When the first Monday in May arrives, so does fashion’s biggest night: the 2026 Met Gala. This year’s theme, “Costume Art,” brought color, collage, and creativity to the carpet through gowns and suits that transformed the event into a living art gallery. The famous steps, designed to look like brick with touches of greenery, created a woodsy runway for fashion’s A-listers to pose on. Guests embraced an array of art-inspired looks, paying homage to art’s lasting influence on fashion while exploring how clothing shapes and flatters the human body.
The moment the clock struck 5 p.m. on May 4, I rushed to my couch and turned on YouTube’s “Live from the Red Carpet” livestream, preparing to spend the next three hours pretending I was Anna Wintour as I critiqued every celebrity look on the carpet.
5) Chase Infiniti, wearing Thom Browne
My fifth-favorite look came from “One Battle After Another” breakout star Infiniti, who made her Met Gala debut in a colorful Thom Browne gown. Inspired by the statue Venus de Milo, the dress featured over one million sequins and multicolored fringe, mimicking vibrant brushstrokes on a canvas. As both an ode to the famous statue and a transformation of Infiniti into a human canvas, the gown perfectly captured the idea of “Costume Art,” making her first Gala appearance a memorable one. The vibrant, mostly primary colors immediately caught my attention on the carpet, earning Infiniti’s look a spot among my favorites of the evening.
4) Heidi Klum
Known for her elaborate Halloween transformations, Heidi Klum brought her shapeshifting skills to the Gala. Designed by Mike Marino, Klum’s look took inspiration from Giovanni Strazza’s sculpture The Veiled Virgin. Covered in foam-textured detailing that mimicked marble, Klum transformed herself into a living statue. Every Met Gala has a look that makes headlines as the craziest and most creative interpretation of the year’s theme, and this year, Klum fully embodied the idea of wearable art.
3) Anne Hathaway, wearing Michael Kors
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The next show-stopping star who caught my attention was none other than the iconic Anne Hathaway. Having recently appeared in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Hathaway was one of the celebrities I had been waiting to see, especially because her previous Met Gala looks have rarely disappointed. She arrived in a hand-painted black-and-white Michael Kors gown created in collaboration with artist Peter McGough. The oversized skirt served as the perfect canvas for McGough’s painting of a goddess reaching toward a dove. Inspired by the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the look carried a powerful message of peace while turning Hathaway into a walking work of art.
2) Emma Chamberlain, wearing Mugler
A close runner-up for my favorite look of the night was Emma Chamberlain’s custom Mugler gown. Featuring thick, hand-painted strokes, the gown was a flawless execution of the theme and perfectly captured the idea of fashion as art. Out of all the looks, Chamberlain’s felt like one of the most on-theme outfits of the night, setting the tone early as she was among the first to arrive at the Gala. Her gown stood out because it treated the body as a living canvas, with the hand-painted design going beyond a simple reference to art. Rather than only paying homage to a specific painting, Chamberlain’s look explored how fashion can sculpt and transform the human body into art itself.
1) Gracie Abrams, wearing Chanel
My favorite look of the night came from Gracie Abrams, who arrived on the carpet in Chanel wearing a gown that looked as if it had stepped out of a Gustav Klimt painting, specifically Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Just as Klimt made art history with his use of gold leaf and oil paint, Abrams’ gown shimmered with metal hardware embellishments that paid homage to the painting’s golden details. The dress also featured dazzling jewels draped throughout, inspired by the colorful ornamentation in Klimt’s work. Everything, down to Abrams’ hair, seemed to mirror Adele Bloch-Bauer I. I loved the idea of honoring such an iconic painting, as the look truly highlighted the connection between art and fashion.
Another fan of this look, sophomore Fini Mendoza Pena said, “My personal favorite look of the night was Gracie Abrams’ gold gown. I liked the subtle inspiration look, how you can tell that it's inspired by a Klimt painting, but it's not loudly impersonating the painting.”
The 2026 Met Gala brought a theme that left lots of room for creativity and imagination for stylists and designers. However, Monday night’s ball largely showcased pretty dresses that veered away from the theme, making for an overall disappointing Met Gala. While many attendees leaned into glamour over concept, a select few truly understood the assignment, transforming the theme into beautiful, complex looks that stood out from the crowd.
