It is undoubtful that fashion most certainly is art. Some of the most famous fashion quotes confirm this. “Fashion is the most powerful art there is”~Blair Waldorf, “The joy of dressing is art”~ John Galliano, “The difference between fashion and art is that fashion is art in movement”~ Carolina Herrera. So for the theme of the 2026 Met Gala to be “Fashion is art” fits like a Prada dress on Meryl Streep.
Held every first Monday of May, the Met Gala this year was held on May 4th. It was quite the memorable, and eventful one; as it is every year! We saw some returns of iconic Met Gala celebrities, some hit outfits of the evening, some newer attendees and of course, the woman behind it all, Anna Wintour, looking beautifully chic as always.
So, what were the key parts of this year’s Met Gala? Who had the most memorable outfits?
One of the most interesting elements of the 2026 Met Gala was that almost every outfit was inspired by a famous piece of art. Art history majors could take one look at a beautiful dress one celebrity is wearing and match it to a historical painting. Fashion could be anything; you could take a garbage bag, add some pins, sew a hemline and you could have a totally in style dress. You could even make a dress out of film! Literal pieces of film. Why do I mention this? Because that’s exactly what Sabrina Carpenter stepped into the Met Gala on Monday evening.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Met Gala Look
Like many female celebrities, as Sabrina Carpenter becomes increasingly popular, her fashion and style is becoming increasingly popular, and associated with her more and more. This Met Gala look will certainly be one fans will remember in her style. She delivered a literal meta-cinematic dress. Collaborating with Dior, Carpenter stepped out in what is less of actual clothing or fabric, and more of stylish film history. But these weren’t just arbitrary film prints, they contained scenes from the 1954 classic film Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden.
This silhouette featured a high-neck halter, high-thigh leg slit and a ruffled detail in the back. Throughout the length of the dress, the strips of film were embroidered with rhinestones, giving her look even more sparkle. As for accessories, Sabrina stuck with the time period of the film she was covered in, the 1920s. She wore a flapper-style hairpiece and over 100 carats of Chopard diamonds. As for footwear, she wore black, bold Christian Louboutin pumps.
Emma Chamberlain’s Look in Mugler
Emma Chamberlain certainly looked elegant this year! She wore a custom Mugler, breathtaking gown, which was hand-painted by artist Anna Deller-Yee, with water-color styled painting in mauves, purples and yellows detailed with small fringes on the sleeves. This hand painted masterpiece took about 40 hours to complete! The result was a romantic, yet alluring representation of a Van Gogh or Edvard Munch; using abstract art to blend the creativity and styles of multiple famous artists and paintings. This artistic gown was a form-fitting, long sleeve silhouette. To keep the gown as her stand-out piece, Chamberlain wore subtle accessories jewelry, pairing the gown with Stuart Weitzman navy, satin platform heels. The shoes were a perfect contrast to the color scheme of the gown, yet blended in effortlessly. She truly looked like an abstract beauty.
Bad Bunny Ages 40 years?
Bad Bunny’s 2026 Met Gala outfit was quite the head turner, that is, when people realized he was actually Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny showed up to the Met Gala this year looking completely unrecognizable, but honestly, in the best way. Bad Bunny has gained more recognition over recent months through his performance at the Super Bowl this year, which was heavily debated upon through political parties.
He stepped on the red carpet this night with an exquisite, haunting art piece by transforming into an 85-year-old version of himself. He collaborated with artist Mike Marino to give him unrecognizable, and super realistic wrinkles, age spots and grey hair and beard while still presenting himself in a very sophisticated manner. As for his fashion of the night, Bad Bunny wore a custom, all black tuxedo design in collaboration with Zara, which is an uncommon brand to collaborate with for the Met Gala, but it worked for Bad Bunny perfectly. He looked sleek and sharp. His suit featured a large pussy bow in reference to Charles James’ “Bustle” gown in 1947, in order to bring across that vintage feel. To accessorize the elderly look, Bad Bunny walked with a dapper walking cane and a 1995 Cartier watch. This high class “grandpa” look was to represent the aging body part of the Costume Institute’s 2026 exhibition, directly in reference to the quote within the exhibition catalog, “Perhaps reflecting our fear of having to face our own mortality, the youth-oriented fashion industry has traditionally ignored the aged body” according to VOGUE.
Blake Lively returns to The Met Gala
While she’s “Queen S” in some elite Manhattan world, in this world she is the queen of the Met Gala, always showing up on everybody’s feed just hours after the event, stunning people more and more every year with her looks. After her recent scandal and court case with her co-star Justin Baldoni, Lively had taken a break from serving as one of the Met Gala looks of the year, she did not show up last year, although it is not confirmed her issues with Justin Baldoni are the reasons behind her absence. However, this year, just after she closed her court-case with Baldoni, she showed up looking straight out of a Sugar-Plum fairy story…in a good way! She stepped on the red carpet with a Rococo inspired extravagant gown that featured a long, pastel, flowy train with colors throughout the gown including pale pink, lavender, cream, coral, peach, lavender and champagne to mimic a beautiful sunrise to sunset element. The gown was embroidered with dainty sparkling gems, adding a higher sophistication to the fabric. The long train that went along with her dress set the stage for a dramatized look, it stood out and made one of the most glamorous appearances of the night; the train was 13 feet long! This masterpiece of a gown was quite a vintage one, from the Atelier Versace Spring 2006 collection. While this collection might not be “historical” yet, the choice of vintage was to reflect the historical aspect that was of the art theme. Many people are calling this her “Serena Van Der Woodsen moment”, being that she famously…(or infamously??) plays the iconic Serena Van Der Woodsen in the 2007 television series Gossip Girl. Serena was known for disappearing, and then making dramatic entrances back in the elite side of Manhattan, usually with an outfit that completely stands out. The gown Lively appeared in could have even been a choice of Serena Van Der Woodsen’s, being that the dress was designed a year prior to the release of the show, and it definitely –along with the right of Blake Lively’s typical style– reflects Serena’s personality and style.
The Met Gala is both an iconic, statement event for both the fashion industry, and New York City itself. When that first Monday of May rolls around, fashion gurus are putting in their Jimmy Choos to step out into the fashion industry’s biggest night of the year, and the rest are watching every documented clip of the event on social media. However, there are many that don’t see The Met Gala in this way, and rather, see it as a promotion or obscene display of wealth, fame and elitism, especially with tickets costing over $50,000 dollars. Many view The Met Gala as prohibited from the middle class or lower and that it expresses wealth inequality. Many even compare it to The Hunger Games, claiming the event, extravagant outfits and power held in the event reflects a dystopian narrative.
BHs Junior Luke Baumbach says “I sort of agree with this critic”, and that in Luke’s opinion, “the event is kind of pointless, many outfits seem overexaggerated.”
BHS Senior Paridhi Miglani has a different viewpoint, however, explaining that while she acknowledges that “the event is definitely for the rich”, in recent years, Paridhi feels that “The Met Gala has become a lot more inclusive, with diversity in both cultures and class. It’s really nice to see this for such a popular event like The Met Gala.”
