The art and fashion worlds collided spectacularly at the Met Gala 2026, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 4.
With a theme and dress code centred on the human body and its relationship with fashion and art, stylists and celebrities went into overdrive, crafting Met Gala-level extravagant interpretations. The result? A flurry of memorable looks, experimental and bold designs and risque trends. Think bubble dress, a face mask made with steel utensils, turning up as a legit statue, and so on!
While we extensively covered the major Indian presence at the Met Gala 2026, with appearances by Isha Ambani, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Jaipur’s royal siblings Gauravi Kumari and Padmanabh Singh, Diya Mehta Jatia, Natasha Poonawalla, and Sudha Reddy, here is a wrap of the evening’s most iconic looks, unmissable trends, and standout fashion moments that totally deserve your attention.
Naked dressing
As predicted, guests went all out with naked dressing. From Gigi Hadid and Simone Ashley to Irina Shayk and Kate Moss, a slew of celebrities wore sheer dresses on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet.
With this year’s exhibition theme, “Costume Art”, exploring different body types across art and fashion, we knew we would see more takes on “naked dressing” than ever before.
Even Beyonce wore a version of it with her skeleton-inspired diamond-encrusted dress.
Quite hands-on
All thanks to the human body-oriented theme, things went out of hand, quite literally, on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet this year.
Several stars turned to dresses that featured hand-shaped prints and sculptures. At the centre of this trend were Robert Wun creations, embraced by Lisa, Nichapat Suphap, and Jordan Roth.
Saree supremacy
There was a rich display of sarees on this international red carpet, of course.
Not only did Isha Ambani and Gauravi Kumari wear interpretations of the classic Indian saree, but even rapper SZA wore a bright marigold-hued outfit reworked using sarees she bought on eBay.
Did you see that ‘paayal’?
Rapper Doechii made a striking Met Gala 2026 appearance in a barely-there, draped monotone dress paired with a matching turban-inspired head wrap. She walked the red carpet barefoot, drawing attention to the traditional Indian paayal adorning her feet.
Iconic art-inspired outfits
The official dress code for the Met was “Fashion is Art”, and several celebrities turned to legendary paintings and artworks for inspiration. Karan Johar’s Raja Ravi Varma-inspired outfit dominated headlines in India, but international stars also drew from notable art references.
Kendall Jenner wore a sartorial interpretation of the famous Greek sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace. Hunter Schafer’s red carpet outfit was a nod to the artwork Mada Primavesi by celebrated Austrian artist Gustav Klimt.
Kylie Jenner also transformed into the Greek sculpture Venus de Milo in a sort of half-naked dress. Rachel Zegler’s dress was inspired by The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche.
And, of course, Heidi Klum appeared dressed like a literal statue in a custom Mike Marino creation, inspired by The Veiled Virgin by Giovanni Strazza.
Did someone say scene-steeling?
Steel took centre stage on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet this year, making a bold entry into the fashion conversation through edgy masks and Isha Ambani’s not-so-aam mango sculpture by artist Subodh Gupta.
There was also a bevy of outfits featuring metallic accents, including American singer-rapper Janelle Monae’s Christian Siriano dress crafted with electrical wires and real moss. Hailey Bieber, too, turned heads in a Yves Saint Laurent gold breastplate paired with a striking blue skirt and a dupatta.
That bubble dress!
One of the most memorable and ecstatic fashion moments from the Met Gala 2026 was Chinese-American Olympian Eileen Gu’s futuristic yet whimsical bubble dress, created by fashion designer Iris van Herpen. It featured 15,000 glass bubbles, which not only stayed intact but also emitted real bubbles.
Yes, it was fitted with hidden microprocessors under its skirt that released real bubbles on the red carpet for a theatrical effect.
The nipples take centre stage
Many dresses, like those worn by the Kardashian-Jenner sisters, featured faux sculpted nipples, while Chase Infiniti and Devyn Garcia took a more painterly and embellished approach to flaunt them without actually putting them on display.
The million-dollar Indian jewels
What truly shone brightest on the Met Gala red carpet wasn’t a blingtastic gown, but an extraordinary display of million-dollar jewellery from India.
A Hyderabad-based billionaire grabbed global attention with a stunning 550-carat tanzanite necklace, along with other exquisite pieces worth over 140 crore, paired with her Manish Malhotra ensemble.
Isha Ambani also made a striking statement, wearing a blouse adorned with over 1,800 carats of diamonds from her mother Nita Ambani’s personal collection. Elevating her look further was a sarpech pinned to the back of her blouse – an heirloom once owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad.
The jewellery pieces unsurprisingly dominated “best jewellery” lists from the Met Gala 2026 across international publications.
What was your favourite Met Gala moment this year?
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