If it feels disengeous to compare the annual Met Gala to the Super Bowl, that’s only because the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual fundraiser — the event, which takes place on the first Monday of May, raised a jaw-dropping $31 million last year — is arguably an even bigger deal to fashion cognoscenti, the chronically online and, in general, hyper-ravenous consumers of culture.
Frankensteining together pop culture, institutional powers and high fashion into one blockbuster red carpet, the Met Gala’s collision of wealth, celebrity and transcendent designs from the industry’s biggest names is the stuff of legend; hosted by co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Miranda Priestly lookalike Anna Wintour, this year’s Met Gala was arguably bigger than ever. (In dollar amount, certainly — the institute shattered the record for a second year in a row with more than $42 million raised.)
In particular, the nebulous dress code — “Fashion is Art,” to complement the corresponding “Costume Art” exhibit slated to open May 10th — portended a bombshell, if not outright historic, night. With the forthcoming collection’s focus on the many forms of the human body, designers and attendees alike were given near free rein to exaggerate, enhance and even strip back the contours of the anatomical form.
In reality, this meant a medley of aesthetics from all the names you might expect on the (checks notes) mossy green carpet, ranging from perennial menswear star Coleman Domingo in geometrically abstracted Valentino to Hudson Williams of Heated Rivalry fame in Black Swan-inspired guy-liner to the Met Gala king Bad Bunny in full abuelito drag.
Was the theme executed properly, if even remotely considered? Possibly. (Probably not.) We’re here to unpack it all. Find a list of the best, worst and wackiest the Met Gala 2026 red carpet had to offer below.
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Bad Bunny in Custom Zara
Jay Z in Louis Vuitton
Connor Storrie in Saint Laurent
Hudson Williams in Balenciaga
Damson Idris in Prada
Colman Domingo in Valentino
Sombr in Custom Valentino
Troye Sivan in Prada
Joe Alwyn in Valentino
Jaafar Jackson in Polo Ralph Lauren
Joe Burrow in Bode
Jack Harlow in Torishéju
Jeremy Pope in Vivienne Westwood
Miles Chamley-Watson in Custom KidSuper
Raul Lopez in Luar
Romeo Beckham in Burberry
Dwyane Wade in Custom Michael Kors
Ephraim Sykes in Who Decides War
Rami Malek in Saint Laurent
Paul Anthony Kelly in Dior
Patrick Schwarzenegger in Public School
Nicholas Hoult in Prada
Kun in Thom Browne
Stanley Tucci in Custom Etro
Dwayne Johnson in Thom Browne
Law Roach in Custom AMI
Skepta in Thom Browne
Finn Wolfhard in Thom Browne
John Imah in Custom Charles Harbison
Tom Ford in Tom Ford
Rauw Alejandro in Saint Laurent
Marcello Hernandez in Thom Browne
Maluma in Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann
Anderson .Paak in Amiri
Bill Skarsgård in Thom Browne
Hugh Jackman in Giorgio Armani
Adrien Brody in Dior
Rev. Al Sharpton
Jon Batiste in Custom ERL
Morgan Spector in Custom Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann
Tyriq Withers in Louis Vuitton
Ben Platt in Custom Tanner Fletcher
Gustav Magnar in Robert Wun SS26 Couture
Sam Smith in Christian Cowan
Luke Evans in Palomo Spain
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