Met Gala 2021: the best of fashion on the red carpet

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Met Gala Co-Chair Billie Eilish arrived in a voluminous peach Oscar de la Renta gown and the platinum blonde hair she has been wearing since she released her second album "Happier Than Ever."

Credits: Mike Coppola / Getty Images

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"Schitt's Creek" star Dan Levy arrived in a Loewe suit.

Credits: John Shearer / WireImage / Getty Images

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Met Gala Co-Chair Amanda Gorman wore a tailored blue Vera Wang dress and a silver laurel wreath.

Representing a reimagined Statue of Liberty, she carried an Edie Parker clutch that read "Give Me Your Tired."

Credits: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

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"Dune" star Timothée Chalamet mixed his streetwear and black tie with a crinkled white satin suit and white Haider Ackerman pants tucked into a pair of white Converse sneakers.

Underneath, he was wearing a Rick Owens cape.

Credits: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue

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In an all-black style designed by her boyfriend Reuben Selby, "Game of Thrones" actress Maisie Williams told E!

who grew up watching American movies like "The Matrix."

Credits: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

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Gymnast Nia Dennis made an acrobatic entry in a blue Stella McCartney catsuit.John Shearer / WireImage / Getty Images

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YouTube star Emma Chamberlain in a gold Louis Vuitton dress with chain straps.

Credits: Evan Agostini / Invision / AP

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New York Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney made a statement with a garment with the slogan "equal rights for women."

Credits: Mike Coppola / Getty Images

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The cream carpet at the Met Gala began with a performance by the Brooklyn United Marching Band dressed in red, white and blue.Mike Coppola / Getty Images

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Jennifer Lopez also attended the gala, days after her appearance at the Venice International Film Festival.

Credit: Photo by Mike Coppola / Getty Images

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And among the Latinos present was Maluma.

Credit: Mike Coppola / Getty Images

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Singer Lorde also attended the gala under the theme "In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion."

Credit: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

(CNN) -

The most famous faces in pop culture flocked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night in New York to celebrate the fashion industry's party of the year: the Met Gala.

Postponed last time due to the covid-19 pandemic, the star-studded annual fundraiser for the Met's Suit Institute returned to mark the opening of its fashion show, "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion." .

Frontline actors, supermodels, television drag queens, musicians and athletes walked the red carpet, or the cream carpet, to be precise, offering their own unique take on American or all-American fashion.

Ahead of the event, gala president Anna Wintour said by email that American fashion in 2021 has become "a mosaic, reflecting the world we all live in, seen through many different lenses."

Adding to this patchwork, the Vogue editor-in-chief avoided her usual Chanel and appeared in a floral Oscar de la Renta gown, a tribute to the late designer, who was a close friend of hers and an avid gardener.

One of Wintour's famous co-chairs, poet Amanda Gorman, offered her thoughts on the subject when she arrived at the Met, telling CNN Style that American fashion was "diverse, vibrant, beautiful and intersectional."

Amanda gorman

As she walked up the steps in an embellished indigo dress by Vera Wang and a silver laurel wreath, she said, "I think American fashion is really at the crossroads of the world."

Representing a reinvented Statue of Liberty, Gorman held an Edie Parker tote that read "Give Me Your Tired," a reference to the poem inscribed at the base of the statue.

The poet was one of many stars who dressed in deep shades of blue at the dazzling event.

Tracee Ellis Ross wowed in a Balenciaga Couture wrap dress with an open neck, while gymnast Nia Dennis made an acrobatic entrance in a blue Stella McCartney suit.

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Another of the evening's co-chairs, Timothée Chalamet, was among a handful of attendees who chose white, arriving with typical nonchalance in a shrunken white satin suit jacket and wavy white Haider Ackerman pants tucked into a pair of slippers. Converse.

Timothée Chalamet

But of those who looked to the stars and stripes on the American flag for inspiration, those who came in red did so most strongly.

Megan Fox turned heads with pinup-style bangs and a daring Dundas gown with a plunging V-neckline and high slit, while Karlie Kloss wore a scarlet Carolina Herrera gown with striking structural details.

Megan fox

Model Ella Emhoff, vice president Kamala Harris' stepdaughter, wore an all-red Adidas outfit by Stella McCartney, joining a long list of celebrities to wear that color, including Jennifer Hudson, Rosalia, Emily Ratajkowski and Maluma.

On an evening dedicated to American fashion, it is no wonder that many opted for Hollywood glamor.

With Oscar de la Renta, Co-Chair Billie Eilish channeled Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly in her low-cut peach dress, which came with a fitted bodice and a long tulle train that required the support of four assistants.

Megan Thee Stallion also shone in an elegant pink Coach dress with hand-embroidered crystal details and an asymmetrical hem.

Billie eilish

MJ Rodríguez also looked to the past for inspiration, wowing viewers in a creation by Thom Browne that he described as a "Victorian style." However, the outfit also hinted at something much more contemporary. Speaking to CNN Style upon entering, the "Pose" star said the outfit had been designed to "show what it looks like to be America now in 2021 and to be a black and Latin trans woman who can show that she can carry her roots from I go back to American roots. "

Rodríguez was one of several attendees who interpreted the theme through the lens of diversity.

Rapper Saweetie wore a close-fitting, crystal-embellished gown with a long Christian Cowan train that incorporated the colors of the Black American Heritage flag and a Philippine flag, a reference to her mixed heritage.

Similarly, Co-Chair Naomi Osaka brought her Japanese and Haitian backgrounds together in a Louis Vuitton ensemble.

The ruffled sleeves were reminiscent of carnival, while the red obi through her tulip skirt was reminiscent of the traditional kimono tie.

Naomi osaka

There were also strong social and political messages on the red carpet, many of which were expressed through the language of American values.

New York Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney made no bones about it in a sassy look adorned with "equal rights for women" on the shoulder panels.

Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arrived in a white off-the-shoulder gown from Brooklyn-based Brother Vellies with the phrase "Tax the Rich."

Carolyn B. Maloney

But while there were plenty of serious statements, and a narrower focus than the 2019 event, which saw stars embrace the flamboyant theme of "camp," it wouldn't be the Met Gala without some dramatic entrances.

Lil Nas X searched for a succession of quick costume changes, removing a gigantic velvet robe to reveal golden armor before unveiling a gleaming golden jumpsuit.

Elsewhere, singer Grimes arrived wielding a sword forged with a cast pistol, which was created by the art collective MSCHF, and supermodel Iman wowed with an oversized feather headdress, gold corset and dance skirt with feathers and wire frame.

Lil Nas X

With so many opinions on what American fashion means in 2021, one thing is clear: The Met Gala brought it out in all its diversity.

Met Gala