Miley Cyrus' 2025 Met Gala Look Is The Hair Disaster Redemption We've Been Waiting For

After months of questionable beauty choices, Miley Cyrus finally gave us a hair moment we're not completely displeased with: a rare win, courtesy of the 2025 Met Gala. If you missed it, the "Flowers" singer's choppy blond 'do landed her on the our worst-dressed list at the 2025 Grammys, and just when we thought she couldn't fall any lower, Miley Cyrus turned heads at the 2025 Oscars with a "professionally" styled fringe that looked so DIY, we half-expected to see her holding kitchen scissors.

This tragic hair history is exactly why we're pleasantly shocked to see that Cyrus' 2025 Met Gala look ditched the chaos and embraced a simple, if slightly boring, cut. Normally, we want celebs to push the limits at the Met Gala and show off daring looks they'd never wear on a regular night out. But that's not the case with Cyrus tonight, and for good reason.

Her black crocodile-leather crop top paired with a long black skirt by Alaïa was already a show-stealer, and a loud, poorly done hairdo would've turned the outfit into a parody. We're glad the former Disney star kept it simple with a sleeked-back braided ponytail, and seems to finally be on one of the better parts of her hair journey.

Many celebrities reliably show up at the Met Gala in boring, off-theme looks (looking at you, Kardashians), but Miley Cyrus' best and worst red-carpet hairstyles prove she has never been one of them. This is why we couldn't help but notice that her hair at the 2025 Met Gala felt ordinary. Safe, even. This year's theme, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," was an invitation to embrace elegance, defiance, and individuality in every detail. And while Cyrus' outfit was on brand, we suspect her hair was less about the theme and style and more about playing it safe given her history.

When Cyrus famously smashed her good-girl Disney image, some of the biggest backlash she faced included accusations of appropriating Black culture. She was called out for twerking with Black dancers as props in 2013, slammed for wearing blond dreadlocks in 2015, and shaded for publicly criticizing hip-hop lyrics in 2017. Given her upcoming album, "Something Beautiful," set to drop at the end of May, we can't help but wonder if the singer-songwriter is playing it smart by keeping her hair and overall image far from controversy. And honestly? We don't blame her. In the context of the theme, Cyrus' past hair choices, and the features of her outfit, opting for a safe style was the ultimate act of redemption. 

We're no strangers to Miley Cyrus' stunning style transformation. After all, she's been keeping us on our toes for years, and we like to think we've gotten pretty good at spotting the hidden messages in her looks. So when we say her 2025 Met Gala appearance was inspired and layered with meaning (even down to her safe hairdo), we mean it. Beyond her tame brown locks, the rest of Cyrus' sharply tailored, edgy outfit was worth a second look.

Her crocodile-leather crop jacket, for example, was a chic and respectful nod to dandyism, as crocodile skin is viewed as a symbol of resilience and toughness across African and other cultures. When the "Wrecking Ball" singer called the gowns of the night "armor" in an interview with Vogue on the navy carpet, it was figuratively perfect. As always, style is subjective — the conflicting textures of Cyrus' look still landed her on our worst-dressed list for the 2025 Met Gala — but there's no denying that she acknowledged the theme and appeared to have learned from her past hair mistakes.

Beyond her main 'fit, there's also a lot to admire in the details. The industrial-style piercings (a modern favorite from the 2010s) channel punk, rebellion, and Cyrus' essence in a nutshell. She finished the look with layered gold necklaces by Cartier, which gave a nod to the stacked jewelry traditions favored throughout African fashion history. Whether the actual look is to your taste or not, a redemption like this is respectful, it's expressive, and we love to see it.