Billy Porter was the top trending celebrity on the red carpet this year, according to Google's 2019 Year in Search.Porter made a huge splash with a pink cape at the Golden Globes, which helped get him noticed at his first major red carpet event.The "Pose" star told Insider that his outfitwas the "springboard and launching pad for a very spectacular year."He later wowed fashion fans with his tuxedo dress at the Oscars and Egypt-inspired ensemble at his first ever Met Gala.Porter said his confidence to push boundaries when it comes to red-carpet fashion has come with age and beginning to "understand who I am authentically."Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.Cardi B and Lady Gaga had huge looks at awards shows and film premieres this year. But when it comes to the top trending celebrity on the red carpet, both just missed the top spot.That honor goes to Billy Porter, the "Pose" star who is helping redefine what men's fashion can be in Hollywood.Porter was the top trending search for celebrities on the red carpet, according to Google's 2019 Year in Search, and it all began with a pink cape at the Golden Globes.Nominated for his very first Golden Globe this year, Porter told Insider during a November interview to promote PayPal's Giving Tuesday event, that he knew he wanted to make a huge splash at the show."The Golden Globes was the first really mainstream red carpet I had been to," he said. "I had gone to a lot of them in my life, but not on that level. Going in I had "Pose" behind me and just a reason to be there where people would actually be paying attention."Porter connected with New York-based designer Randi Rahm, who spent six months constructing his custom silver suit and cape, the latter of which was lined with hot-pink silk."I knew Billy could carry the outstanding coloration of the outfit plus the cape," Rahm told Insider. "His willingness to let me do my thing as a designer along with his vision of who he is made it so exciting and funespecially when he stepped out on that red carpet."Porter said Rahm's piece not only made a statement on the carpet, it was the "springboard and launching pad for a very spectacular year." And Rahm agreed."No one had worked a cape the way he did," she told Insider. "It elevated his stardom more than it already was. If people didn't know Billy then, that is when they began to notice him as I knew him."Porter told Voguethat the outfit "changed everything for me.""I had the courage to push the status quo," he told the publication in February. "My goal is to be a walking piece of political art every time I show up. To challenge expectations. What is masculinity' What does that mean' Women show up every day in pants, but the minute a man wears a dress, the seas part."Porter had a major moment on the red carpet yet again just two months later, when he wore a ball gown designed by Christian Siriano to the Oscars.The look featured a tuxedo on top and a ball gown that bursts out from the bottom. Porter told Vogue he and Siriano wanted "to play between the masculine and the feminine."At the first fitting for the gown, Porter said he felt "free.""I felt alive. And open, and radiant. And beautiful!" he added. "Which has not always been the case for me. It really is astonishing how much of an effect clothes have on your spirit."Porter told Insider that his confidence to push boundaries on the red carpet has come with age"I have the luxury of being older," he told us. "I just turned 50 last year and I had a career in my 20s were I spent a lot of time doing things that other people felt were the right thing to do. That failed miserably and imploded.""And I worked on myself and I began to understand who I am authentically, and I chose myself and I got a second chance," he added. "What you're seeing is a human being emboldened by their own self-acceptance who can stand grounded on their own two feet and be authentic."After trying to get invited to the Met Gala for decades, Porter finally got to make his debut in May. And he made sure to make it count.The "Pose" star was carried onto the red carpet by six shirtless men. As he stood, Porter revealed his custom bejeweled catsuit, 10-foot wings, and 24-karat gold headpiece, all designed by the Blonds."I think the rehearsal that we had the night before the Met Gala, with all the boys lifting me in costume, was something that I don't think a lot of people going to the Met Gala do," Porter said with a laugh. "Having a rehearsal for a Met Gala, I think that was a surprise to allincluding myself."David Blond told Vogue that it took months to create each piece and that, in total, Porter wore "well over a million crystals, beads, and chains."But Porter said his outfit wasn't an attempt to top the Oscars tuxedo dress."How am I going to top a tuxedo dress' It's not about topping it," he told Vogue. "It's just about showing up and being the best b*** you can be."Porter said he hopes to see men take more risks on the red carpet, but believes they may be afraid to for fear it could cost them "that masculine job, that superhero job.""It shouldn't matter what anyone wears," he told Insider. "The clothes are simply clothes, and I wanna wear the good ones."Rahm believes that Porter is absolutely helping to change the idea of what men can wear on the red carpet."Billy put forth being an individual," she told Insider. "Men are more aware of the options they have within menswear. After that Golden Globes outfit, so many things started to fall into place for people. That ensemble on Billy opened many doors for people in many ways."Porter had plenty of other favorite red-carpet moments this year."There were a lot of looks that I loved at the Met Gala," he said. "Ezra Miller, Janelle Mone, Celine Dion. Lizzo I've been loving for the obvious reasons. I find that fashion can sometimes be very exclusive and many designers forget that everybody has to wear clothing, so you might want to make clothing for people who aren't a size zero.""You might actually make more money and your company might survive, just an idea!"But when it comes to the best dressed celebrity of 2019, Porter and Google are in agreement."Me! I'm the best dressed celebrity of the year," he said with a laugh. "I'm not promoting nobody else right now."Read more:50 iconic red-carpet looks celebrities wore in the 2010sBilly Porter stole the show in a head-to-toe gold pantsuit with wings on the Met Gala red carpetThe 55 best red carpet looks of 201925 celebrities who had the best style of the 2010sJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Most maps of Louisiana aren't entirely right. Here's what the state really looks like.
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