For its 2026 edition, the Met Gala set the bar high with an ambitious theme: “Fashion is Art”. An invitation to consider clothing as a work of art in its own right, which celebrities interpreted by drawing on art history, from ancient statuary to Van Gogh’s canvases and Thai dance.
Every first Monday of May, the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York transform into an unmissable couture event. Created in 1948 to fund the operations and exhibitions of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Met Gala is considered the Super Bowl of fashion, bringing together the elites of textile, cinema, entertainment, music, and sport. In short, the global crème de la crème whose influence is worth billions of dollars.
While this grand fashion ceremony is a true showcase of the sartorial creativity of couture figures and more under-the-radar talents, it generates considerable economic returns for the Houses that participate. Last year, in just 48 hours, the Met Gala recorded 1.3 billion dollars in MIV (Media Impact Value) according to Launchmetrics, a 19% increase compared to 2024.
Theme, Co-Chairs, Jeff Bezos… The Met Gala 2026
This year, the theme of the event, which took place on the evening of May 4th, was “Fashion is Art”. The hand-picked guests were therefore expected to present silhouettes embodying the idea that fashion is a work of art in itself. The scenography around the MET steps was inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” (1889).
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Co-chairing the event: Beyoncé, returning after ten years of absence, alongside Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams, surrounding the ever-present Anna Wintour, who has been steering the ceremony with flair since 1995 and has helped turn it into an artistic and celebrity spectacle scrutinised the world over.
Even before the first guest set foot on the red carpet, the Met Gala 2026 was already at the centre of a heated controversy. The presence of Jeff Bezos as the main sponsor — to the tune of 10 million dollars — turned the evening into a symbolic battleground. By purchasing a place at the top of one of the most media-covered cultural events in the world, the founder of Amazon exposed himself to fierce criticism. His detractors accuse him of using the prestige of fashion and art to polish a public image tarnished by the working conditions imposed on his employees and his ties to Donald Trump.
The response was swift. Activists in the streets, bottles of fake urine left inside the museum in reference to bathroom breaks denied to delivery workers, an outdoor counter-parade organised under the name Ball Without Billionaires… The Met Gala was making headlines before the evening had even begun.
Rihanna, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian…
It is impossible not to start with Rihanna, true to her status as queen of the Met. Dressed in Maison Margiela by Glenn Martens, she appeared as a reinterpreted medieval sculpture: metallic embroidery, architectural volumes, references to Flemish armour and Gothic statuary. Beside her, A$AP Rocky offered a softer counterpoint in Chanel, evoking almost the aristocratic portraits of the 18th century, blending elegance and romanticism.
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The dialogue between fashion and art history continued with Beyoncé, making a remarkable return in a look by Olivier Rousteing evoking human anatomy: an almost skeletal silhouette reminiscent of Mexican “calaveras”. Her daughter, Blue Ivy, in Balenciaga, took a more minimalist and immaculate approach.
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On the Kardashian-Jenner side, the references were more literal. Kim Kardashian directly recreated a work by British pop sculptor Allen Jones in collaboration with Whitaker Malem, revisiting an aesthetic in which the female body becomes an artistic object. Kendall Jenner opted for a sculptural dress by Zac Posen for Gap Studio, evoking the classical drapery of Greek statuary, notably the Winged Victory of Samothrace. With her nude brows, Kylie Jenner, in Schiaparelli inspired by the Venus de Milo, embraced the surrealist tradition so dear to the House.
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Emma Chamberlain, Madonna, Lisa, Blake Lively…
Some celebrities chose more direct tributes. Heidi Klum literally recreated “The Veiled Virgin” by Giovanni Strazza, a 19th-century sculpture famous for its illusion of transparency. A radical choice, which some felt was closer to a Halloween costume than Haute Couture.
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Emma Chamberlain, in Mugler, presented a dress like a living canvas inspired by Van Gogh and Munch. Hunter Schafer wore a Prada dress echoing Gustav Klimt’s painting “Mäda Primavesi”, and Charli XCX unveiled a black dress topped with a flower, in reference to Vincent van Gogh’s canvas “Irises”.
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Madonna caused a sensation on the MET steps in an Yves Saint Laurent dress designed by Anthony Vaccarello. The pop icon reinterpreted “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” by Leonora Carrington. Ben Platt chose stylist Tanner Fletcher, who reworked Georges Seurat’s painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”.
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Lisa, in Robert Wun, wore a spectacular creation with additional 3D arms, evoking traditional Thai dance. SZA, in Bode, drew inspiration from the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshop).
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Some silhouettes flirted with performance art. Bad Bunny played with time by ageing himself several decades, while Teyana Taylor, in Tom Ford, appeared as a sculpture in motion.
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Finally, Hollywood glamour also found its place in this living gallery. In a Michael Kors dress hand-painted by artist Peter McGough and inspired by John Keats’s poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, Anne Hathaway — currently starring in the highly anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2 — opted for classic elegance, while Blake Lively, in Atelier Versace echoing 18th-century Venetian Rococo paintings, and Nicole Kidman, in Chanel, reminded us that fashion itself is a timeless art.
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Read also : When Anna Wintour Meets Miranda Priestly: The Vogue Cover That Redefines the Legend
Featured photo : DR, with the permission of Prada
