Halle Berry is no stranger to naked dressing. In fact, she’s one of the daring aesthetic’s pioneers, having rocked controversial trends decades before they were accepted. She’s freed the nip at red carpet events, worn bikinis as tops to movie premieres, and showed off her thong at awards shows — all in the early 2000s, no less.
Now, more than two decades later, the Oscar winner is dressing as spicy ever, with her 2025 Met Gala look just the latest example.
Halle’s Nearly Naked Look
The last time the Catwoman star attended the annual fête was in 2017, and her return to the Met Gala after a near-decade hiatus was worth the wait.
Berry commissioned the help of stylist Lindsay Flores, and the result was a head-turning ascent up the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (blue) carpeted steps in a plunging number from LaQuan Smith. The designer, known for his risqué ethos, harkened to his signature style sensibilities with Berry’s attire.
“I wanted to create something for Halle that felt powerful, timeless, and sensual, a true homage to both her legacy and my brand’s identity,” Smith tells Bustle, sharing that the look was inspired by “this beautiful collision of Bond girl glamour and Harlem Renaissance elegance.”
The result was a floor-length dress featured a décolletage-baring dip that slid past her chest. But that was far from the only skin-forward detail, as the entire gown was crafted in a see-through fabric, with the only “coverage” coming in the form of beaded vertical panels that lined the length of her look. For those, Smith used over 95,000 black bugle beads, hand-applied by 14 artisans for three weeks ’round the clock. Leaning fully into the naked dressing trend, the actor appeared to have skipped underwear altogether.
“When Halle wears it, she becomes a sculpture in motion,” Smith says of the vision. And ICYWW, the ornate number is challenging to wear. Per Smith, it “takes about 20 minutes to put on and another 20 to take off,” adding, “there’s a whole choreography to it.”
Berry completed her look with a diamond necklace and a wool felt fascinator from Jennifer Behr, with French netting.
Her Jewelry Took How Long To Create?!
The pièce de résistance of Berry’s ensemble, however, was her necklace, which has never been worn before. Per Vogue, the Cartier Tsagaan set, an ode to the Mongolian snow leopard, featured more than 31 carats of diamonds and three carats of onyx, and took more than 1,100 hours to make.
Her matching earrings were also labor-intensive, taking more than 300 hours to finish.
The Making Of The Dress
Since the last time Berry attended the annual charity ball was in 2017, the stakes were high. “I was honored she trusted me with such a major return moment,” Smith says, adding, “This is Halle Berry at the Met Gala. It’s not just fashion, it’s cultural. It’s Black excellence. It’s historic.”
The design process was seamless, especially with how “hands-on” and “thoughtful” Berry was. Smith, who partnered with Samsung for the project, used the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to help him “design with precision” and “collaborate in real time.” (He used the same phone to collaborate with Ciara on her look.)
Smith even shares one moment that gave him “chills”: when Berry fit the dress for the first time. “She lit up,” he recalls. “There was this moment of silence when she looked in the mirror, smiled, and said, ‘This is me.’ It was that moment when I knew we nailed it.”
According to Smith, Berry was thrilled with the look. “She sent me a voice note saying, ‘This is the baddest I’ve felt in years. Thank you for making me feel like her.’ That meant everything to me.”
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