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Cardi B never disappoints on the Met Gala red carpet. Since her debut appearance at the event in 2018, the Grammy Award winner has cemented herself as one of its most anticipated guests and easily one of the best-dressed women in rap. For her first appearance at fashion’s biggest night out, she stepped out head-to-toe in Moschino, and since then, the superstar has made it crystal clear that “less is more” isn’t even part of her vocabulary. Take, for example, her massive gowns from Thom Browne in 2019 and Windowsen in 2024, respectively.
However, navigating the world of high fashion isn’t easy. “There are so many obstacles against us. For example, this body is not meant for a size two. I’m very hips, a**, and that’s me,” Cardi B explained to The Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, her longtime stylist, Kollin Carter, added, “We’ve given look after look, year after year. We’ve reached into archives that are impossible to reach into.”
Granted, even icons have their hits and misses, and when it comes to the “WAP” hitmaker’s looks, not all showstoppers are created equal. With that in mind, here’s a definitive ranking of Cardi B’s Met Gala looks throughout the years.
7. Richard Quinn’s Pink And Black Tweed Dress (2023)
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Cardi B in pink tweed sounds like a serve on paper, and in many ways, it sort of was. After arriving at the gala, the “Up” rapper swapped into a houndstooth Richard Quinn bodycon dress, detailed with gemstones along its bodice and hem. She cleverly accented its plunging neckline with a pearl necklace and Bhansali cross pendant. However, for someone known for pushing fashion boundaries, this look felt relatively safe — and probably comfier — compared to her past ensembles. Pretty, yes. Memorable? Maybe not as much as the Chenpeng Studio ball gown she wore earlier on the red carpet.
6. Miss Sohee’s Pink Bejeweled Gown (2023)
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Cardi B showed up fully prepared for the 2023 Met Gala with three looks, but her bubblegum-hued, crystal-encrusted Miss Sohee gown was technically just a decoy. She debuted the look leaving New York’s The Mark Hotel — where all the celebs get glammed ahead of fashion’s biggest night. And considering how quickly social media can spoil a major red carpet moment, it makes sense she’d save her biggest statement for the actual event. Considering the look required over 27,000 Swarovski crystals, it’s hard to imagine anyone complaining it didn’t make it to the actual carpet, albeit the colorful choice would’ve definitely stood apart from the mostly monochrome tributes to the gala’s “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” exhibition.
5. Moschino’s Bejeweled Maternity Gown (2018)
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Most celebrities would’ve played it safe for their first Met Gala, especially if they were expecting. Not Cardi B, though. Besides, she just released one of the greatest rap albums ever, Invasion of Privacy, and announced that she was expecting baby No. 1 the month prior. With designer Jeremy Scott on her side, the jewel-encrusted Moschino gown hugged her belly bump while a matching train completed the regal silhouette. It was a powerful debut, no doubt. Looking back, it feels like the training-wheels version of the fashion icon that Cardi B became in subsequent years.
4. Windowsen’s Gothic Tulle Masterpiece (2024)
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The 2024 Met Gala’s theme, “The Garden of Time,” seemed almost impossible for most celebrities to fully grasp, but not Cardi B, who needed at least half a dozen dress handlers to manage her all-black Windowsen gown. The scale of the look was beyond extravagant and exactly the kind of over-the-top theatrics the Grammy Award winner pulls off better than practically anyone else. It featured layers of cascading tulle ruffles and pleated fabric that she topped off with a towering turban and the most gorgeous emerald pendant necklace. That being said, the sheer volume came with a slight drawback: Cardi B’s silhouette got a bit lost underneath all that fabric.
3. Versace’s Golden Column Gown (2022)
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While this was a relatively simple look, especially for Cardi B, she made her Versace chain gown at the 2022 Met Gala look so good. The Italian fashion house has been a celebrity favorite for years — Lil Nas X, FKA twigs and the Kardashian-Jenners being a few people to wear them — and here, the form-fitting number fit the New York native like a charm. It was made from embroidered jewelry and metal mesh, complete with matching necklaces and bracelets, and of course, Cardi B’s longtime makeup artist, Erika La’ Pearl, brought ’90s glamour to the table.
2. Chenpeng Studio’s Black Rosette Ball Gown (2023)
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Cardi B’s Chenpeng Studio ball gown was, simply put, pure perfection. The Met Gala showstopper came with a camellia-adorned skirt and studded corset that obviously landed her on just about every best-dressed list that year. She paid homage to the late and legendary Karl Lagerfeld with a white collared top and black tie underneath, while the rest of the number featured diamond quilting reminiscent of Chanel’s coveted handbags. They call Cardi B mother for a reason.
1. Thom Browne’s Oxblood Feathered Gown (2019)
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Cardi B brought new meaning to the phrase “red carpet” when she arrived at the Met Gala in a feathered Thom Browne creation that, according to Vogue, took 30,000 burned and dyed coque feathers, 2,000 hours and 35 people to make. That alone should earn it a spot in some fashion museum’s future exhibit, but the ensemble’s extravagance didn’t stop there; it also included $250,000 ruby-encrusted nipples totaling 44 carats. Like her equally dramatic “Garden of Time” look, Cardi B managed all that lavishness with the assistance of only five handlers to help her climb the iconic Met Gala stairs.
“I designed this dress for Cardi specifically because she has the ultimate beauty in a woman’s body, and that is what the dress is about for me: taking advantage of that beauty,” Browne told the publication. After all, it was this very look that, to quote Carter, let the fashion industry know female rap’s reigning powerhouse was “here to stay.”
