entertainment • May. 15, 2026

Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and Janelle Monáe Redefine Met Gala Dress Code With Bold Fashion Statements

Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and Janelle Monáe turned heads at the Met Gala 2026 by taking creative artistic liberties with the event’s dress code, delivering viral celebrity fashion moments and redefining red carpet style trends.

The 2026 Met Gala: Fashion is Art Celebrities turned the red carpet into a live gallery of couture, performance and artistic expression at the 2026 Met Gala, which embraced the theme “Fashion is Art.” Stars used inspiration from paintings, anatomy, movies and self-portraiture to push creative boundaries with personalized designs that ranged from sculptural costumes to dramatic performances. Beyoncé shimmered in a custom Olivier Rousteing skeleton-inspired gown with feathery train and diamond crown, and Naomi Osaka wowed in a dramatic Robert Wun creation with exaggerated shoulders, scarlet feathers and a secret anatomy-inspired gown exposed underneath. Emma Chamberlain was a vision in a hand-painted Mugler dress filled with rainbow colors and swirling details, representing the night’s celebration of fashion as wearable art.

The event was also a chance for guests to take inspiration directly from notable artworks and artists. Matthieu Blazy’s mint Chanel number was the pick of Anna Wintour, while Venus Williams paid homage to a portrait of herself by artist Robert Pruitt in a dazzling black dress and Swarovski neckpiece. “Girls” star and writer Lena Dunham worked with Valentino’s Alessandro Michele on a dramatic crimson feathered gown inspired by Artemisia Gentileschi’s “Judith Slaying Holofernes.” Accessories, however, were artistic statements in their own right, with Gwendoline Christie sporting a mask of her own face and Katy Perry wearing a fencing-style mask that theatrically opened for photographers.

Several attendees converted into walking art displays during the evening. Prior to the event, Anne Hathaway wore a hand-painted Michael Kors dress with a dove of peace painted on it by artist Jessica Kayll, who created a water lily scene inspired by Monet on the outfit. Madonna walked the carpet as a performance piece, with attendants holding cloth tied to her headgear inspired by a pirate ship, and Janelle Monáe made one of the biggest statements of the night in a sculptural moss-covered outfit with animatronic butterflies.

Remember what it was to be human. “Nature is speaking to us,” Monáe told reporters during the ceremony. Fashion paid tribute to the human body at the gala as well.

Supermodels Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk opted for exposing silhouettes, and Bad Bunny appeared with elaborate aging makeup complete with gray hair and a cane, joking that the change took “53 years” to achieve. Kim Kardashian looked gorgeous in a shiny orange body plate by Allen Jones from the 1960s, and Heidi Klum went as a draped statue. Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky were among the last to arrive, in a jewel-encrusted, cocoon-like gown, closing off the night in signature style and providing a dramatic climax to one of the most visually adventurous years of the Met Gala..