Mortal Kombat and high fashion: Two great tastes that taste great together? Not according to social media hecklers who mocked popstar Zayn Mailk's choice of attire for the 2016 Met Gala last month. As things turn out, it may be that the joke is on the doubters.

Gotcha! Zayn Malik dons Versace metal for 2016 Met Gala [via Yahoo].

Accompanied by date Gigi Hadid; the former One Direction singer attempted a cyborg chic look for the May 2nd ball. It wasn't unprompted: The theme for this year's annual fundraising event was "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology".

Citing Mortal Kombat icon Jax as his inspiration, Malik explained the origin story behind his striking look in an interview with Dazed & Confused Magazine.

"... I was asked to design my own costume by Donatella Versace!” He lets out a laugh. “It was cool. I had seen a few people hitting me online, saying negative things about it. But I enjoyed it because they were saying I looked like a dude from Mortal Kombat, and it was actually based on a character (from the video game series), called Jax. He had metal arms, and the theme was technology, so I just took it from him... It’s a bit easy to just dress up in a suit. I like to do things that are a bit outside of that.”

No points for originality, but what ever the inspiration behind the metallic arms - we think he looks sharp! The fusion of pop culture, technology and design is the kind of fashion forward we like. Just mind the wall.

Malik also credits the fashion forward daring of late pop legend Prince as an influence. Fitting, given Mortal Kombat's own long standing tribute to the singer.

Should Jax try his own version of formal attire in the next game? Register to discuss MK's fashion influence in the Media & Merchandise forum! Follow the 2016 Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion tournament to support Jax in the Second Round! Join the glitterati fashion do list by liking & sharing via @MK_Online, Facebook & YouTube!