Emily Ratajkowski's Most Scandalous Outfits Of All Time

Emily Ratajkowski found fame as a model when she was just 14 years old in 2005 when agents noticed her stunning looks that have a likeness to both Natalie Portman and Kendall Jenner. Her body shot to fame when she appeared topless in Robin Thicke's 2013 "Blurred Lines" music video, which she followed with a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue appearance in 2014. She forewent a swimsuit, however, and appeared solely in body paint.

As her fame grew, she became equally known for flaunting her figure — which is part genetic blessing, part purchased — and causing controversy with what she's wearing. The issue doesn't usually lie in what she's worn, but rather what she hasn't worn. The scantily-clad model, author, podcast host, and mother to a son named Sylvester Apollo Bear frequently posts bikini pics on her Instagram for her nearly 30 million followers, is captured in sheer dresses by the paparazzi, and shows up in next-to-nothing on the red carpet. Where there's an abundance of public nudity, scandal will follow. (Looking at you Kanye West women Bianca Censori and Julia Fox, who consistently miss the fashion mark.) Get ready for some skin because these are Emily Ratajkowski's most scandalous outfits of all time.

For a Bazaar party in September 2016, Emily Ratajkowski wore a revealing Julien Macdonald gown that didn't just plunge down the front (and back) — it nosedived. Fashion guru Tim Gunn called the look extremely vulgar on an ensuing episode of E!'s "Fashion Police" and the internet attacked (via InStyle). On a pic of the dress on her Instagram, one user commented, "It is vulgar and classless. I am sure the same would be said for a male guest showing up in a thong. But she sure got the attention she was seeking."

Ratajkowski told Harper's Bazaar in October 2022 that she counted this dress as the most controversial look in her vast repertoire. Nonetheless, she defended it and asserted that she looked great. Unlike some of her celebrity counterparts, Ratajkowkski sets herself apart by not apologizing for being different, outspoken, or opinionated.

Two things that Emily Ratajkowski frequently posts about on her social channels: Her son Sylvester, born in 2021, who she shares with ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, and herself in bikinis. (She even capitalized on her bikini bod, starting a swimwear line, Inamorata, in 2017.) But do the two necessarily mix? Yes, according to the model. No, according to some members of the public.

In January 2025, Ratajkowski posted photos from a trip to Brazil, and in the carousel are some cheeky butt-in-thong-bikini shots, a pulled-down-to-there bikini bottom, and... her son. Users didn't miss the irony. One wrote: "Here's a closeup of my T, A and V and also here is my child." We agree that it leaves a weird taste in our mouths. And it's not just that she's one of a slew of celebrities hit with backlash over posting photos of their children; it's that babies and sexy pics just don't mix.

Emily Ratajkowski is a regular fixture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual gala on the first Monday in May. But some argue, based on her scandalous outfits, that she shouldn't be. For the 2024 gala, with the theme Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, Ratajkowski appropriately chose vintage Versace. What wasn't so appropriate, at least to some, was the sheerness of her look. One comment on the model's Instagram post for the night read: "Petition to ban you from the met gala next year." Life & Style criticized the model for always choosing sheer looks.

This is a fair assessment, as her 2019 Peter Dundas gown also proves. Ratajkowski told Harper's Bazaar that her look for the Camp: Notes on Fashion theme was inspired by Cher. The Daily Mail was just one publication that put EmRata at the top of its worst-dressed list for that year, dubbing her outfit a "nearly-naked carnival look."

At least we can say EmRata veered away from sheer for the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscars party. Her Jacquemus dress was hardly prim, however. The white gown had a sculpted top that gave the appearance of falling forward as if she could barely keep her clothes on. The sexuality of the dress didn't end there. It had molded-on nipples. That's right. Ratajkowski didn't rely on her own nips for this occasion — the dress had them sculpted on already. But the molding didn't match the shape of the model's breasts, making it appear even stranger.

The public panned her dress, as did critics. Wonderwall called the look "bizarre." The controversy didn't end there, however, as Kim Kardashian wore a very similar dress — a white Balenciaga that had a dramatic sculptural shape at the top. Hers, however, didn't have a dramatic side-boob exposure or fake nipples.

Many fashion followers may not know that Emily Ratajkowski was a trailblazer in the bra-under-suit-jacket category. The "My Body" author certainly wasn't the first to rock the look, however. Brooke Shields and Madonna wore it in the '80s, as did singing sensation Jody Watley in the '90s. But EmRata definitely helped to popularize the look, which became seen on more women — not just envelope-pushing celebrities — in the late 20-teens and 2020s. And it became one of the model's oft-replicated looks.

Ratajkowski told Harper's Bazaar that it was controversial when she wore one of her wrap-top bikinis (from her own line) under a suit. Above, she wore a sports-bra look in 2016, years before it hit the mainstream. So, while the look was initially a bit scandalous to reveal so much skin underneath a business-like ensemble, this look was eventually embraced by throngs of women loving the juxtaposition of conservative and edgy sexiness.