The Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has played host to a number of red-carpet rebels over the years. Katy Perry famously lit up the night with her dress of 3,000 LEDs in 2010, and who could forget Marc Jacobs’s outrageous chic Comme des Garçons lace look in 2012? And yet there is a sub-section of stylish dressers who subvert the rules in more subtle ways: Enter the theme rejectors.
Over the years, a number of stars have ignored the Met Gala’s dress code and marched to the beat of their own drum—like when Jennifer Love Hewitt wore a marabou-feathered ball skirt to the 1999 rock and roll-themed gala.
Kicking off from the 2010s, the American Woman exhibit in 2010 saw British star Emma Watson choose to fly her own flag, outfitted in an anglo-appropriate Burberry dress. A few years later, the theme rejectors came out in droves for 2014’s punk theme. Katy Perry’s byzantine ensemble by Dolce&Gabbana seemed to predate the punk movement by several hundred years.
There were plenty who also sidestepped 2014’s Charles James-themed gala, countering the couturier’s signature ball gowns with ultra-modern takes on evening wear. Lupita Nyong’o, for instance, sparkled in a Josephine Baker–style Prada look, and she was followed by a parade of chic minidress wearers, like Michelle Williams who wore Louis Vuitton. And few could top Erykah Badu’s sartorial act of rebellion as she entered the Great Hall in a Givenchy couture jumpsuit and oversize hat.
More recently, the 2019 camp theme—which encouraged attendees to go bold in feathers, sequins, and maximalist looks—saw select attendees take a shockingly-simple approach to red carpet dressing. Gwyneth Paltrow, for one, wore a yellow chiffon number by Chloé. It was elegant and whispered in a crown of gowns that screamed. Lily-Rose Depp also wore a chained, black Chanel dress that was hardly camp—but still chic, nonetheless.
Below, 48 of the Met Gala’s best theme rejectors in history.

1 / 48
Jennifer Love Hewitt
The year: 1999
The theme: Rock Style

2 / 48
Dita Von Teese in Marchesa
The year: 2008
The theme: Superheroes: Fashion And Fantasy

3 / 48
Emma Watson in Burberry
The year: 2010
The theme: American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity

4 / 48
Marion Cotillard in Christian Dior Couture
The year: 2010
The theme: American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity

5 / 48
Pixie Geldof in Moschino
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

6 / 48
Linda Evangelista in Marchesa
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

7 / 48
Katie Holmes in Calvin Klein Collection
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

8 / 48
Ashley Olsen in vintage Christian Dior
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

9 / 48
Blake Lively in Gucci Première
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

10 / 48
Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karan Atelier
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

11 / 48
Gwyneth Paltrow in Valentino Haute Couture
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

12 / 48
Katy Perry in Dolce&Gabbana
The year: 2013
The theme: PUNK: Chaos to Couture

13 / 48
Lupita Nyong'o in Prada
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

14 / 48
Beyoncé in Givenchy Haute Couture
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

15 / 48
Gisele Bündchen in Balenciaga
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

16 / 48
Rihanna in Stella McCartney
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

17 / 48
Anne Hathaway in Calvin Klein Collection
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

18 / 48
Emma Stone in Thakoon
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

19 / 48
Cara Delevingne in Stella McCartney
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

20 / 48
Marion Cotillard in Christian Dior Haute Couture
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

21 / 48
Naomi Watts in Givenchy Haute Couture
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

22 / 48
Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

23 / 48
Erykah Badu in Givenchy Haute Couture
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

24 / 48
Lena Dunham in Giambattista Valli Haute Couture
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

25 / 48
Rosamund Pike in Louis Vuitton
The year: 2014
The theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

26 / 48
Beyoncé in Givenchy
The year: 2015
The theme: China: Through the Looking Glass

27 / 48
Kim Kardashian West in Roberto Cavalli
The year: 2015
The theme: China: Through the Looking Glass

28 / 48
Jennifer Connelly in Louis Vuitton
The year: 2015
The theme: China: Through the Looking Glass

29 / 48
Jenna Lyons in J.Crew
The year: 2015
The theme: China: Through the Looking Glass

30 / 48
Solange Knowles in Giles Deacon
The year: 2015
The theme: China: Through the Looking Glass

31 / 48
Dakota Johnson in Gucci
The year: 2016
The theme: Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

32 / 48
Blake Lively in Burberry
The year: 2016
The theme: Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

33 / 48
Sarah Jessica Parker in Monse
The year: 2016
The theme: Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

34 / 48
Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen
The year: 2016
The theme: Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

35 / 48
Jessica Chastain in Prada
The year: 2016
The theme: Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

36 / 48
Zendaya in Dolce&Gabbana
The year: 2017
The theme: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

37 / 48
Celine Dion in Versace
The year: 2017
The theme: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

38 / 48
Jennifer Lopez in Valentino
The year: 2017
The theme: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

39 / 48
Zoë Kravitz in Oscar de la Renta
The year: 2017
The theme: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

40 / 48
Elle Fanning in Miu Miu
The year: 2017
The theme: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

41 / 48
Gisele Bundchen in Versace
The year: 2018
The theme: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

42 / 48
Kendall Jenner in Off-White
The year: 2018
The theme: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

43 / 48
Tracee Ellis Ross in Michael Kors
The year: 2018
The theme: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

44 / 48
Amal Clooney in Richard Quinn
The year: 2018
The theme: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

45 / 48
Sarah Paulson in Moschino
The year: 2019
The theme: Camp: Notes on Fashion

46 / 48
Gwyneth Paltrow in Chloé
The year: 2019
The theme: Camp: Notes on Fashion

47 / 48
Bella Hadid in Moschino
The year: 2019
The theme: Camp: Notes on Fashion

48 / 48
Lily-Rose Depp in Chanel
The year: 2019
The theme: Camp: Notes on Fashion
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.