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46 Of Billy Porter's Most Memorable Outfits, From The Met Gala To The Oscars

From the Grammy's lampshade hat to the Met Gala chariot

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Billy Porter and his fashion are the gifts that keep on giving.

Known most recently for his leading role in Ryan Murphy's TV masterpiece Pose, Porter is also a Broadway legend, having won a Tony for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots, and also appearing in Dream Girls, Grease, Smokey Joe's Café, Five Guys Named Moe and Miss Saigon.

Since shooting to celebrity stardom with Pose in 2018, the 50-year-old has also become a style icon in his own right rivalling red carpet looks courtesy of Lady Gaga, whose meat dress turns pale in comparison to Porter's 2019 Met Gala entrance. Ahead of the event, which was themed 'Camp: Notes on Fashion', the actor channeled Pharaoh god Ra and was carried onto the red carpet by six shirtless men decorated in gold-coloured paint.

According to Vanity Fair, the actor's stylist Sam Ratelle estimates that they've worked on 150 red carpet looks together, many designed by Porter himself.

For the star, custom is king (because where else can you source a motorised crystal fringe hat for the Grammys?) and understated is not in his vocabulary.

Here are some of Billy Porter's best looks:

1

Billy Porter Wears Silver Suit And Boots To MTV VMAs, September 2021

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Porter looked like a spaceman in an all metallic outfit to chanel his inner Moon Man. We can't get enough of the Pose star's silver suit super high platform boots.

2

Billy Porter Wears Big Bow At Cinderlla Premiere, August 2021

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The actor stunned in a Ben Chellal coat gown, featuring a large white bow at the back, teamed with H. Crowne jewellery, a L'afshar clutch bag and Harry Halim shoes.

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3

Billy Porter Wears Multicoloured Halterneck Dress

Porter dazzled in a rainbow coloured halterneck dress to mark the start of Pride Month in June, 2021

4

Billy Porter Attends The BRIT Awards 2021 In London

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The star wore an all-black ensemble to the BRIT Awards in London. The outfit consisted of a threeASFOUR dress and trouser combination, a hat by Stephen Jones Millinery, Lorraine Schwartz jewellery and Rick Owens shoes.

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5

Billy Porter Wears Robert Wun To New York Premiere

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The actor wore a multicoloured outfit with a white headdress to the Pose season three premiere in New York.

6

Billy Porter Wears Red Suit For Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve

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The actor celebrated New Year's Eve in a Botter suit, a Ludovic de Saint Sernin coat, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Portolano gloves and a Lorraine Schwartz brooch.

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7

Billy Porter Wears White Suit With Train To 2020 Emmys

Porter rocked a white suit for the 2020 Emmys and yes, it was as fabulous as you'd imagine it to be.

'I would describe my style as free. I've worked a long time to find a space where I don't care what other people think about me. That's a real interesting and hard place to get to. I'm there. I'm free,' he told his Instagram followers, showing off the stunning outfit.

The custom look was designed by Ashi Studio and accessorised with Lorraine Schwartz jewellery, an Ala Crocetti ear cuff, Rick Owens shoes and Bally sunglasses.

8

Billy Porter Encourages People To Vote

The actor wore a Thom Browne SS20 creation teamed with blue and white brogues, a Chanel gold necklace, a J.R. Malpere 'Hemera' headpiece for a recent photoshoot.

He teamed the look with a bag with the word 'Vote' emblazoned on the front – a fitting accessory for his Instagram post encouraging his followers to vote.

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9

Billy Porter at the TOMMYNOW after party at LFW

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Porter for a shearling cream bomber jacket, striped turtleneck, black wide-brimmed hat, snake-print trousers and boots to the TOMMYNOW after party at member's club Annabel's during London Fashion Week.

10

Billy Porter at the Roksanda show

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The Like A Boss actor turned up at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the Roksanda show wearing a coffee-coloured pleated maxi dress with exaggerated sleeves and a printed black and white wide-brimmed hat.

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11

Billy Porter at the Richard Quinn show

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Porter wore a Richard Quinn-inspired floral look to the Richard Quinn show on day three of London Fashion Week. The star was later seen at the Colgate #Poutfree x Richard Quinn after party wearing a pink and green floral-printed blazer with a black hat, sunglasses and black shiny trousers.

12

Billy Porter at the Halpern Fashion Show

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The Halpern fashion show during London Fashion Week proved the perfect opportunity for Porter to wear a gold and black embellished blazer with black leather trousers and silver, glittery boots.

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13

Billy Porter at Fashion Changes Lives

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The actor wore an all-grey school uniform-inspired look by Thom Browne to the Fashion Changes Lives event. The star styled the look with an oversize grey cape, navy blue cardigan, grey pleated skirt, grey and white lace-up brogues, white shirt and red tie.

14

Billy Porter at the Matty Bovan show

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The actor wore a black tulle skirt, white platform thigh-high boots and a monochrome printed blazer to the Matty Bovan fashion show at London Fashion Week February. The star styled the look with a white patent bag.

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15

Billy Porter At The 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

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The Oscars performer wore a purple off-the-shoulder top with a cape to the star-studded party. The colour purple has longer been associated with royalty and power.
The outfit - created by Christian Siriano - featured feathers on the bust and was teamed with a pair of purple elbow-length gloves, a pair of lilac-coloured cigarette trousers, black heeled boots, a purple Sarah Sokol Millinery wide-brimmed hat and a ThesePinkLips handbag.

16

Billy Porter At The Oscars, February 2020

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The actor wore a dress inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton's home to the Oscars and officially brought a bit of royalty to the red carpet.

'The Oscars are a royal event, so naturally we took inspiration from Kensington Palace. I’m officially a Queen with a KW,' he wrote on Instagram.

The Giles Deacon-designed outfit was made up of a phoenix-inspired feathered gold metallic turtleneck top, an orange skirt, printed with medieval armour, Jimmy Choo heels and Swarovski jewellery.

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17

Billy Porter At The Grammys, January 2020

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Perhaps his most figure-hugging look to date, Billy Porter turned up to the 2020 GRAMMY Awards in a custom Baja East blue crystal-encrusted ensemble.

The actor styled the look with a custom Sarah Sokol hat, designed by Porter, his stylist Ratelle and Scott Studenberg of Baja East.

Big brimmed and motorised, the hat featured peekaboo-style crystal curtains which opened and closed, inspiring memes-a-plenty.

18

Billy Porter At The Critics' Choice Awards, January 2020

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Wearing a custom two-tone silk faille jumpsuit designed by Hogan McLaughlin, Porter payed tribute to the transgender community with temporary butterfly tattoos.

On Instagram, the Pose star described the inkings as a symbol of being released from the bondage of masculinity and flying free.

'Just like the beautiful ladies from @poseonfx, we are often born into one stage of life and then cocoon into an incubation of self-discovery, transformation, and acceptance, ultimately being released into freedom as beautiful creatures,' he wrote in the photo's caption.

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19

Billy Porter at the Golden Globes, January 2020

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Designed by Alex Vinash, Porter's white tuxedo (embellished with 4,000 Swarovski crystals) and removable six-foot, angel wing feather train stole all the attention at the Golden Globes.

'This isn’t a sitting outfit, this is a standing outfit,' the star told Ryan Seacrest in a red carpet interview ahead of the ceremony.

The Best Actor nominee also revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the look took over three months and 465 hours to make.

The outfit was accessorised with Jimmy Choo boots and $2 million worth of Tiffany & Co. jewellery, including a diamond necklace, dragonfly brooch and multiple rings.

20

Billy Porter at the BAFTA Tea Party, January 2020

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Attending the BAFTA Los Angeles Tea Party at Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, the actor wore a Baja East green dress, black Coach heeled boots, accessories by Konstantino jewellery and a black hat by Halomimi.

He styled the look with a pair of black sunglasses by Thom Browne.

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Becky Burgum
Features Assistant
Becky Burgum is ELLE’s Features Assistant covering all things culture, from the music festival gender imbalance, to periods and Boris Johnson’s voting record. After studying Fashion Journalism at Central Saint Martins, she launched Galchester magazine, which celebrates creative women in Manchester (her hometown), and aims to challenge the city’s blokey reputation. When she’s not in the office, catch her binging on Jersey Shore re-runs (and sourdough loaves) or scouring the web for tiny bags.
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