- Diana Ross attended the 2025 Met Gala in a sparkling gown and massive, 18-foot, feathery shawl that required six helpers to carry
- It was her first Met Gala appearance since 2003. She attended alongside her son Evan Ross, and revealed that the inside of her train was embroidered with the names of all of her kids and grandkids
- Ross almost didn’t attend the May 5 event because she’s currently on tour, but son Evan “persuaded” her to come, she revealed
Diana Ross arrived at the 2025 Met Gala in a shawl with a massive train, whose underside revealed a sweet tribute to her family!
Despite her legendary impact on the arts, the 81-year-old musician’s appearances at the star-studded event have been few and far between, with her last being over 20 years ago, in 2003. So when her son, Evan Ross, “persuaded” her to attend, she did it in style. (Her daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, was also in attendance, arriving shortly after.)
The “Endless Love” singer stepped out to celebrate tonight’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” alongside Evan, 36, and, in the words of Vogue red carpet livestream host La La Anthony, “shut the whole carpet down.”
Diana Ross at the 2025 Met Gala. John Shearer/WireImage
Diana wore a glittering, floor-length silver gown, a wide-brimmed, feathered white hat and stunning statement earrings. But the real showstopper was her feathery shawl, whose massive 18-foot train enveloped the carpet — and required six helpers (plus some assistance from Evan) to carry it.
When Anthony asked if she planned to cause the commotion she did, Diana revealed that she actually almost didn’t attend at all.
Diana Ross attends the 2025 Met Gala. John Shearer/WireImage
“Well, there was not a plan. Everything was really, really at last moment. My son persuaded me, ’cause I’m actually on tour,” the iconic musician told Anthony.
And though Evan was the only family member by her side, Ross carried the rest of her loved ones with her at the star-studded event through her ensemble, the mom of five revealed.
Helpers carry the train of Diana Ross’ shawl at the 2025 Met Gala.
Evan Ross and Diana Ross at the 2025 Met Gala.
Helpers carry the train of Diana Ross’ shawl at the 2025 Met Gala. Credit:
John Shearer/WireImage
Evan Ross and Diana Ross at the 2025 Met Gala. Credit:
John Shearer/WireImage
“If you ever had pictures of the inside of the train, it has the names of all my children, and my eight grandchildren. Everybody’s name is embroidered in that,” Diana told Anthony. As for the matching headwear, she added, “I had to be careful with the hat because my head was pretty big.”
Evan, meanwhile, told Anthony that his mom is not only the best Met Gala guest, but “the best thing of all time.”
“She is the met ball,” the proud son added.
Diana Ross at the 2025 Met Gala. John Shearer/WireImage
Last fall, Vogue shared details on the 2025 Met Gala, announcing that Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour would be co-chairs for the event, alongside LeBron James as honorary chair. The gala, which is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on the first Monday in May, is a fundraiser for The Costume Institute and spotlights the museum’s spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the theme for the gala.
Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton said that the exhibit, which is inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, explores “the Black dandy as both a concept and an identity signifier.”
The exhibit “presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style from the 18th century to the present through an exploration of the concept of dandyism,” according to a post on the museum’s Instagram.
Diana Ross’ train at the 2025 Met Gala. John Shearer/WireImage
The Met Gala’s dress code for this year is “Tailored for You,” a nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear and suiting. This year’s event also has a star-studded host committee that includes Simone Biles and her husband, Jonathan Owens, Doechii, Regina King, Spike Lee, Usher and Angel Reese.
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Diana has only attended only a handful of Met Galas in her lifetime, but each time she’s gone, she’s delivered something sartorially special.
In 1981, she paid homage to the “Eighteenth-Century Woman” in a ruffled strapless that she recreated in the form of a velvet dress, cape and gold heels for the 2014 American Music Awards, per W magazine.
Diana Ross at the 2001 Met Gala. Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty
In 2001, the year of the “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years” exhibit, she glimmered in gold in a metallic corset gown accessorized with a large ruffled headpiece. Two years later, for the 2003 “Goddess: The Classical Mode” theme, she made an eye-catching entrance in a floor-length Tom Ford red gown, which she later changed out of for her performance inside the party, Her second look was a V-cut black mermaid gown with an arrangement of beads down the bodice.
Although the Grammy nominee hasn’t attended the Met Gala much in recent years, her daughter Tracee has, leaning into the glitz of the night in many memorable looks since attending solo for the first time in 2017 (she previously went with Diana).
Diana Ross at the 2003 Met Gala. Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty
In 2021, the Pattern founder paid homage to her mom in a couture royal purple Balenciaga creation designed with a sculpted necklace and belt. As reported by Harper’s Bazaar, Tracee told Vogue correspondent Keke Palmer that the look was an homage to her mother’s role in Mahogany.
Catch all the minute-by-minute fashion updates from the 2025 Met Gala red carpet right here!