Met Gala 2026 Dress Code Revealed
Fashion’s biggest night came and went in style.
The 2026 Met Gala, which had a theme of “Costume Art,” celebrated the historic partnership between the two branches of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Costume Institute May 4.
And Sabrina Carpenter and Rihanna were among the stars who understood the assignment with their interpretations of the “Fashion Is Art” dress code. As they stepped out at the New York City landmark, they were sure to don ensembles that paid homage to this year’s annual exhibit of the same name, which curator Andrew Bolton described as a tribute of “the dressed body.”
“The dressed body is front and center in every gallery you come across. Even the nude is never naked,” he told Vogue in November. “It’s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas.”
Bolton continued, “The idea was to put the body back into discussions about art and fashion, and to embrace the body, not to take it away as a way of elevating fashion to an art form.”
That’s likely why stars such as Beyoncé and Tyla tapped into sheer fabrics and daring cutouts. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber celebrated the human body in waist-defining corsets.
And the vagueness of “Costume Art” as a theme was also deliberate on the part of Bolton and Met Gala organizers—led by Anna Wintour alongside co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, as well as sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
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“It’s bold, it’s strong, it’s a statement of intent,” Bolton explained, adding that the goal was “not to create a new hierarchy,” but to “disband that hierarchy and to focus on equivalency—equivalency of artworks and equivalency of bodies.”
He added, “What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body. It’s the common thread throughout the whole museum.”
To see the best dressed celebs at the 2026 Met Gala, keep reading…
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Sabrina Carpenter
The “Manchild” singer adhere to the “Fashion Is Art” dress code by donning a Dior dress covered celluloid film strips of the Aubrey Hapburn movie Sabrina.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Rihanna
Shining bright like a diamond was the “Work” singer, who wore a Maison Margiela creation featuring over 115,000 crystal beads, antique jewels and other artistic baubles.
John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Emma Chamberlain
The YouTuber looked like she had just stepped out of an oil painting in this custom Mugler design.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Beyoncé
The Grammy winner paid homage to the human body with this Olivier Rousteing number embellished to resemble the skeletal system.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Anne Hathaway
It wasn’t Prada, but the Devil Wears Prada 2 star nonetheless embodied the “Fashion Is Art” dress code with a Michael Kors gown complete with hand-painted designs by artist Peter McGough.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Connor Storrie
The Heated Rivalry star heated up the red carpet in a Saint Laurent ensemble featuring a polka-dot halter top that cascaded into a flowing train.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Venus Williams
As one of the 2026 Met Gala co-chairs, the tennis supersrtar aced the assignment of sticking to the “Costume Art” theme with a Swarovski crystal mesh gown and a statement-making necklace inspired by the Wimbledon plate.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Doja Cat
The rapper told Vogue her Saint Laurent silicone dress was inspired by “the way fabric draped over the body of a Grecian statue.”
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kim Kardashian
In keeping with the “Fashion is Art” dress code, the Kardashians star enlisted British pop artist Allen Jones to make her a fiberglass breastplate.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
A$AP Rocky
Fashion Killa, indeed. The rapper stepped out in a pink wool pink robe with black satin lapels and matching piping custom designed by Chanel.
Theo Wargo/FilmMagic
Tyla
The “Water” singer made it hotter in skin-baring custom Valentino gown as a nod to the Costume Institute’s body-centric exhibit.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Hailey Bieber
Inspired by sculptures, the Rhode Skin founder’s Saint Laurent dress included a sculpted bodice made of 24-karat gold.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Hunter Schafer
The Euphoria star practically took a page out of Gustav Klimt‘s 1912 painting
“Mäda Primavesi” with this Prada look.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Laura Harrier
The Michael actress’ custom DiPetsa gown took inspiration from Italian sculptors and how they chiseled stone to resemble draped frabrics.
Tune in to E! today, May 4, starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT for every must-see moment from the Met Gala 2026.
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