Met Gala 2026: Sam Smith, Sabrina Carpenter and Other Knockout Looks of the Night

Honoring the dress code of this year’s Met Gala, “Fashion is Art,” felt a bit lacking early in the evening. Stunning gowns and a few crisp men’s looks were on full display — but where was the art, exactly?

Soon after the carpet kicked into high gear, the blend of fashion and art — a request intended to celebrate the museum’s new exhibition, Costume Art, which opens to the public on Sunday, May 10 — began to reveal itself in myriad ways. Venus Williams explained to a red carpet reporter that her Swarovski gown and neckpiece were inspired by her own portrait, hanging in London’s National Gallery (now that’s clout), while Elizabeth Debicki indeed looked like one of the Grecian statues in the Met Museum exhibition, wearing a Greco-Roman draped gown by Vera Wang.

With only a few exceptions, the art and history of handicraft in fashion enjoyed the spotlight, which is precisely the point of the museum’s Costume Institute. Some looks took their cue directly from paintings and sculpture — in Heidi Klum’s case that resulted in a full-on commitment, as she arrived fully covered in the look of a Raffaelle Monti 1847 Veiled Vestal sculpture, which she came up with after visiting the Metropolitan Museum and deciding exactly which piece of art she wanted to emulate, a detail that should surprise no one who knows the supermodel’s commitment to Halloween each year.

While other looks were more artful than art-inspired, ultimately, this was a carpet devoted to appreciating the beauty of fashion, in all its forms. Some may have looked like they stepped out of a painting, while others looked like they represented the passion of handwork in an atelier. Both are valid for an event that honors the incredibly rich history of the clothes we wear. With that in mind, The Hollywood Reporter selected 15 looks that covered the style spectrum.

Beyoncé in Olivier Rousteing

Olivier Rousteing exited his position as creative director of Balmain last November, but anyone who loves fashion as he does wouldn’t be content to sit on the sidelines. Rousteing couldn’t choose a better way to announce his presence with authority than designing a wow moment for the woman returning to the Met Gala after a 10-year absence. Beyoncé’s arrival on the Met Gala carpet elicited the night’s loudest screams from the fans waiting across Fifth Avenue, also because she brought the drama in this skeleton-inspired gown fully embellished with crystals. Roustein’s design takes its cue from “Visitor,” a 1944 crayon lithograph by Caroline Durieux, a Black American artist and professor who taught at Tulane and Louisiana State University between the 1930s and 1960s. Hints of the ombré feather coat Beyoncé wore also can be seen in “Visitor,” while her Chopard diamonds included pieces from the house’s Garden of Kalahari collection, as well as a recently released cuff from the 2026 Red Carpet Collection, crafted in 18-karat ethical white gold and diamonds and showcasing a 50.99-carat cabochon-cut emerald.

Sam Smith in Christian Cowan

You can always count on Sam Smith to be anything but shy with their red carpet style, which consistently makes them a Met Gala favorite. They did not disappoint with their look on Monday night, a custom design by Christian Cowan that included a cocoon coat embellished with more than 230,000 crystals and beads and required 800 hours of handcraft by 45 artisans. Add the feathers atop Sam’s head, and the inspiration quickly became clear: Erté, the artist and designer who dominated the Art Deco movement of the 1920s. Smith’s look indeed evoked thoughts of Erté’s famed illustrations, especially their headpiece, a collaboration between Cowan and famed milliner Stephen Jones. Smith and Cowan, who have been a couple since at least the 2024 Met Gala, attended together, with the designer wearing a beaded suit that complemented Smith’s look nicely. The Grammy winner finished their look with Cartier jewels.

Emma Chamberlain in Mugler

An early arrival on the Met Gala steps, Emma Chamberlain set a beautiful tone in a Mugler handpainted gown, designed by creative director Miguel Castro Freitas, that resembled paint dripping onto a drop cloth, enhanced by the effect of pooling and smeared colors. Overall, the result was artful and, dare we say it, painterly. Chamberlain completed her look with Chopard jewels and Stuart Weitzman shoes.

Jon Batiste in ERL Artisanal

ERL Artisanal is the Venice Beach-based label founded by Eli Russell Linnetz, and the backstory of the Met Gala look planned by Linnetz, Jon Batiste and Batiste’s stylist, Corey Stokes, is nothing less than impressive. Linnetz and Batiste worked with the estate of Barkley L. Hendricks, the Philadelphia-born Black painter and photographer celebrated for his “Birth of the Cool” works in the 1960s and 1970s, and whose work was seen at last year’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” Costume Institute exhibition. Hendricks’s seminal 1976 work, “Steve,” part of the Whitney Museum’s permanent collection, served as the inspiration for Batiste’s look, which was crafted from deadstock pearlescent and glitter silk taffeta from the 1970s.

In a statement, Linnetz pointed to the importance of Hendricks’s “intentional use of all-white clothing to highlight the contrast and presence of the skin tone of his subjects, stripping the palate to pure form and exploring sculptural possibilities of draping, asymmetry and volume.” Batiste completed his look with a 1951 brooch from the Cartier archives, crafted in platinum and white gold and embellished with diamonds.

Nicole Kidman in Chanel

In the week prior to the Met Gala, social media abounded with rumors that Kim Kardashian had rented Princess Diana’s famed “Revenge Dress,” designed by Christina Stambolian and worn in 1994. Spoiler: Kardashian wore a different look, but Nicole Kidman turning up as the lady in red immediately caused her look by Chanel to enjoy the same “revenge dress” moniker. Attending with her daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, who wore Dior, Kidman indeed looked fantastic in the crimson gown that was fully embroidered with sequins, handcraft that required more than 800 hours, and finished with a lush feathered peplum. The Oscar winner accessorized her gown with Chanel high jewelry, Chanel shoes and a vintage Omega timepiece.

Rosé in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

In his spring 1988 haute-couture collection, Yves Saint Laurent paid tribute to 20th-century painter and sculptor Georges Braque, who was celebrated for his dove motifs. Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello honored that idea with the beaded, pearl-embellished dove that sat on the hip of Rosé’s strapless silk gown. Tiffany & Co. platinum and diamond jewels completed her look.

EJAE in Swarovski

The handcrafted and fit of EJAE’s custom Swarovski gown was absolutely stunning, with more than 700,000 Swarovski crystals required to complete the design. “I wanted to create a crystal sculpture — something that merges classical beauty with [EJAE’s] own cultural identity, using crystal to sculpt the body, almost like light on marble,” explained Giovanna Engelbert, global creative director of Swarovski, in a statement. The design of her hairstyle, meanwhile, was meant to honor her Korean heritage. The singer/songwriter completed her look with shoes by Gianvito Rossi.

Julianne Moore in Bottega Veneta

If you’re seeking artistic inspiration for fashion from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, it would be difficult to select something better than John Singer Sargent’s Madame X, the iconic painting that has resided at the Fifth Avenue museum since 1916. Three women on Monday night honored the artwork: honorary co-chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos in custom Schiaparelli, Claire Foy in Erdem and Julianne Moore, seen here in Bottega Veneta. The strap slipping off the shoulder was the key tell, a scandalous moment when the painting debuted in 1884, causing Sargent to repaint the detail so it sat primly on his subject’s shoulder. Moore’s falling strap wasn’t an accident; it was a statement. She completed her look with diamonds by Messika.

Hudson Williams in Balenciaga

If you spent far too long searching for “Spanish matador paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Hudson Williams’s look wasn’t literal in that particular sense, though there is a historic reference. Creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli was inspired by a jacket that resides at Spain’s Cristobal Balenciaga Museum, a 1947 piece by the legendary designer. Piccioli built out the look from that jacket, also advising the Heated Rivalry star to go shirtless and adding a cape-like train for dramatic effect. Williams accessorized his look with Bulgari jewels, including a platinum and diamond high-jewelry necklace.

Sabrina Carpenter in Dior

Among the most imaginative connections of fashion and art came courtesy of Sabrina Carpenter’s Dior look, designed by creative director Jonathan Anderson. Eschewing the paintings and sculptures that inspired many other looks, Anderson opted for a different art form: film, crafting Carpenter’s halter gown largely from strips of black-and-white film. And not just any film: 1954’s Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn, which the star noted on the red carpet “is one of my favorite films of all time.” (In a nice bit of symmetry, Monday also was Hepburn’s birthday.) Carpenter’s look was finished with Chopard jewels and Christian Louboutin shoes.

Isha Ambani in Gaurav Gupta

India’s incredible history in clothing and jewels was on full display with philanthropist and arts patron Isha Ambani, whose look by New Delhi-based couturier Gaurav Gupta consisted of a lush gold sari, a cape fashioned to create a halo effect, and more than 1,800 carats of diamonds and gemstones. The jewels embroidered on the bodice came from Ambani’s personal collection, many of them belonging to her mother, while Gupta’s artisans spent more than 1,200 hours in both the beading and hand-painting of the look. Ambani completed her look with Lorraine Schwartz jewels, jasmine crafted of paper, copper and brass in her hair, and an evening bag crafted as a mango sculpture.

Patrick Schwarzenegger in Public School

Patrick Schwarzenegger noted on the carpet that Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne were inspired by Salvador Dali to create his Met Gala look, a layered design that consisted of a cropped bolero jacket in lambskin, a floor-length tailored wool coat, silk pants with a built-in corset, a high-collar Oxford shirt and a lambskin leather tie.The actor accessorized the suit with David Yurman jewels and boots by Christian Louboutin.

Chase Sui Wonders in McQueen

Art references might not immediately leap to mind with Chase Sui Wonders flowing lilac McQueen gown, but she noted on the carpet that a recent trip to Pompeii, where she viewed ancient Roman wall reliefs, put the inspiration firmly in her mind. Crafted of silk georgette and satin and featuring an oversized bow at the neck, the gown both moved beautifully on the carpet and fit the night’s color theme nicely. The Studio actress completed her look with Tiffany & Co. jewels, Amina Muaddi shoes and a McQueen evening bag.

Connor Storrie in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

Yes, Heated Rivalry‘s Connor Storrie looked stylish and sexy in his custom look from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello — but was that the only statement the star was making? Androgyny has been explored as a theme in art extending back to 500 B.C., while Greek mythology and the Renaissance likewise embraced androgynous figures, sometimes presenting them as deities or angels. Perhaps Storrie wasn’t trying to be that literal, but given the Greek influences seen throughout the Costume Art exhibition, this pointed statement of style and sexuality offered messages deeper than beautiful tailoring. The actor finished his look with jewels by Tiffany & Co., including brooches embellished with rubellites and diamonds set in 18-karat yellow gold and platinum.

Rihanna in Maison Margiela

RiRi loves to be the star who wraps the Met Gala carpet, and Monday night was no exception, as Rihanna and A$AP Rocky arrived roughly 30 minutes after the dinner reportedly had already begun inside the museum. But she made up for it with a look that undeniably was entrance-making, a custom Maison Margiela design by Belgium-born creative director Glenn Martens. Taking a cue from his Artisanal 2025 collection, Martens was inspired by the medieval architecture of Flanders in the northern region of his native country. The fabrication and details were likewise thoughtful, a duchesse silk woven with metallic threads typically used for computer wiring, as well as a bodice fully hand-embroidered with more than 115,000 crystal beads, antique jewels and delicate chains. Rihanna pulled from a variety of sources for her jewels, including Glenn Spiro earrings featuring Desert diamonds by De Beers Group, ear cuffs by Briony Raymond and DYNE, and a 1930s diamond ring courtesy of Fred Leighton.

See all theMet Gala looks here, and catch up onThe Hollywood Reporter‘s Met Gala coverage here.