Emily Ratajkowski Was ‘So Nervous’ to Wear 1 Met Gala Look Emulating a Music Icon
Emily Ratajkowski is a model and actor who gained notoriety with her buzzworthy appearance in the “Blurred Lines” music video. Since then, she’s become a bit of a fashion icon, often stepping out in the hottest ensembles and outfits. Ratajkowski often attends the annual Met Gala, one of the fashion industry’s most-anticipated events. The model revealed the inspiration behind one of her most daring looks — the music icon Cher.
Emily Ratajkowski is a fixture at the annual Met Gala
Ratajkowski is well-known for her tendency to embrace daring fashion. She often rocks dresses with large cutouts or body-hugging silhouettes, leaving little to the imagination. This makes Ratajkowski a natural at the annual Met Gala, an event that celebrates outrageous fashion and bold, themed looks. One of her very first Met Gala appearances was in 2016, when she showed up to the event wearing a black and white Prabal Gurung gown that oozed effortless glamour.
According to Insider, the dress featured a high slit and an open back. Critics praised the look as being elegant and inspired, and Ratajkowski went on to become a fixture at the event. Three years later, Ratajkowski showed up to the Met Gala’s carpet wearing a dress directly inspired by rock icon Cher.
What did Emily Ratajkowski say about her Cher-inspired dress?
When Ratajkowski showed up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019 for the Met Gala, all eyes were on the model. She wore a sparkling dress and matching headpiece designed by Peter Dundas and Evangelo Bousis. The halter design and nude color made many critics think of a similar ensemble worn by the music superstar Cher in 1988. The similarity was a purposeful one, according to Ratajkowski.
According to ABC, Ratajkowski wanted to pay homage to Cher with the look. “For me, Cher is just such an icon; she is someone that I have always looked up to. Moonstruck was one of my favorite movies growing up. It still is,” Ratajkowski said. “There’s not always a moment to really pay homage to her – and we had this really great vision of doing that and pushing that limit, and this is the opportunity to do it.” For Bousis, Ratajkowski was the perfect choice to wear the daring design: “Emily is the only person who could wear this dress; it was made for her.”
“I was so nervous,” Ratajkowski told BuzzFeed in a 2023 interview. “I didn’t know if it was going to look good.” Fortunately, she was happy with the results. “I like those pictures,” she noted.
Emily Ratajkowski opened up about being ‘nervous’ at the Met Gala another time
Even though Ratajkowski is known for being nearly naked on red carpets, she isn’t immune to nerves. At the 2022 Met Gala, the star admitted that she was unsure about her look, a vintage Versace dress that was previously worn by supermodel Yasmeen Ghauri. As Ratajkowski told Vogue, “I’m nervous…I know, you’d think I would be over it.”
She also opened up about how she prepares for the Met Gala, noting “I mean, I relax a lot beforehand. I used to be like, I need to prep and it’s like it’s better not to prep. Go and just enjoy yourself. But you know, now I’m nervous so.” For Ratajkowski, things might seem effortless and glamorous, but as she has explained, there’s a lot that goes into her fashion choices behind the scenes.
