Every year, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art puts on a spring exhibit that reminds the world that fashion is a true art form, bringing together different archived pieces from various eras and designers with a common theme in mind. And more famously, that exhibit kicks off with the Met Gala in May – this star-studded event funds the Costume Institute and the team’s mission of preserving thousands of pieces of fashion history, allowing these clothes and accessories to live on as something that visitors from all over the world can love and learn from.
The Costume Institute is the only section of the Met that doesn’t get public funding, so while the gala can seem overly lavish from the outside, it’s a crucial part of keeping that mission going and often restoring historical clothes that need some TLC from experts. The success of these galas has also allowed the Costume Institute’s exhibits to move from the Met Museum basement to their very own gallery this year, offering the chance for fashion students and art lovers from NYC and beyond to see these pieces.
The 2026 exhibit theme is Costume Art, embracing fashion as an art form and acknowledging the craft that goes into turning fabric into art that celebrates the human body in various sizes and forms – many of the mannequins are based on real people and purposefully include people with physical disabilities who are often overlooked in fashion. And this year’s Met Gala reportedly raised $42 million for the Costume Institute, while established and emerging designers got to show their work to the world on some of the biggest names in entertainment. The gala is invite-only, and a lot of celebrities attend as guests of the designers they wear that night, who pay for the tickets as both a placement opportunity and a way to give back to the people behind the Costume Institute who keep the history of fashion alive.
Aside from the fundraising element, the Met Gala offers all of us at home the fun opportunity to play Fashion Police for the night and evaluate whether the guests’ looks were truly on-theme or interesting enough to be within the Met Museum alongside some of the world’s greatest masterpieces. Here are some of our favorite looks from the 2026 Met Gala, in alphabetical order by the names of the stars wearing them!
Anok Yai
Would it be too dramatic to say we got teary seeing Anok Yai’s amazing look for the first time? We loved everything about her striking, hooded Balenciaga dress by Pierpaolo Piccioli, which was completed with teary makeup and a silicone wig that gave a statuesque feeling. The vision for her look was to turn her into a Black Madonna – in art history, the Madonna figure is a symbol for Mother Mary and often appears in work with religious themes. One of the most popular stories about a Madonna figure crying is when a Mary plaque allegedly “cried” tears in Sicily, Italy in 1953, seemingly because of water seeping through the material it was made with, and it has since been replicated in art around the world.
Beyoncé
You really think we wouldn’t feature Beyoncé’s first Met Gala appearance in a decade on this list?! Don’t make us laugh. While most guests leaned into the art side of the theme, Co-Chair Bey explored the relationship between fashion and the human figure with a stunning look by Olivier Roustein. Her fitted dress offers a sleek silhouette bringing new, sparkling life to the human skeleton, while the long cape makes a statement on how even more oversized pieces still take the human figure into consideration to be truly flattering. It’s a dichotomy that celebrates fashion designers and the hard work they put into their art, making it perfect for this year’s Met.
Blake Lively
The queen of the Met is back! Just hours after we got the news that there had been a settlement in the lawsuit surrounding her negative experiences on the set of It Ends With Us, Blake surprised us with a beautiful sunset gown by Versace that felt like a breath of fresh air and a celebration of vibrant watercolors. It almost reminds us of one of her bestie Taylor Swift’s lyrics – “across our great divide is a glorious sunrise.” It wouldn’t truly be the Met Gala without Blake, and we hope that she can get back to feeling like her shimmering self now that this difficult chapter is coming to a close.
Emma Chamberlain
Emma made sure the bar for the night was set very high, very early on when she arrived in this incredible Mugler gown by Miguel Castro Freitas. The top feels like an oil painting while the softer shades on the skirt channel watercolor, nodding to her dad’s love of painting and turning her into a walking work of art. Anna Deller-Yee spent 40 hours actually painting the top of the dress, which we think was well worth it for a statement like this. Take a peek at the fitting process in this video from Vogue’s YouTube channel!
Heidi Klum
We’re simultaneously mesmerized and terrified by Heidi Klum’s Met Gala look. Get you a girl that can do both! She joined forces once again with makeup artist Mike Marino, whose work you’ll definitely recognize if you keep up with Heidi’s unforgettable Halloween costumes. They used materials like latex and spandex to replicate the carved draping on statues, particularly being inspired by Raffaelle Monti’s The Veiled Vestal. That statue also appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, so keep an eye out during your next rewatch.
Hunter Schafer
We seriously need Hunter Schafer to get her well-deserved 10s and recognition as a fashion icon! She teamed up with Prada for this beautiful dress inspired by Gustav Klimt’s Mäda Primavesi painting, trading the young girl’s multi-colored flower bust detail for a monochrome moment and switching to a floral print fabric to incorporate the scenery in the original art. We think the choice to rip up the top, elegant part of the dress to make space for the patterned part works as a statement highlighting that there’s no single way to be chic or express yourself.
Janelle Monáe
Every Janelle x Christian Siriano look is an absolute stunner – see the iconic moving eye dress from the 2019 Met Gala as an example. This year’s dress draws from the rise of technology and its battle with nature and the arts, which is especially interesting given the way AI has started shaping the world (and seemingly undermining the arts) around us. The wires almost suffocate the moss around Janelle, but the moss stays vibrant while the butterflies keep fluttering their wings. An exhibit all about fashion as an art form and the artistry behind it was the perfect place to make this statement and get everyone thinking!
JISOO
JISOO is the last member of BLACKPINK to attend the Met, and she made that wait totally worth our while with this incredible Dior look by Jonathan Anderson. The layers of colored sequins feel like an homage to impressionist artists like Claude Monet, while the color scheme and layered waist remind us of Edgar Degas’ signature ballerinas. It’s elegantly feminine and playfully girly all at the same time, suiting Jisoo in such a beautiful way. Everything we could’ve dreamed of for her first Met Gala dress!
KARINA
Alongside her fellow aespa member NINGNING, KARINA made history at this year’s Met Gala as one of the first two fourth-gen female K-Pop idols to attend! Her Prada look paid homage to that fact and her Korean heritage by pairing a sleek white dress with a cape inspired by the traditional Korean Hanbok, celebrating fashion as an art form around the world. She looks stunning with classic aesthetics like this!
We even got a peek at Karina’s getting-ready process on Vogue’s YouTube channel – she described her look as “Korean princess” and shared that she and Prada wanted to celebrate “Eastern beauty.”
LISA
Robert Wun is officially wun of the top designers in our hearts, because this LISA moment was absolutely show-stopping! Her look draws inspiration from the art of Thai dance – which is perfect for her, considering her pride in her Thai roots and her unstoppable dance skills – and they 3D-scanned her arms in position for a traditional dance move to bring it to life on the Met steps. Meanwhile, her sheer cape brings such beautiful drama that reminds us of some of the Met’s most airy galleries.
Lisa gave Vogue a closer look at her outfit for their YouTube channel!
NINGNING
We eagerly anticipated NINGNING of aespa’s arrival all night, and she was truly saving one of the evening’s prettiest looks for last! Her Gucci gown by Demna was a work of art in itself that took over 900 hours to create. It feels like a flower that only blooms at night when the world is sleeping, playing with bodily proportions to make something that’s sculptural without feeling stiff. The maknae eats every time, and if this is only the beginning of her iconic appearances as a Gucci Global Ambassador, we can’t wait to see what she has planned for us.
Sabrina Carpenter
We are absolutely living for this Old Hollywood vibe Sabrina has been giving us lately! First, she took us to Sabrinawood for her headlining set at Coachella, and now she’s taking us to the movies with a dress by Jonathan Anderson at Dior, made of film strips from the 1954 classic Sabrina. It feels timeless yet freshly Sabrina, completed by a statement headpiece and gorgeous dangling gems that add some extra glamour.
SZA
In a world with too many black dresses and standard suits, SZA’s Bode gown was an absolute ray of sunshine! All of the materials used were found on eBay, making this a cool celebration of how art can influence the art that follows it, as well as showing how even the most high-end looks can keep sustainability in mind. She looked absolutely radiant and we reallyyyy hope her next musical era might incorporate the color yellow, because just look at how well it works for her.
What were your favorite looks at the 2026 Met Gala? Do you have any theme predictions for next year’s exhibit and event? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also buzz on over to our Reddit community to chat with us.
