The Most Notable Looks from the 2026 Met Gala

It’s the first Monday in May, which can only mean one thing: The Met Gala returns. The annual event in support of the Met’s Costume Institute gets bigger and splashier every year (case in point: the cost of tickets has hit six figures) and always comes with a theme to help A-list celebrities narrow down their looks. This year’s theme is Fashion is Art—broad enough for all kinds of interpretations, from the literal to the esoteric. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams are this year’s celebrity host committee (with other notable co-chairs including Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz). Here, the noteworthy looks that took a risk, nailed the theme and otherwise stood out for the right reasons.

Naomi Osaka in Robert Wun

The tennis star is no stranger to memorable fashion statements—on and off the court. She had one of the first standout looks on the Met red carpet with this Robert Wun look accompanied by a headpiece by Awon Golding. The dramatic gown features rounded shoulders, three-dimensional feather accents and sheer red gloves. It’s not her first time working with Wun—the designer has also been responsible for some of Osaka’s standout court walk-out looks. Osaka later took off the white coat-dress to reveal a bedazzled red evening gown, but we prefer her entrance look.

Zoë Kravitz in Saint Laurent

The newly engaged star is also one of the gala’s co-chairs along with Saint Laurent designer Anthony Vaccarello. So it’s no surprise that the actress donned a custom look by Saint Laurent, made of sheer lace with a defined pannier-style skirt. It’s modern yet referential.

Gwendoline Christie in Giles Deacon

Gwendoline Christie’s longtime partner, Giles Deacon, created her Met Gala look (talk about a power couple. The artistic theme comes through three distinct points of inspiration: the painter John Singer Sargent, the British surrealist photographer Madame Yevonde and the counter-culture New York photog Ira Cohen. Talk about doing your homework.

Connor Storrie in Saint Laurent

The Heated Rivalry phenom (and newly announced Tiffany & Co. ambassador) attended his first Met Gala in Saint Laurent. His look featured a high-neck polka dot halter and classic pleated trousers. The brooch on the neckline was the perfect finishing touch.

Nicole Kidman in Chanel and Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban in Dior

Theatrical with just the right amount of Moulin Rouge references, co-chair Nicole Kidman brought the drama in custom Chanel by Mattieu Blazy. Taking the Met sets in a deep garnet, drop-waisted sequin gown finished with feathered trim, it seamlessly merged Old Hollywood with showgirl. She arrived with her daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban, who opted for Dior. A contrast to her mom’s high-drama, her gown was a light, floaty silhouette with delicate floral detailing.

Lena Dunham in Valentino

After a seven-year hiatus, Lena Dunham made a confident return to the steps in a crimson statement custom Valentino gown by Alessandro Michele. As a host committee member this year, she reportedly sparked the collaboration with a fan-girl letter to him, which is very her. The moment lands alongside her forthcoming memoir, making this feel less like a comeback and more like a recalibration.

Doja Cat in Saint Laurent

Never one to play it safe on any red carpet, this marked a clear departure. Opting for a custom Saint Laurent moment (courtesy of Anthony Vaccarello) Doja Cat shape shifted once again into a sculptural, Grecian-coded silhouette slicked in high-gloss silicone. So paired back (for her) she was almost unrecognizable.

Sarah Pidgeon in Loewe

Fresh off embodying Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in Love Story, Sarah Pidgeon is clearly still fluent in the language of quiet luxury, but at the Met, she obviously amped things up. Stepping out in Loewe A/W 2026, the look nodded to ’90s restraint before veering into something more sculptural in an off-kilter green. It feels intentional, not basic.

Paul Anthony Kelly in Dior

On a night where many of the gents opted for leather jackets, the Love Story star went in a more classic direction with a velvet tailcoat by Dior. The colour is dreamy and the gleaming white shirt and shiny dress shoes only add to the dapper factor.

Katy Perry in Stella McCartney

Arriving in a futuristic, all-white look by Stella McCartney, Katy Perry read somewhere between fencing uniform and intergalactic glam, complete with a face-concealing headpiece that made the whole thing feel anonymous.

Gigi Hadid in Miu Miu

It’s not a Met Gala without at least one naked-dress sighting. This time, courtesy of Gigi Hadid, who opted for a metallic, sheer gown by Miu Miu.

Janelle Monáe in Christian Siriano

Janelle Monáe’s Met Gala resume is stacked with memorable looks and bold risks. This year is no exception. The avant-garde gown is made up of green moss, wires and computer parts for a tech-meets-nature statement.

Dwayne Johnson in Thom Browne

Looking sharp and dialled-in, The Smashing Machine star is proof that classic tailoring doesn’t have to play it safe—all thanks to the genius of Thom Browne. The suit was impeccably cut and the diamond brooch, pinned just so, was the cherry on top.

Alysa Liu in Louis Vuitton

Fresh off being announced Louis Vuitton’s latest ambassador, the Olympian darling wore the brand for her first Met Gala appearance. The strapless dress featured tiers upon tiers of satin-edged tulle and Liu rocked her signature striped hair.

Kylie Jenner in Schiaparelli

Kylie Jenner’s trompe l’oeil Schiaparelli gown evoked a dress falling away from the body at the waist to reveal a “nude” torso (which is actually a structured, flesh-toned corset, with illusion nipples, belly button and thigh creases). Definitely one of the more conceptual Met Gala looks Kylie’s ever worn.

Sabrina Carpenter in Dior

Dior and Sabrina Carpenter have been collaborating a lot lately, with the maison dressing the singer for her recent string of Coachella performances. The due is back at it for the Met Gala, with Carpenter rocking a custom gown that makes her look wrapped in film strips.

Joe Alwyn in Valentino

We don’t often see the actor step out in anything other than a well-cut suit, so this Grecian-inspired draped blouse paired with a gold cummerbund is a fun fashion risk that still looks chic.

Paloma Elsesser in Bureau of Imagination by Francesco Risso

Ascending the Met steps wearing what might be the most conceptual look of the evening, Paloma Elsesser debuted Francesco Risso’s Bureau of Imagination. Called the “vestige” gown, it’s exactly what it sounds like, nearly 30 vintage dresses dismantled and collaged back together into something breathtaking. The train dragged brushstrokes behind it, like a painter not knowing when to stop. Truly, a work of art.

Hunter Schafer in Prada

Once again, making everyone else look like they either tried too hard or not hard enough, the Euphoria star looked cerebral and frustratingly cool in Prada. The off-white look had no interest in being pretty. Jagged cutouts made her body part of the composition. So strange it somehow works.

Alex Consani in Gucci

 For the supermodel’s second Met Gala, she opted for a dramatic off-the-shoulder white gown. Think Botticelli softness, which soon turned to Black Swan intensity. Moments after gracing the carpet, she staged a full outfit reveal, showing a sheer corset and inky black feathers and beading.

Audrey Nuna in Robert Wun

Robert Wun dressed many notable guests at this year’s Met Gala. This look for Audrey Nuna, a white coat dress embellished to look like it was splattered in black paint like a canvas, is one of the night’s highlights.

Troye Sivan in Prada

At first you might be wondering, “Jeans at the Met Gala? How is that on-theme?" Until you learn that Sivan’s look is a nod legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. It’s dead-on—even down to the hair. Plus, the singer donned an assortment of custom lab-grown diamonds from Pandora, including a sparkling brooch and a statement belt.

Chase Infiniti in Thom Browne

The One Battle After Another breakout star hit the carpet in a floor-length gown splashed with primary colours, treating the Met steps like a canvas in the most literal, joyful way possible. It felt bold, alive and playful. Not trying too hard. It’s the kind of look that reminds you fashion is supposed to be fun.

Kendall Jenner in Gap Studio by Zac Posen

Kendall’s look is strikingly similar in spirit to her sister, Kylie’s (which begs the question, did they discuss their game planes before tonight?) and also features a nip-slip-but-not-actually effect, draped in a pale beige, body-con gown. It sits at a nice intersection if interesting yet classic.

Kim Kardashian in Allen Jones for Whitaker Malem

The Kardashian and Jenner sisters stuck with a theme: Bodies, bodies, bodies! The eldest in the clan looked like an action figure (or what she was going for, a sculpture) in a statuesque look. The family that art-cores together, stays together.

Alexa Chung in Dior

Leave it to the OG street-style It girl to show up to the Met in a fresh, unfussy but no less striking look. Alexa’s slinky satin Dior dress features a water lily at the hip, and the oversized floral-inspired pom-pom earrings give the whole thing a needed dose of whimsy.

Teyana Taylor in Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann

The Oscar nominee showed up to the Met Gala carpet dripping in head-to-toe shimmery floss that formed a long fringe over her face and continued down the entire dress, creating an mesmerizing look, especially in motion.

Jeremy Pope in Vivienne Westwood

Styled by Law Roach, Jeremy Pope wore an archival Vivienne Westwood evening jacket embellished with pearl beading. The jacket is a one-of-one originally cut for Westwood’s partner and the label’s creative director, Andreas Kronthaler.

Rihanna in in Maison Margiela by John Galliano and A$AP Rocky in Chanel

Rihanna is always the last to arrive—and the Gala always waits. When she finally stepped onto the carpet (very fashionably late), she came in a metallic masterpiece. A crinkled, sculptural Margiela gown catching light from every angle. The look had that tension she always brings, something fluid, something fixed, something wearable and something fabulous that insists on being witnessed. Worth the wait. And because this couple is too cool to do the matchy-matchy thing, A$AP Rocky opted for a stunning evening robe in powdery pink.