This year, the Met Gala was held on Monday, May 7th with the red carpet walk beginning at 7pm EST. The guests dressed to the theme of “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”, in the biggest Costume Institute collection yet. The exhibition was spread across the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the medieval galleries at the Met’s main location, and at the Cloisters, and featured 150 ensembles, including fashion items by Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Schiaparelli as well as 41 pieces of ecclesiastical dress on loan from the Vatican.

The theme was meant to not only pay tribute to the masterworks of religious art in the museum through the medium of high fashion, but to also specifically show the influence that Catholicism and liturgy has on trends. Specifically at the Gala, the biggest trends were headpieces and dress trains, ranging from crowns to veils, and from ruffled trains to feathered trains. One of the most talked about celebrities was Rihanna who wore a pope-inspired outfit, and had a beaded bishop’s hat to match (pictured top left).

In terms of talked about trains, Blake Lively was widely praised for her, “rich crimson Versace gown complete with detailed embroidery, a jewel-encrusted bodice, a full train… and a halo-esque headpiece” as written by Allure magazine (pictured top middle) . Nicki Minaj also combined both trends, with her red and black Oscar De La Renta gown, topped with an extra-long train and a Tiffany headpiece covered in red diamonds. When asked about her outfit in an E! News red carpet interview, Nicki Minaj said that she wanted to channel the devil to “make sure the bad guy was [there]” (pictured top right), which was her take on the Heavenly Bodies theme.