On Monday night, extravagantly dressed celebrities and designers made their grand ascent up the Met Gala staircase, marking the start of fashion’s biggest night and raising money for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour are the 2026 Gala co-chairs. Lauren Sánchez Bezos is an honorary co-chair.
“Fashion is Art” is the dress code for this year’s Gala, and attendees were expected to follow it while viewing “Costume Art,” the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition. “Costume Art” opens to the public on May 10 in the Met’s new Condé Nast gallery spaces. It features century-spanning fashions on various body types, juxtaposed with art objects from the Met’s collections. Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton says the exhibition seeks to connect “artistic representations of the body with fashion as an embodied art form.”
Here are some red carpet outfits from the night:
– Beyoncé arrived in a sheer gown adorned with silver pieces resembling a ribcage, pelvis and vertebrae, with a silver headpiece and gray train. (Image credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
– Rihanna attended in a striking look. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
– Singer Lisa wore a sheer white gown with two white arms attached, holding up a sheer veil. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
– Bad Bunny appeared dressed as an old man in a black suit, using a cane. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
– Teyana Taylor wore head-to-toe silver fringe and was photographed turning around. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
– Madonna arrived in a black suit with a headpiece resembling a wooden ship, accompanied by gray fabric held by multiple models in pastel dresses. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
– SZA attended in a yellow gown with a headpiece woven from orchids and shells. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
– Anne Hathaway arrived with designer Michael Kors; she wore a black gown featuring a large hand reaching toward a dove, and he wore a black tuxedo and sunglasses. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
– Sabrina Carpenter wore a gown made of film strips and a jeweled headpiece. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
– Rauw Alejandro wore a silver piece covering much of his ear and jewelry across his nose. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
– Kylie Jenner attended in a dramatic look. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
– Janelle Monáe wore a gown with cords woven together, accented with moss and butterflies. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
– Emma Chamberlain wore a floor-length gown with beaded fringe on her arms. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
– Aariana Rose Philip attended in a black ruched gown and used a motorized wheelchair. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
– Joshua Henry performed with backup dancers in red and black suits. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
– Co-chairs Nicole Kidman, Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Anna Wintour appeared together; Kidman wore a red sequined gown with red feathers, Sánchez Bezos a navy gown, and Wintour a light blue feathered jacket over a beaded gown. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
– Venus Williams arrived with her husband Andrea Preti in a black sequin floor-length gown and a metallic neckpiece; he wore a black suit with a maroon bowtie. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
– Ashley Graham attended in a beige gown and posed biting a silver fingernail. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
– Sam Smith wore a black sequined gown with a feathered headpiece. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
– Jon Batiste arrived in a white suit with an oversized, floor-length white puffer jacket; his wife Suleika Jaouad wore a red patterned gown. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
– Sinéad Burke attended in a floor-length black gown with a train. (Julian Hamilton/Getty Images)
– Connor Storrie wore a black-and-white polka dot sleeveless top with black pants. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
These looks illustrate the night’s theme and the exhibition’s emphasis on fashion as a form of embodied art, with designers and celebrities interpreting “Fashion is Art” across a wide range of silhouettes, materials and concepts.