All of Zendaya's Met Gala Looks Through the Years
Peanut butter and jelly. Bacon and eggs. Cookies and milk. Zendaya and the Met Gala. Some things are just meant to be together.
Zendaya has attended the Met Gala seven times in total, and she is without a doubt one of the most anticipated invitees to the event. After not being in attendance for a few years, she finally made her grand return as one of the co-chairs for the Met Gala 2024—and she gave us looks for days. She attended again in 2025. For the theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," and dress code, “Tailored for You," she wore a sleek monochrome suit.
In 2021, when Zendaya announced that she wouldn't be attending the event’s big return after a one-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many lamented the news. She was busy filming the second season of Euphoria. A year later, our renewed hopes were crushed when Zendaya announced she would also be absent from the Met Gala 2022, due to work commitments. “Your girl's gotta work and make some movies,” she said just weeks before the event. When 2023 rolled around, Zendaya provided no explanation for why she'd RSVP'd “no” to the Met Gala, but we assumed she was busy with Dune 2.
With a clearer schedule following not one, but two killer press tours, Z finally returned to the Met Gala in 2024, and, as mentioned, again in 2025. She had told us she would “be back eventually,” and she stuck to her word.
Ahead of the Met Gala 2026, why not revisit all of Zendaya's Met Gala looks as we wait to see whether she attends this year too?
- Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images1/8
Zendaya at the Met Gala 2025
Dressed in Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams and styled by Law Roach, Zendaya paid homage to Bianca Jagger. The hat became a viral sensation.
- Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images2/8
Zendaya at the Met Gala 2024
For her second Met Gala 2024 look, when she was also a co-chair, Zendaya changed into a super-long black gown from Givenchy's spring 1996 haute couture collection (which needed four people to help handle the train so she could walk up the stairs). She paired the gown with a headpiece from Alexander McQueen's spring 2007 collection and changed up her makeup. (You can see all the details on the looks here.)
- John Shearer3/8
Zendaya at the Met Gala 2024
Zendaya made her long-awaited return at the Met Gala 2024 wearing a custom siren gown by Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, with dramatic makeup to boot. Everyone was already impressed, but the actor had an ace up her sleeve and walked the red carpet twice.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images4/8Zendaya at the Met Gala 2019
Zendaya's most recent Met Gala appearance pre-hiatus was in 2019, when she nailed the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” theme. Z stepped on the pink carpet as Cinderella, with her longtime stylist Law Roach as her fairy-godfather. (Her Tommy Hilfiger dress lit up as she “transformed,” and she even left a glass slipper behind.)
Jackson Lee/FilmMagic/Getty Images5/8Zendaya at the Met Gala 2017
Honoring “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” the Met Gala 2017 saw one of Zendaya's most glamorous looks to date. Her gown was colorful and striking, but her beauty really knocked the look out of the park. From the hair to the bold red lip, she looked beyond stunning.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images6/8Zendaya at the Met Gala 2018
Known as the Joan of Arc look, Zendaya's appearance at the Met Gala 2018 really started to cement her status as a fashion icon. With a blunt auburn bob (and micro bangs) and a full-on armor dress by Versace, not only did Z honor the theme, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” she looked great while doing so.
Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images7/8Zendaya at the Met Gala 2015
Zendaya's Met Gala debut was in 2015 (the same year of Rihanna's yellow Guo Pei gown). The theme was "China: Through the Looking Glass," and Z opted for a red-and-black short dress with a long train by Fausto Puglisi, which featured various sun motifs.
George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images8/8Zendaya at the Met Gala 2016
In 2016, the theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” Zendaya arrived at the Met stairs looking almost unrecognizable with a blunt bowl cut and intense makeup. Her figure-hugging golden rhinestoned gown was by Michael Kors.
Want more Met Gala 2026 stories? Check these out:
