get up

"They could make all of the music without the get-up and I think they'd still do well," he says.

While the event is associated with head-turning haute couture donned by the most popular celebrities — think Tyla’s Balmain sand dress, Blake Lively’s Statue of Liberty-inspired Versace gown or Rihanna’s papal get-up by John Galliano — the annual gala serves as a charity dinner for the museum’s Costume Institute and coincides with a fashion exhibit that shares the theme of the event.

Introduced by the actor Samuel L. Jackson in a red-white-and-blue Uncle Sam get-up, Lamar began the show crouched on a Buick Grand National, the car after which he titled his latest album.

Photos published by People and New York Post show Williams’ glittery get-up and motorized scooter, which she personalized with luxury fashion accessories including a cup-holder seemingly wrapped in Louis Vuitton’s iconic brown monogram.

There were costume changes, each get-up sparklier than the last, and there was a troupe of male and female dancers executing athletic choreography.