The Met Gala: the good, the bad and the ugly

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 3

Sarah Jessica Parker hasn’t had the best track record with Met Gala gowns, but her couture Oscar de la Renta gown (interestingly, signed by the designer in bold red letters on the skirt) is a valiant effort.Photograph: Getty Images

Dramatic tales

Dita Von Teese (left) channelled the spirit of Charles James’ precise, figure-hugging couture in a Zac Posen gown with four leaf clover shaped skirt.

Lily Aldridge (right) shines on (perhaps a little too brightly) in a silver strapless Michael Kors gown with a Stephen Russell choker.

High street giant Topshop hit the couture mark much better than some of their designer counterparts, with Kendall Jenner (left) in a beautifully fitted custom-made number.

Model of the moment Suki Waterhouse

(right)

was one of the style winners in Burberry, the luminous multi-shaded pink and tan layers complimenting her skintone.

Supermodel Karolina Kurkova

(left)

pulled out all the sartorial stops in a wide, sweeping Marchesa gown with a dramatic, asymmetrical neckline that could take an unsuspecting eye out.

Proving that simple doesn't mean a lack of impact, model Arizona Muse (right) offset her red Ralph and Russo gown with a ballet bun, and a simple necklace, somehow managing to escape a colour comparison with the red carpet.

Understated Monochrome

Naomi Watts (left) is a monochromatic style standout in a meticulously colour-graded white-to-grey-to-black Givenchy gown with a sheer fishtail skirt.

American actress and model Amber Valletta (right) eschews the 'white tie and decorations' dress code and looks a little drab in a sequinned suit by Saint Laurent Paris.

Cara Delevingne (left) is a knockout in semi-formal Stella McCartney top and trousers, but we wonder if she's turned up for the right event.

Something different

R&B and soul musician, composer and record producer, Janelle Monae

(right)

gets a free pass for not wearing a gown entirely by merit of them just not being her ‘thing’, but this ensemble by Tadashi Shoji errs just on the side of chic.

Even Lupita N'yongo (left) has to have an off day, though she wears this futuristic 'flapper from outer space' custom dress by Prada with utter conviction.

Rosie Huntington Whiteley (right) divides opinion in a leather Balmain minidress; some people say 'elegant and powerful', others 'Bet from 'Coronation Street' on acid'. We say - 'Why not both?'

Marion Cotillard (left) looks beautiful in blue Dior, but we're starting to think that the French fashion houses are deliberately not dressing stars in ballgowns in order to make some kind of comment on the state of American couture...

Vogue editor and the Met Costume Institute's new namesake, Anna Wintour (left), wears an oddly-shaped Chanel Couture gown with an undetermined degree of success.

Blake Lively (right) is a golden goddess in Gucci, with a gown that give her a totally nipped-in, refined silhouette. Very Charles James.