Beyoncé has been turning heads and making headlines at the Met Gala ever since she first attended the bash in May 2008. See how her style has evolved through the years.
Beyonce’s Met Gala Looks and Her Life in the Spotlight
Theme: Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
Dress: Armani Privé
Music: In 2008, Beyoncé was gearing up for the release of her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, which featured the smash hit “Single Ladies.”
Life: The Dreamgirls actress was on top of the world after saying “I do” to husband Jay Z just one month prior to the 2008 Met Gala. Bey attended the fashion event of the year with her hubby and played down her alter ego, Sasha Fierce, in the mermaid-cut pink gown.
Theme: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Dress: Emilio Pucci
Music: “Run the World (Girls)”! The former Destiny’s Child songstress released her fourth studio album, titled simply 4, in June 2011, just two months after the event.
Life: Hidden underneath her black and gold embroidered Emilio Pucci gown was Beyoncé's teeny baby bump. Queen Bey welcomed her first child, daughter Blue Ivy, with Jay Z eight months later, in January 2012.
Theme: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations
Dress: Givenchy Haute Couture
Music and Life: Love on top! After the success of her fourth studio album, 4, Beyoncé took a break from recording to focus on being a mom. Following the gala, she hit the stage for the first time since becoming a parent at Revel Atlantic City’s Ovation Hall.
Theme: Punk: Chaos to Couture
Dress: Givenchy
Music and Life: Queen Bey dropped her fifth studio album, Beyoncé, in December 2013, surprising fans with its online release. Mrs. Carter also rocked the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show in February 2013. After hitting the Met Gala red carpet in May, Bey and Jay Z let fans in on their personal life, starring in HBO’s documentary Life Is But a Dream.
Theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion
Dress: Givenchy
Music: A few months after the gala, amid her On the Run tour with Jay Z, the “Drunk In Love” singer received MTV’s VMA Video Vanguard award in August 2014 and nearly broke the internet with her epic 15-minute performance of a medley of her hits.
Life: While posing on the red carpet at the Met Gala, Jay Z stole hearts when he pretended to propose to Bey again after she dropped her ring. Weeks later, the fairy tale crumbled when footage of Bey’s sister Solange Knowles attacking Jay Z in an elevator at a Met Gala afterparty leaked online. Unconfirmed rumors suggested that the two were fighting over Jay Z's alleged flirtation with designer Rachel Roy.
Theme: China: Through the Looking Glass
Dress: Givenchy
Music: Prior to the release of her visual album, Lemonade, in 2016, Beyoncé was nominated for a bevy of Grammy awards in 2015. The songstress lost Album of the Year to Beck.
Life: Following their dramatic family feud at the 2014 afterparty, Jay Z and Beyoncé surprised fans by showing up late to the 2015 Met Gala. According to sources, Beyoncé had a last-minute wardrobe and hair change, which caused their tardiness.
Theme: Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
Dress: Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy
Music: The Grammy winner kept fans on their toes while secretly recording her visual album, Lemonade, which she released in April 2016. The headline-making sixth album ignited an online controversy with designer Rachel Roy, whom Jay Z allegedly had an affair with and who was reportedly the point of tension between Solange and the rapper during Elevator-gate in 2014.
Life: Despite the drama surrounding her chart-topping album, Beyonce has had husband Jay Z’s support as she hit the road for her Formation world tour.
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