On the first Monday in May each year, all eyes with even a slight interest in fashion and pop culture fall on the happenings in New York City for the Met Gala. This annual fundraising event brings together some of the biggest names in movies, music and, now more than ever, sports.
At last year’s Met, athletes including Stefon Diggs, Ben Simmons, Angel Reese, Lewis Hamilton, Venus Williams and Nelly Korda, and former pros such as Dwyane Wade, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams showed out.
Athletes have been in attendance dating back to the early 2000s, but over time their presence has increased. Sports stars have come a long way since former NFL player Jason Sehorn’s prom-esque tuxedo choice when he accompanied his then-wife, Angie Harmon, in 2003 or Tom Brady’s black velvet look at his 2006 debut. Now, regular guests including Serena, Wade, Odell Beckham Jr., Russell Westbrook, Naomi Osaka and others are often among the best-dressed.
The increased presence has also led to increased involvement.
In February, it was announced that a select group of athletes would be on this year’s Met Gala committee for its theme of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” LeBron James is an honorary chair, Hamilton is a co-chair and Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson and Simone Biles and her husband, Jonathan Owens, are on this year’s host committee.
As we prepare for the 2025 Met Gala, let’s look back at some of the most memorable looks donned by sports stars through the years.
2024
Lewis Hamilton understood the assignment for 2024’s Met Gala dress code, “The Garden of Time.” He used his all-black Burberry outfit to honor John Ystumllyn, one of the first Black gardeners in the U.K.
If you look closely, you will see floral embellishments on his coat, but what the eye cannot see is that the poem “The Gardener” by Alex Wharton — which was inspired by Ystumllyn’s life — is stitched on the inside. And as for the F1 driver’s gold, thorn necklace that he paired with the outfit, he told Vogue that it represents “the pain through that slavery trade time.”
NBA star Ben Simmons perfectly leaned into the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” theme for the 2024 Met. Designed by Thom Browne, Simmons’ outfit featured an oversized coat with a tartan pattern. He topped the look off with a clock briefcase.
Angel Reese made headlines not only for her unique outfit but for her whirlwind schedule over the course of about 24 hours. Reese started that Monday morning at training camp with the Chicago Sky, then attended the Met Gala that night before playing in a preseason game against the New York Liberty the next day. The WNBA star made the most of her day and looked stylish doing it in a custom sequined, seafoam green 16Arlington gown.
2023
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is known for his bold looks in and out of the NBA tunnel. Following the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” theme, Gilgeous-Alexander sported a Thom Browne outfit that layered a matching cardigan set on top of a tuxedo shirt and pants with a classic black bow tie.
“You just want to get it right,” Gilgeous-Alexander told GQ about the outfit. “We spent a lot of time here today, but I’ve spent that time before. It’s not like I haven’t thought that much about an outfit [in the past].”
Dwyane Wade has attended many Met Galas alongside his actress wife, Gabrielle Union, through the years, but this specific look from 2023 was a hit. The three-time NBA champion sported an all-black Prada outfit and completed the look with jewelry from Tiffany & Co. He told GQ that he thought his outfit was “giving a little Django.”
The 2023 Met Gala was an important one for WNBA star Brittney Griner as it came a few months after her December 2022 release from a Russian prison. Griner celebrated the night in a custom all-Calvin Klein look. Her monochromatic beige outfit featured a sheer top under a coat-and-pant set.
2022
Chloe Kim made her mark at her debut Met Gala in 2022. The three-time gold medalist snowboarder stunned in a white Giambattista Valli Couture ball gown decorated with red feathers.
Kim shared her thoughts on the gown with ExtraTV at the event: “I just wanted to do a beautiful, big ball gown, and [Valli] is king of the ball gown, so I just had to and I was so excited when I saw this dress.”
Caroline Wozniacki and David Lee served together at the 2022 Met. Tennis star Wozniacki wore a bold, blue cutout Christian Siriano dress with puffy baby blue sleeves. Meanwhile, retired NBA All-Star Lee accompanied his wife in a classic black tuxedo.
2021
Naomi Osaka paid a beautiful homage to her Haitian and Japanese roots with this look. She worked with designer Nicolas Ghesquière and her sister and designer Mari Osaka to make the custom Louis Vuitton gown.
Her dress featured a purple, blue, silver and pink pattern with a red belt and a black ruffled cape. Hairstylist Marty Harper said in a news release that Osaka’s hairstyle was inspired by “Haitian school girl style and Onna-Musha warriors of Japan.”
Serena Williams is known to take risks at fashion’s biggest night of the year. At the 2021 event, she wore this Gucci silver lace bodysuit and topped it with an ombre feather cape.
The retired tennis star told E! News at the event that her look was “superhero-inspired.”
If you can’t tell, the 2021 Met Gala was iconic. It brought many memorable looks, and this one from Simone Biles was one of the best. This 88-pound, three-piece set was designed by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk and inspired by showgirl Josephine Baker. The seven-time gold medalist’s dress was hand-embellished in Swarovski crystals.
It was tough to pick the most iconic Met Gala look from NBA star Russell Westbrook. But we had to give credit to his 2021 look because he went the extra mile by dyeing his hair for the occasion. Westbrook wore a navy blue Ralph Lauren tuxedo and completed the look with white stars dyed into his blue hair.
2019
Odell Beckham Jr.’s Met Gala style is ever-evolving, but none of his fits have been bolder than his 2019 look. Following the year’s theme, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” he rocked a Thom Browne sleeveless tuxedo jacket paired with a kilt.
“I told them no off the rip,” the former NFL receiver said about wearing the kilt. “I was like, ‘There’s no chance I’m wearing that. On the way here I was like, ‘Can you make sure they bring it just in case? I might just do it just to do it.'”
2018
Tom Brady is no stranger to the Met Gala, having been to more than a dozen since 2006. With that said, the seven-time Super Bowl champion has had many great looks, but this was perhaps his most talked about. Brady’s 2018 outfit was to the theme of “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
He sported a custom Versace black suit jacket featuring a unique gold trim to match his then-wife Gisele Bündchen’s dress. Brady revealed at the event that Bündchen was the one who picked out his coordinating outfit and only revealed it to him in the car ride over.
Shaun White first attended the Met Gala in 2014 and opted for a traditional black tuxedo with a scarf to walk the carpet. For the 2018 Met, White decided to switch things up and go bold. The three-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder stunned with an embroidered green and gold jacket by Etro and paired the look with matching green pants.
2016
Maria Sharapova served in this red cutout dress. The retired tennis star worked with Colombian designer Juan Carlos Obando to design her look. She also paired the dress with a bold, gold earring to lean into the theme of “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”
“I love the feel of a simple, beautiful, altered slip dress, and this felt like a new take on a classic,” Sharapova told Vogue. “This was the very first dress I tried on, but it was black. We wanted it to be more vibrant, and [Obando’s] red palette really popped.”
2014
Dressed by Ralph Lauren, David Beckham rocked a dinner blazer with black pants and a matching bow tie to pull the look together. This look drew a lot of attention because the retired soccer star paired it perfectly with wife Victoria Beckham’s cream dress.
Source: espn.com