This year marked the return of red carpet events for most of Hollywood's elite, and they came dressed to play. It seemed more than ever that sheer and barely there dresses were the go-tos for events, including the MTV Video Music Awards, the Emmys, and the high-fashion Met Gala. (Once a look lands on the Met Gala red carpet, it's a certified trend.)
But it's not just today's celebs wearing sheer outfits
Here are 15 of the most iconic sheer or nearly naked outfits worn by celebrities. Kendall Jenner is a professional model, and she's got a great body, so it's unsurprising that she likes to show it off. She's worn nearly nude dresses on multiple occasions, most recently at the 2021 Met Gala. Her sparkly, sheer Givenchy gown showed off her tan bodysuit underneath, creating the illusion that she was wearing nothing more than jewels. Kendall wasn't the only famous face at the Met Gala who went with a sheer dress. Zoë Kravitz donned a metal mesh Saint Laurent outfit with a visible bedazzled thong. When some people critiqued her see-through look online, Zoë fired back. She wrote: "Being uncomfortable with the human body is colonization/brainwashing. It's just a body. We all got em." Singer and actress Halle Bailey wore a sheer bodysuit covered in pink fringe to the 2021 Met Gala (her first time being invited to the event). The look was designed by Rodarte, and it would be just at home in a Dancing With the Stars routine as on the red carpet. While Halle is still fairly covered up, one hint of a breeze and that fringe could have been done for. Megan Fox turned so many heads when she showed up to the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards in a sheer custom Mugler dress and sparkly underwear. She later revealed that the much-talked-about look was actually her boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly's idea. "He was like, 'You're gonna be naked tonight,'" Meghan said. "I was like, 'Whatever you say, daddy!'" Ashanti also wore a barely there dress at the VMAs in 2021, but you may not have noticed because Megan Fox was the talk of the media for her own dress. Instead of a sheer look, Ashanti opted for just not a lot of fabric. Most of her gown was made up of thin straps with a flowy half-skirt. It gave off some serious Princess Leia vibes. The 2021 barely there red carpet gown trend continued at the 2021 Emmys, with Insecure actress Issa Rae. She attended the glamorous event in a custom Aliétte gown that was made of a crystal mesh. Between Zoë and Issa's shiny dresses, it seems like the couture chain mail look is here to stay for now. Over the summer, Meghan Thee Stallion attended the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue party. Since the special issue of the magazine is all about people scantily clad in bikinis, Meghan's red carpet outfit was totally on brand. The Natalia Fedner gown was made of silver mesh with a hip-skimming slit that showed off a lot. Of course, see-through looks are nothing new for celebrities. Many stars have been wearing as little as possible for a long time, like singing icon Cher. She's worn a number of sheer dresses and bodysuits in her day — and she even recently rewore one of her old sheer looks two decades later. She may have been in her 60s at the time, but she still rocked it. Like with Cher, you can't talk about nearly naked dresses without mentioning Jennifer Lopez. She's worn many a sheer or barely there gown over her time in Hollywood. Perhaps most famously, she's credited with helping kickstart the Google Images function after she wore this Versace dress to the Grammys in 2000. So many people wanted to see it, the search engine developed a way for that to happen. Another iconic naked dress was the glittery mesh one that Rose McGowan wore to the 1998 VMAs. Not only was it sheer, but it left most of her behind exposed as well. And this was pre-Kardashian everything, so it was a big moment for a celebrity to be so scantily clad at an event like this. Rose has never played by the rules, though, so it's unsurprising that she took this risk. Nearly two decades later, Amber Rose hit the red carpet of the 2014 VMAs in a look that totally resembled Rose McGowan's iconic dress. Instead of black, Amber opted for a silver chain link material that dripped in loops down her front. She paired it with a silver pair of underwear so she wasn't totally exposed, but she was still showing a ton of skin. Kendall Jenner isn't the only member of the Kardashian-Jenner family who can appreciate a see-through outfit. Kim Kardashian also gave the look a try a couple of years ago. She snapped this picture during one of her dress fittings where she'd donned a slinky jeweled, sheer gown. Just dripping in crystals, basically. Rihanna does regret this sheer gown she wore to the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards, but not for the reason you might think. She has no problem with the fact that she went nearly nude on the red carpet, she's just mad at herself for not matching her thong to the dress. "Wearing a thong that wasn't bedazzled. That's the only regret I have in my life," she said. The 2021 Met Gala may have seen a lot of sheer or nearly nude looks, but those have been popular at the event for years. Even back in 2015, Beyoncé donned this barely there outfit on the gala's red carpet. It's a beautiful sheer nude dress with jeweled and floral embellishments strategically added in all the right places to keep her covered but still flaunting some skin. Singer Lizzo is not afraid to show off her curvy body — no matter what her haters might say. She's done nude shoots, dressed in a ton of sheer outfits, and demonstrated her twerking skills more than once. So it wasn't shocking to see her wear a sheer gown to the 2020 Grammys. She looked stunning as she accepted her multiple awards.
Kendall Jenner
Zoë Kravitz
Halle Bailey
Megan Fox
Ashanti
Issa Rae
Meghan Thee Stallion
Cher
Jennifer Lopez
Rose McGowan
Amber Rose
Kim Kardashian
Rihanna
Beyoncé
Lizzo
