterpretations of Lagerfeld's own clothes, as well as homages to Chanel's signature DNA with lots of tweeds, pastels and quality tailoring. Abundance

As we wait to see what some of our favorite stars will choose for this year's gala on Monday, May 1, we'll be feeling excited through some of the controversy-fueled (we're) most memorable Met Gala looks of the year. I'm looking at you , Kim Kardashian) to make headlines for pure extravagance alone.

Beyonce

Beyoncé attended the 2012 gala in a jaw-dropping Givenchy gown. Astride the stairs in her feathered, beaded Riccardo Tisci original, the global superstar was one of the last attendees to arrive – making a case for arriving fashionably late.

Diane Kruger

Model-turned-actress Diane Kruger cleared her leg way before Angelina Jolie did. The "Operative" star turned heads at the 2011 Met Gala in an embellished gown with a black thigh-high slit from Jason Wu's fall/winter '11 collection.

Anne Hathaway

For the 2009 gala, "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion," Anne Hathaway was the picture of retro chic in a plum-colored Marc Jacobs mini, with a bouffant hairstyle.

Kristen Stewart

Longtime Chanel ambassador Kristen Stewart wore an all-black gown from the Spring/Summer 2008 Chanel Couture show to the 2010 Gala.