What to say of the 2026 Met Gala? That Beyoncé returned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit after ten years away, or that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky can command a room full of press like few others? That a protest almost broke out—and was quickly subdued—at the bottom of the steps, or that this year’s theme, Fashion is Art, as open ended as it was, produced some of the most compelling Met Gala looks in recent memory?
Monday’s gala was perhaps the most contentious iteration of the fundraiser—its donors being Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos sparked protests and online calls for boycotts. And yet the benefit raised a record $42 million and stars showed up and showed out across the board. And Andrew Bolton, the head curator in charge of the Costume Institute, put on one of his best exhibitions, dare I say, ever.
“Costume Art” was the year’s theme, and at its heart existed a simple statement: fashion is art and has always been. The exhibition features garments from across the ages next to objects from across the museum, contextualizing fashion and dress as an art form in itself. As Bolton said at a press conference yesterday, the history of art cannot be told without the history of garment. Apparel is integral to the history of humanity. The exhibition was split into different bodily themes: the aged body, the naked body, the anatomical body, and more. This invited attendees to think outside the box.
Last night, Bad Bunny appeared on the carpet in hyper-realistic prosthetics by artist Mike Marino. His intention was to look 50 years older, and he played the part—walking slowly and talking with an aged tonality. It was fashion as performance art at its finest, and a literal if effective adaptation of Bolton’s work. See also: Chase Infiniti’s painterly Thom Browne look, which rendered her as the naked body, as well as Kylie Jenner’s Schiaparelli nude illusion. A woman, Jenner, so widely known for her body shape—much like her sister Kim Kardashian—that she embodied the theme by embracing the fact that, in pop culture and for her generation, she is the naked body.
In the same vein, albeit with a different set of references, was Hailey Bieber, whose Saint Laurent dress by Anthony Vaccarello referenced one by Yves Saint Laurent himself in 1969, when the designer worked with Claude Lalanne to develop a gilded breast plate for his autumn-winter collection. It was striking to see it come alive once more. Also in Saint Laurent, Madonna gave life to a fragment of Leonora Carrington’s The Temptation of St. Anthony II in an eerie yet memorable moment on the carpet. (She topped her look off with a towering top hat and a waist length wig.)
