On a night when celebrities can let loose on their fashion choices, pop princesses and Hollywood actress took it up a notch in the avant-garde department at New York's Met Gala.
The 2017 Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute ball on Monday was themed "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between", an homage to the highly structured creations of the Japanese designer and her avant-garde label.
Pop singer Katy Perry, a co-chair of the ball, lived up to the theme's challenge on Monday night with a custom Maison Margiela "Artisanal" ensemble by John Galliano, an imperial red tulle dress and a veil embroidered with the word "Witness".
Eric Wilson, fashion news director at InStyle, described the theme as "extremely challenging" compared with years past and agreed that Perry's outfit was courageously on point.
Rihanna was no slouch, either, embodying Kawakubo's penchant for dramatic silhouettes in a custom Comme des Garcons floral dress with cutouts and oversized ruffles.
The singer earned the most mentions on social media, said Kellan Terry, an analyst at the social media monitoring company Brandwatch.
Singer Pharrell Williams in jeans and leather jacket, and star couple Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen in matching silver helped Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour host the annual fundraiser.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian - stepping out minus husband Kanye West - went against the theme, sporting a white dress by Vivienne Westwood with no clutch, no jewellery and no Kanye West, her fashion-loving husband.
Sister Kendall Jenner dared to be bare, wearing a sheer slip that left little to the imagination, in front and back.
Donning a beige Ralph Lauren trench coat gown paired with big silver hoop earrings, actress Priyanka Chopra dropped jaws and turned heads.
Tennis star Serena Williams also served up drama with a baby bump under her green Atelier Versace dress.
Actress Zoe Kravitz went with a strapless pink and black Oscar de la Renta gown with an off-the-shoulder train, receiving much praise on social media, where the hashtag #MetGala was top-trending.
Tickets reportedly cost $US30,000 ($A39,777) and tables fetched about $US275,000, with proceeds going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's costume institute.
