The 2026 Met Gala’s dress code is ‘Fashion is Art’
Take from that what you will.
High fashion’s biggest spectacle night, the Met Gala, is upon us, and with this year’s theme being Fashion is Art, we had some pretty high expectations. There were some fantastic looks on the red carpet and others that were so boring they aren’t even worth talking about.
The theme for the Met Gala — the over-the-top charity event turned fashion spectacle — returned on May 4 with a theme reflecting the spring exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which is “Costume Art”.
We’re just going to be examining the good looks, because the boring looks were too meh to even discuss. Think breastplates — many, many breastplates — that tied into nothing artsy and men in boring suits.
The winner of the night has to be model Heidi Klum, who brought her love for Halloween and costumes to create an insane costume replicating the Veiled Vestal by Raffaelle Monti. If there’s one thing we know about Klum and her love for costumes, it’s that she’s going to commit to whatever she does, and she certainly committed to this look.
Created by special effects artist Mike Marino, this costume transformed fabric into sculpture, manipulating latex and spandex with extraordinary precision to mirror the stillness, delicacy, and illusion of carved marble, according to Klum’s Instagram.
Unfortunately, much like the veiled statues, Klum’s outfit isn’t very PG, so we can’t share full pictures of it. Suffice to say, she captured the beauty of a marble statue.
Kendall Jenner’s far less elaborate but still on theme recreation of the Nike of Samothrace was also a winner.
Her outfit featured a peach corset beneath a ruched white gown, imitating the marble statue and was created by Zac Posen for GAP Studio.
Madonna wore a custom Saint Laurent outfit, brining drama to the red carpet with her recreation of Leonora Carrington’s The Temptation of St Anthony, Fragment II, complete with a crew of colourfully attired women lifting her grey veil.
On her head was a miniature of a ship, much like the painting, and in her hands she carried a circular trumpet.
Sabrina Carpenter’s look was a departure from the classical art-inspired looks on the red carpet. Dressed in Dior, her dress was reportedly created using film strips from the 1954 movie Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn.
We guess she was making a statement that film is also art, which we appreciate for the creativity.
Speaking of creativity, we couldn’t have a list on good Met Gala outfits without a mention of Bad Bunny. Dressed as an old man, his look was possibly a nod to the museum’s Aging Body exhibition, which is pretty darn creative if you ask us.
His prosthetics were created by makeup artist Mike Marino, who also did Klum’s costume.
The Puerto Rican singer wore a custom black tuxedo he designed with Zara with a large bow on his neck.
Emma Chamberlain was draped in Mugler. Her look was designed by the brand’s creative director, Miguel Castro Freitas.
A gorgeous creation of swirls and movement, her gown looked quite literally like a piece of art come to life. One of the most interesting details of her gown was how the entire top half looked like an oil painting, mimicking the distinctive texture of the paint.
Model and actor Hunter Schaefer wore one of the more fun looks of the night, recreating Gustav Klimt’s Mäda Primavesi.
Wearing Prada, Schaefer even recreated the painting’s distinctive makeup — rosy pink cheeks and blue shadow on the eyes.
Beyonce made her return to the Met Gala after 10 years wearing a skeletal design by Olivier Rousteing, the former creative director of Balmain.
Perhaps paying tribute to the art that is the human body, her outfit recreated the skeletal system in crystals.
A little creepy, a little cool, Maria Zardoya, lead singer of the band The Marias, wore a puffy pink tulle gown by Matieres Fecales to the Met Gala, while carrying a porcelain doll replica of herself and looking like she was pulled from a painting.
According to her Instagram, the porcelain doll, which was made in the early 20th century, circa 1910 to 1925, was meant to represent her because her family called her “the little porcelain doll” when she was younger.
Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar made a splash in Manish Malhotra.
His outfit was inspired by the art of Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. Johar donned a cape featuring paintings of what appears to be an Indian court and a heavily embellished coat inside.
What really caught our eye here is not just the overall cape — it’s how each it isn’t one dimensional. Each character on his cape gets their own gorgeous embroidery and fabric — the women wear saris of velvet with light gold embroidery, while the men’s shawls and coats feature embellishments. Even the pillars aren’t just paintings.
What were your favourite looks of the night?