Sydney Sweeney arrived at the 2025 Met Gala, but her all-black ensemble caused a stir among fashion lovers for being ‘boring’ and ‘not on theme’ for the fashion event.
The Euphoria actress, 27, walked the blue carpet outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where the annual event takes place every first Monday in May.
For the gala, Sweeney donned a custom black sequined Miu Miu gown. The dress featured a small train and short sleeves with fringe detailing, along with a cutout at her chest that was fastened by a golden flower.
She styled her hair in a chic slick-back bun and two twisted curls framing her face, opting for a sultry smoky eye makeup look.
The Anyone But You star’s outfit reportedly paid tribute to Hollywood icon Kim Novak, who famously starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller Vertigo.
Sweeney’s black ensemble appeared to be an homage to a similar black gown worn by Novak in 1967’s The Legend of Lylah Clare, as she posted a snap from the film to her Instagram Story before walking the Met Gala carpet.
Sweeney is set to portray Novak in the upcoming film Scandalous, directed by none other than Met Gala co-chair Colman Domingo.
The film – which will mark Domingo’s directorial debut – will explore Novak’s 1950s romance with singer Sammy Davis Jr, and the scrutiny the interracial couple faced once their relationship was made public.
Sydney Sweeney, 27, arrives at the 2025 Met Gala on Monday, May 5 in New York City
The Euphoria actress wore a black custom bedazzled Miu Miu gown, featuring short sleeves with fringe detailing and a chest cutout fastened by a golden flower
Sweeney’s Met Gala look was a tribute to Hollywood icon Kim Novak, who she’s set to portray in a film directed by Colman Domingo
Despite Sweeney’s subtle historical nod in her Met Gala look, many fans and viewers declared her ensemble didn’t quite fit the theme, ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.’
This year’s Met Gala, which coincides with the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibit, explores black dandyism from the 18th century to its revival during the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on fashion today.
As such, A-list attendees were instructed to follow the dress code ‘Tailored For You,’ a nod to menswear and suiting as seen in the exhibit at the Met. The dress code specifically tasked guests to embrace looks reflective of their own personal style.
On X, one user described Sweeney’s look as ‘flat and boring,’ adding: ‘Nothing of Dandyism about it.’
Another person wrote: ‘Did she even try.’
‘Boring and not on theme,’ a third person said, while someone else commented: ‘Pretty but the theme is where?’
Met Gala viewers criticize Sweeney’s Met Gala look on X, where they called the ensemble ‘boring’ and ‘not on theme’
A fifth person jokingly wrote: ‘I know she thought the theme was wearing the color black lol.’
Another person echoed: ‘She stopped reading after black.’
Sweeney’s appearance at the 2025 Met Gala comes after calling off her wedding to ex-fiancé Jonathan Davino.
She quietly ended her seven-year relationship with the 41-year-old entrepreneur back in January, though the split wasn’t made public until March.
While the pair reunited in April at their shared Florida property, the former couple engaged in zero PDA and Sweeney’s diamond engagement ring was nowhere to be found.
