The Met Gala has always been fashion’s most theatrical night — part fundraiser, part fever dream, part ongoing debate about what art and dressing up actually mean. But the 2026 Met Gala sparked something a little different and brought public discussion to a new level. For those who instinctively search for meaning in visuals and care about art, fashion, and craftsmanship, this year’s red carpet could be treated as an exercise in art recognition. We approached it as a game of spot-the-reference — and as a tribute to the imagination and labor of designers and tailors that go into making something considered.
This year’s Costume Institute exhibition is titled Costume Art, with a dress code of “Fashion Is Art” — an invitation for guests to treat their bodies as a canvas. Ancient Greek art was the source of foundational ideas about proportion and the human form. The theme of physicality, along with the interplay of drapery and silhouette, found its most literal expression in the looks worn by the Jenner sisters, each channeling an instantly recognizable sculpture.
Photo: Renell Medrano, Lilly Keys
Kylie Jenner arrived in a gown featuring a nude-effect bustier by Schiaparelli, channeling the “Venus de Milo” statue. Daniel Roseberry’s masterstroke was in the tension between what was revealed and what wasn’t. Kendall Jenner, meanwhile, wore a gown by GapStudio designed by Zac Posen that captured the surging, forward momentum of the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” statue, its train engineered to unfurl like a pair of wings mid-flight.
Also making an indirect journey to Ancient Greece: Heidi Klum, who transformed herself into a living marble statue referencing “The Veiled Vestal”, Raffaele Monti’s 1847 sculpture of the Ancient Roman goddess Vesta — rendered with that impossible translucency that makes the work so startling in person. Anne Hathaway‘s gown, meanwhile, nodded to the Ancient Greek pottery.
It’s interesting how many looks drew from works that hang within the Met itself, meaning anyone inspired enough to follow up can check not only this year’s exhibition but stand in front of the source material. Naomi Watts wore a look inspired by Margareta Haverman‘s “A Vase of Flowers.” Julianne Moore and Claire Foy both channeled Sargent’s Madame X in form-fitting black gowns with a dropped shoulder strap — a detail that was, in the original painting, considered so scandalous that the artist was pressured to repaint it.
Photo: Greg Swales, Getty
One of the most captivating homages of the evening came from Euphoria star Hunter Schafer, whose custom Prada look was inspired by Gustav Klimt’s “Mäda Primavesi,” a portrait also housed within the museum. Ben Platt wore a suit by Tanner Fletcher referencing Georges Seurat’s 1886 “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” — a great inspiration for the warm season.
Color made its own argument. Angela Bassett arrived in pink, paying homage to Laura Wheeler Waring’s 1927 “Girl in Pink Dress”. Alexi Ashe, Tessa Thompson, and Hailey Bieber each referenced Yves Klein’s “Anthropometries”, his series of works made by pressing paint-covered bodies directly onto canvas. Emma Chamberlain‘s custom Mugler incorporated references to both Van Gogh and Munch. And Madonna brought a performative element to the night, arriving escorted by seven attendants to present a look inspired by Leonora Carrington’s 1945 surrealist oil painting “The Temptation of St. Anthony. Fragment II.”
Below, the best art-inspired looks from the 2026 Met Gala red carpet — and the works that made them.
Emma Chamberlain in Mugler, inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s painting "Garden at Arles"
Photo: Getty, Wikipedia
Kendall Jenner in GapStudio by Zac Posen, inspired by "Winged Victory of Samothrace"
Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty, Courtesy of Louvre
Hunter Schafer in Prada, inspired by Gustav Klimt's painting “Mäda Primavesi”
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of The MET
Gracie Abrams in Chanel, inspired by Gustav Klimt's painting “Portrait of Adele Blochbauer I”
Photo: Courtesy of Gracie Abrams, Wikipedia
Rachel Zegler in Atelier Prabal Gurung, inspired by Paul Delaroche’s painting "The Execution of Lady Jane Grey"
Photo: Getty, Wikipedia
Ben Platt in Tanner Fletcher, inspired by Georges Seurat's painting “Island of La Grande Jatte”
Photo: Getty, Wikipedia
Anon Yai in Balenciaga, inspired by Pedro Roldan's artwork "Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa)"
Photo: Getty, Wikipedia
Madonna in Saint Laurent, inspired by Leonora Carrington's painting “The Temptation Of St. Anthony. Fragment II”
Photo: Michael Buckner, Courtesy of Arthive
Alexa Chung in Dior, inspired by Claude Monet’s the "Water Lilies" series
Photo: Getty, Wikipedia
Charli XCX in Saint Laurent, inspired by Vincent van Gogh's painting "Irises" & Yves Saint Laurent’s SS1988 collection
Photo: Getty, Wikipedia
Carey Mulligan in Prada, inspired by Josef Albers's artwork "Homage to the Square"
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of National Galleries of Scotland
Sam Smith in Christian Cowan, inspired by American actress Evelyn Brent
Photo: Getty, Bettmann Archive
Heidi Klum in Mike Marino, inspired by Raffaelle Monti's statue "The Veiled Vestal"
Photo: Jake Zaoutis, Wikipedia
Rose in Saint Laurent, inspired by Georges Braque's painting "Les Oiseaux"
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of WikiArt
Alexi Ashe in Céline, inspired by Yves Klein's the "Anthropometries" series
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of The Estate of Yves Klein
Amy Sherald as her own painting "Miss Everything"
Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty, Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA
Hudson Williams in Balenciaga, inspired by a 1947 bolero jacket from Cristóbal Balenciaga & Edouard Manet's painting "A Matador"
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Courtesy of The Met
Grace Foy in Erdem, inspired by John Singer Sargent's painting "Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)"
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of The Met
Anne Hathaway in Michael Kors, inspired by John Keats's poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn"; the Townley Vase, which Keats saw at the British Museum, was among its influences
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of The Met
Naomi Watts in Dior, inspired by Margareta Haverman's painting "A Vase of Flowers"
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of The MET
Sabrina Carpenter in film strips, courtesy of Dior, inspired by the 1954 movie "Sabrina", starring Audrey Hepburn
Photo: Getty, Courtesy of Paramount Pictures Inc.
Angela Bassett in Prabal Gurung, inspired by Laura Wheeler Waring’s painting, "Girl in a Pink Dress"
Cardi B in Marc Jacobs, inspired by Hans Bellmer's artwork "The Doll"
Photo: Getty, Getty
