Former One Direction star Zayn Malik and model Gigi Hadid made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Met Gala – in co-ordinated metallic outfits.

Zayn was ready for war as he arrived in a smart tuxedo with a twist: metal armour covered his arms. The somewhat bizarre outfit was by Versace.

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid on the red carpet at the Met Gala
Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid on the red carpet at the Met Gala (Evan Agostini/AP)

At his side was Gigi in a metallic sequinned dress with a semi-transparent skirt by Tommy Hilfiger.

In keeping with her boyfriend’s armoured look, Gigi also wore heavy-duty metal rings.

The two, who previously co-starred in Zayn’s music video for Pillowtalk, clearly enjoyed cosying up together on the red carpet.

The New York event’s theme was “the convergence of man and machine”, which goes some way to explaining Zayn’s adventurous look – but this didn’t stop the internet having fun discussing the outfit.

Perhaps he was off to a live action role-play event as a medieval knight?

One was distinctly unimpressed with the apparent DIY look.

There was even a Mortal Combat comparison:

Or perhaps he had been unable to get out of his suit of armour earlier in the day, and ended up stuck like that?

The singer himself saw the funny side, retweeting a comparison between him and superheroes including Colossus and Robocop.

He added: “I had hoped they would.”