Works of art: The stars who stunned at the 2026 Met Gala
The annual benefit’s theme was “Costume Art”
The Met Gala is held the first Monday in May. (SWinxy/Wikimedia Commons)
The biggest night in fashion gave us glitz, glamour, and star power.
The 2026 Met Gala’s theme was “Costume Art” — based on Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in N.Y.C., since the gala is an annual fundraiser.
This year’s Met marked Beyoncé’s return to the event after a decade. She co-chaired alongside actress Nicole Kidman, tennis star Venus Williams, and former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
With the “Costume Art” theme, accompanied by the dress code “Fashion is Art,” several standout looks rose above the rest. It’s officially the time of year we all turn into critics.
Singer-songwriter Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, appeared on the carpet aged 50 years. He gained much attention through an extremely intricate transformation.
The look, featuring prosthetics by Mike Marino, was designed to embody the aging body and explore the fear of mortality within the entertainment industry. Paired with the detailed prosthetics, Bad Bunny wore a custom all-black tuxedo he designed with Zara.
He completed the look with an oversized bow, referencing Charles James’s 1947 gown Bustle, and carried a cane and timepiece. The result was both unsettling and compelling, making it one of the most conceptually strong looks of the night.
Madonna’s appearance can only be described as performance art. Directly inspired by “The Temptation of St. Anthony. Fragment II,” her look extended beyond fashion into theatrical presentation.
The Queen of Pop arrived with seven women assisting with the dramatic fabric of her ensemble — a direct nod to the original painting.
Madonna wore custom Saint Laurent — an all-black outfit with satin opera gloves and a hat topped with a towering ship headpiece. She also carried a horn, mirroring the figure depicted in the original piece.
The commitment to storytelling elevated the outfit into something closer to a live installation than a traditional red carpet look — and that is the Met at its finest.
One of India’s most prominent filmmakers, Karan Johar, captured attention in a design by Manish Malhotra, styled by Eka Lakhani.
He drew inspiration from Raja Ravi Varma, known for his detailed portrayal of Hindu gods and goddesses. The oversized coat-cape design featured zardozi borders — an elaborate metal embroidery — three-dimensional pillars, lotuses, swans, and a hand-painted jacket lining.
It is fair to say Johar was truly “wearing art.” The piece took more than 5,600 hours over 86 days to complete and used real paint completed by hand. The technique allowed the garment to closely resemble Varma’s paintings.
Johar’s interpretation felt both personal and culturally grounded, adding depth to the theme.
Also taking a literal approach to “Fashion is Art” was Emma Chamberlain.
The influencer wore Mugler, hand-painted by Anna Deller-Yee, to align with the theme. Inspired by archival Mugler designs, the dress took 40 hours to paint and around four days to dry.
The process mirrored that of creating a traditional painting, reinforcing the idea that fashion can exist as a fine art form. Chamberlain’s look stood out for its simplicity in concept yet complexity in execution.
While there was lots of star power on the steps, Zendaya’s absence was notable. Her decision to sit out this year, reportedly to take a well-deserved break, left a noticeable gap on the carpet.
The Met delivered a range of memorable looks, with many attendees successfully interpreting the theme, and others less so.
