For years, the Met Gala has been a place where celebrities can truly let their freak flag fly.

For those of you who don’t know, the Gala is an annual fundraising event raising money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Gallery: every gown on the Met Gala red carpet

It typically coincides with the opening of the Museum’s annual fashion exhibit and is held inside the museum itself.

The guest list reads like a who’s who of Hollywood stars, supermodels and trendsetters and it’s been the scene of many a drunken drama – most notably the 2014 Jay Z and Solange Knowles elevator showdown.

Every year is themed and this year it was Manus x Machina which, in normal people speak, roughly translates to what happens with fashion meets technology.

While some (Claire Danes, Karolina Kurkova) saw this as an opportunity to showcase the future of fashion, others clearly decided it was an opportunity to pick the most hideous thing they could find and roll with it.

Here’s how it went down…

Best dressed

Claire Danes: Danes’ pale blue Cinderella-style gown by Zac Posen was pretty spectacular already, but it became even more dazzling when the lights went out and it glowed in the dark.

The designer revealed on Twitter it was made from fiber optic woven organza and had 30 mini battery packs sewn into it.

Claire, sticking to the theme definitely earns you bonus points. Doing it well makes you a red carpet standout.

Danes for president.

Nicole Kidman: Kidman has had a perplexing past couple of years on the red carpet.

Too often she opts for things that are as severe as her abnormally taut face, but this Alexander McQueen dress has a surprising sense of fun to it.

Cape + space motifs + sparkles = fabulous.

Karolina Kurkova: The Czech supermodel nails the Met Gala red carpet every year and this year was no exception.

Like Danes, she took the theme seriously and teamed up with designers Marchesa and IBM technology to create her dress, which contained tiny LED lights that lit up to social media reactions in real-time.

A+ for effort and A++ for application.

Kate Upton: Okay, so the American model wasn’t exactly on-theme or even on-trend but she looked classically beautiful like an old Hollywood film star.

Surprisingly, her gown wasn’t an exclusive couture piece but rather a bespoke gown from international retail chain Topshop.

Upton’s brand new engagement ring from her baseball player boyfriend Justin Verlander also helped boost her shine factor.

Bella Hadid:  When you’re a 19-year-old model dating a chart-topping musician (The Weeknd) and winning the admiration of the entire fashion world, you can pretty much wear anything.

Thankfully, Hadid chose to wear this stunning velvet Givenchy number, adding edge with thigh-high boots.

While she looks fairly miserable in this picture, we assume she’s smiling on the inside.

Worst dressed

Madonna: There are so many things wrong with this we’re not sure where to start.

The 57-year-old is known for outrageous outfits, but this one crosses the line between daring and criminally horrendous.

The strange nipple covers, the gaffer tape all over her legs, the ratty, over-dyed hair and the complete lack of pants are all very concerning.

Also, if you thought the front was bad – check out the back…

Taylor Swift: We get that Taylor Swift is undergoing a reinvention of sorts with her new bleached crop and edgier style, but this is just bad. No two ways about it.

Get rid of the cut-outs, the dated silhouette, the ridiculous shoes and perhaps the black lipstick and you might have something worth wearing.

Nicki Minaj: This isn’t the MTV Awards, Nicki. Pull yourself together using one of the many diamante belts you’re wearing.

Amy Schumer: In what appears to be an ill-advised throwback to Elizabeth Hurley’s iconic safety pin Versace dress, Schumer’s Alexander Wang gown fails because it’s trying to do too much.

The bright coral colour is great on her, but paired with heavy eye makeup, chains, cleavage, statement sleeves and a knee-high slit, it’s difficult to know where to look.

With dry wit and intelligence like Schumer’s, her dress doesn’t need to work this hard to get attention.

Elizabeth Debicki: Given her recent excellent performances in The Night Manager, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Macbeth, we’re proud to call Debicki an Aussie.

However, Italians should probably start distancing themselves from Prada, the Milan-based designer responsible for this green floral monstrosity.