HOLLYWOOD stars have been dressing up for red carpets for as long as there have been premieres.
Their designer glad rags are a result of months of meticulous planning, changing and altering. But while many arrive at the star-studded bashes in classic attire, there are plenty of stars who choose to make a bold statement with ‘method dressing’.
Just earlier this month, Zendaya came under fire for wearing 3,000-year-old Iranian gold artefacts as earrings at a London photocall for Christopher Nolan’s film, The Odyssey Credit: Getty
For her moment in the spotlight, Blake wore a Tamara Ralph Couture gown fresh off the house’s latest runway in Paris Credit: Getty
Method dressing is when an actor pays homage to the film they’re promoting through clothing. There have been plenty of great examples – an Ariel-inspired dress for The Little Mermaid premiere and Margot Robbie’s Barbie-inspired pink outfits for the 2023 blockbuster.
But not every look is inspired by an upcoming film. Take the , which each year has a ‘theme’ guests dress around.
For example, at the Schiaparelli Autumn/Winter 2023 couture show, Doja Cat completely transformed her identity by covering herself in 30,000 hand-applied red Swarovski crystals and prosthetic ears, while Beyoncé wore a country aesthetic while promoting her Cowboy Carter album.
While often celebs are praised for the clever looks, occasionally they take it too far.
Earlier this month, came under fire for wearing 3,000-year-old Iranian gold artefacts as earrings at a London photocall for Christopher Nolan’s film, .
Although , the backlash was swift, with archaeologists criticising the use of culturally significant artefacts as accessories in the promotion of a film, claiming it was a “hijacking” of Iran’s contributions to humanity.
The jewellery – which dates to 700BC – belongs to Barron London, a Mayfair-based gallery and dealer whose website states : “With a reputation for discretion, the gallery works privately with collectors, estates and institutions to uncover and place pieces of significance.”
A statement from Barron claimed the artefacts, which were bought from another jeweller, Glenn Spiro, in 2015, “are attributed to the Ziwiye hoard, discovered in north-western Iran in the late 1940s”.
Prof Sussan Babaie, an Iranian-born art historian and Courtauld Institute professor, told the publication it was “shocking to see that no one thought maybe this is not a good idea”.
Voicing her “outrage”, she continued: “There is not enough cultural knowledge and cultural sensibility among those who dress [celebrities], those who accessorise them, those who put them up as the symbols of beauty and power and an expression of the movie’s high-mindedness.”
But the Spider-Man actress is far from the only one who’s landed herself in hot water with a controversial . It’s a foul that the likes of and know all too well.
Kim Kardashian Marylin Monroe dress
Met Gala royalty Kim Kardashian sparked backlash when she wore Marilyn Monroe’s original “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress from 1962 Credit: Getty
A shocking image of Marilyn Monroe’s iconic nude dress after Kim wore it to Met Gala Credit: Instagram/@1morrisette
Met Gala royalty Kim Kardashian sparked backlash when she wore from 1962.
The 45-year-old mogul was accused of damaging the iconic gown .
Video showed Kim squeezing her famous derriere into the dress and leaving a huge hole in the back as she visited Ripley’s Believe It Or Not in Orlando, Florida , to see the 60-year-old fragile dress.
The museum pulled out the dress just ten days before it made its Met Gala debut, and a room full of people used their strength to get the TV personality into the dress.
But the dress was unable to fit over her rear end, and in a head-turning moment, the crew was forced to leave the back of the gown open to avoid ripping, exposing Kim’s underwear. As a result, the covered the gaping hole with a vintage white coat.
The star later revealed she ended up wearing the original dress on the red carpet but quickly changed into a replica afterwards.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! denied permanent damage.
Lady Gaga’s meat dress
The singer’s decision to wear an outfit made of raw beef was criticised by animal rights campaigners Credit: PA:Press Association
It’s almost impossible to decide exactly which look is her best – or her most bonkers. But one strong contender is certainly a dress and headpiece made entirely of raw beef, which the Just Dance hitmaker wore at the 2010 Video Music Awards.
The singer’s decision was criticised by animal rights campaigners. went as far as warning the 40-year-old star that young people who disagree with the Bad Romance singer’s attire will stop buying her music.
“Wearing a dress made out of cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to bring comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that there are more people who are upset by butchery than who are impressed by it,” they said in a statement.
The singer told US chat show host that the outfit was a protest against the way the army in America treated gay soldiers. Lesbian, bisexual and gay people could serve in the as long as they didn’t reveal their sexual orientation.
Elaborating on her choice of fashion during the DeGeneres interview, Lady Gaga said the dress had “many interpretations”. She said: “As you know, I am the most judgement-free human being on the earth.
“If we don’t stand up for what we believe in and don’t stand up for our rights pretty soon we’re going to have as many rights as the meat on our bones.”
Karlie Kloss & the Sacred Warbonnet
The outfit was apparently meant to reference the harvest season, as the word “Thanksgiving” flashed across the screen behind the catwalk Credit: Getty
In 2012, the lingerie giant came under fire when model , now 33, wore a Native American headdress and war bonnet on the runway. The show was meant to be a series where each model represented a month of the year, and Karlie walked the runway for November.
The outfit was apparently meant to reference the harvest season, as the word “” flashed across the screen behind the catwalk.
Predictably, the backlash was immediate.
Native Appropriations, a website committed to documenting images of Native Americans said: “Besides the daily harm of these ongoing microaggressions for Native folks, the sexualization of Native women continues to be an ignored and continuing epidemic.”
Critics at the time slammed the dress for including suede fringe, turquoise jewellery and leopard-print accents while glamorising the horrific genocide of indigenous people.
It was eventually cut before the event hit television and the brand issued an apology, writing : “We sincerely apologise as we absolutely had no intention to offend anyone.”
Margot Robbie and the Taj Mahal Diamond
Valued at approximately $8.8 million (£6.6million), the necklace features a heart-shaped, table-cut diamond with a Parsee inscription that reads “Love is Everlasting” Credit: Getty
It’s one of this year’s biggest movies. But despite having some of the most sought-after stars in the cast – and – Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights has become one of the most divisive projects of 2026. Film critic Dulcie Pearce gave the movie .
actress Margot, 36, walked the red carpet dressed in a stunning Schiaparelli couture gown. But what caught fans’ attention was the iconic Taj Mahal diamond necklace once owned by , which Margot paired with her ensemble.
Valued at approximately $8.8 million (£6.6million), the necklace features a heart-shaped, table-cut diamond with a Parsee inscription that reads “Love is Everlasting”. Although the actress explained that it once belonged to the Cleopatra legend and was given to her by Cartier for the event, she failed to mention a vital part of the necklace’s history – its origins in India.
Empress Nur Jahan was the first woman to receive the jewellery as a gift from her husband, the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahangir. The jewels were passed down to their son, Shah Jahan, who gave them as a gift to his own wife, Mumtaz Mahal. When she passed away four years later, the then-emperor commissioned the ivory-white as a tribute. The monument, then, inspired the diamond’s name.
Later, Cartier acquired it. Originally set on a traditional Indian silk cord, in-house designer Alfred Durante created a gold and ruby chain, studded with rondelles and tassels. Richard Burton secretly purchased and surprised Taylor with the piece during her 40th birthday celebrations in Budapest.
Emma Chamberlain & the Patiala Necklace
The YouTube star graced the Met Gala steps wearing a historic natural diamond choker believed to have been previously owned by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who ruled the princely state of Patiala in Punjab, British India, from 1900 to 1938 Credit: Getty
Cartier denied a Sikh and Punjabi artist’s request to walk on the red carpet with the exquisite jewel just years later Credit: AFP
Since 1948, the annual Met Gala has drawn out some of the most captivating jewels on the heads, necks, wrists, fingers, and ears of Hollywood’s most elite.
For the 2022 ball, graced the Met steps in a custom two-piece ensemble from French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, as well as a historic natural diamond choker believed to have been previously owned by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who ruled the princely state of Patiala in Punjab, British India, from 1900 to 1938.
Famed for his immense wealth and lavish lifestyle, he commissioned the legendary Patiala Necklace from Cartier, bringing approximately 20 trunks filled with the highest quality precious stones, from natural diamonds to emeralds, in 1928.
The necklace took the talented craftsmen three years to complete, and it also featured a massive De Beers diamond at its centre.
Additionally, the Patiala Necklace included five rows of platinum chains, embellished with an astronomical 2,390 diamonds and an assortment of Burmese rubies, making it the most expensive jewellery at the time.
The exquisite piece was last seen on Sir Bhupinder Singh’s son, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, in 1948 before mysteriously disappearing from the Patiala royal treasury.
After its disappearance, there was no trace of the piece for 34 years, but in 1982, the De Beers diamond resurfaced at Sotheby’s Patiala Royal Family auction; however, it was just the solitaire diamond, without the rest of the necklace. The French luxury brand purchased whatever scraps of the five-tiered necklace they could find to restore the jewel. Luckily, the choker feature remained intact with natural diamonds.
Three years later, there was another request for the necklace – by Diljit Dosanjh’s stylist. The 42-year-old made history at the Met Gala 2025 as the first turbaned Sikh and Punjabi artist to walk the red carpet. With Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala as his fashion inspiration, the actor-singer even sported elaborate jewellery emulating the Maharaja’s famed Patiala necklace.
However, a section of the internet expressed outrage upon learning that Cartier apparently denied his stylist’s request to borrow the historic Patiala Necklace for the prestigious event.
“So Diljit Dosanjh had to wear jewels inspired by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala’s Cartier collection, as he wasn’t allowed to wear the original necklace. But Emma Chamberlain wore the original Cartier Patiala Choker in 2022 #MetGala. Talk about cultural appropriation!” wrote a user on X.
“They don’t want to acknowledge the colonial past of this art piece and Cartier. Meanwhile, a white YouTuber gets to wear the original, while Diljit – whose roots actually belong to this necklace – has to settle for an homage. Shame on Cartier,” read another comment.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
