By Bolaji Akinwande.
The MET Gala is an annual fashion fundraising event hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York. For decades, the high-profile fundraiser events have served as the highest expression of fashion, bringing together people from different walks of life, from entertainment to politics, tech, and even sports.
Every year, the gala is guided by a theme from the Costume Institute, which often examines fashion through different medium and lenses. The theme also comes with a dress code, allowing guests to show up in their best interpretations.
The 2026 theme titled “Costume Art” examines how the human body serves as a canva, and a connector between art and fashion. For a broader context, the theme focuses on how fashion interplays with art, using the center of the dressed body as the focal point.
For the theme, the human body is explored in four different areas, namely the “Naked Body” and the “Classical Body,” alongside the “Pregnant Body” and the “Aging Body,” which have been traditionally overlooked and underrepresented. Think of this exploration as a way of championing the human body while also challenging rigid ideals of beauty.
However, this year’s dress code, tagged “Fashion is Art,” is perhaps one of the most though-provoking aspect of the event, as it positions “fashion” and “art” as two medium of expression that intertwine and sit next to each other, just as seen at the preview of the Costume Institute exhibition, where the “dressed bodies” are placed next to paintings and ancient sculptures.
On Monday Night, we spotted an array of looks all targeted towards one purpose- fashion as a medium of art. While some references didn’t quiet land, others told stories, channeling identity, history, and modern heritage.
Here are some of our best art references:
1- Law Roach in a custom Ami Paris suit with painted detailing from Gabonese artists- Naïla Opiangah.
Photo Credit: X
The white tailored suit with hand-painted detailing is an artistic collaboration between celebrity stylist Law Roach and the young African artist, Naïla. The painting, which resembles an abstract female body, is a direct nod to this year’s exhibition theme. It further highlights how black art activates a sense of authority and shapes cultural narratives.
2- Anok Yai in custom Balenciaga referencing the Mater Dolorosa statue
Photo Credit: Instagram
American Model Anok Yai paid homage to the Mater Dolorosa, an important key subject for Marian art in the Catholic Church. Wearing a black taffeta gown with a cape, finished with a sculptural prosthetic wig, and teardrop- like makeup. Anok references a significant emblem of the Christian religion, proving that fashion can be reinterpreted beyond abstract art and can also have a spiritual meaning.
3- Jon Batiste in custom ERL ( Eli Russell Linnetz). The visual language of Black-American artist Barkley L. Hendricks inspires the look.
Photo Credit: X
American singer and songwriter Jon Batiste wore an all-white look by the designer Eli Russell Linnetz. The three-piece suit set is a direct nod to the visual language of Philadelphia-born painter Barkley L. Hendricks, who was an eminent figure in the 60s & 70s black art movements
BLH’s work depicted figures of black people in sharp monochrome outfits (often white). Hendricks’s work celebrated pride and a sense of dandyism.
Photo Credit: X
Before Jon Batiste stepped on the carpet, he was photographed wearing another Barkley reference, this time a blue t-shirt featuring the famous graphic Superman logo, and a pair of sunglasses. The ensemble, alongside the pose, is a bold reference to the artist’s 1969 “Icon for My Man Superman” painting.
By channeling these two looks, Jon Batiste expresses the interconnection between fashion, history, and art.
4- Bad Bunny in a custom Zara reference to the Ageing Body
Photo Credit: metagalaofficial via Instagram.
One of the thematic ideas behind this year’s Costume Institute exhibition is examining the body as a form of art, and the “ageing body” is part of the four different body types serving as a source of reference to Bad Bunny’s look, the Puerto Rican rapper & actor. Styled in a custom black suit with a tie-neck silk shirt from Zara, accompanied by a prosthetic work which creates the illusion of an old man, the look blends how fashion can be used as a form of performance art.
5- Madonna in a custom Saint Laurent reference to The Temptation of St. Anthony. Fragment II
photo credit: Instagram.
The Temptation of St. Anthony Fragment II is a 1945 surrealist painting by British-Mexican painter and novelist Leonora Carrington, which depicts St. Anthony, the Great, who was a Christian monk from Egypt. In the painting, he is surrounded by demons and illusions, a visual representation of battle against desire, temptation, and the chaos of the world. At the Met Gala, Madonna arrives in a black dress, long veil, and a sculptural headpiece depicting the painting.
The reference had depth; it was a performance art, one that examined how art mirrors society, or in this case, the Met Gala itself- a capitalist institution built on the back of underpaid corporate workers.
6- Angela Bassett, in a custom Prabal Gurung, draws inspiration from Laura Wheeler Waring’s painting titled “Girl in Pink Dress,” a nod to the golden age of the Harlem Renaissance.
Photo Credit: X
Laura Wheeler is an American realist painter known for her black portraits during the Harlem Renaissance, a time characterized by a new form of cultural expression among black people.
Angela Bassett captures the elegance of Wheeler’s work in a pink, soft, draped gown with fringe detailing, which traces the subject matter of one of Laura’s paintings, where poise and self-fashioning are at the center.
7- Skepta in custom Thom Browne. The outfit references the singer’s tattoo and lyrics from his song- “Back 2 Back.”
Photo Credit: X
Skepta steps into the world of self-expression for this year’s theme. Wearing a custom Thom Browne tailored jumpsuit with embroidery that references his own tattoo art, and even song lyrics. The look blends artistry with modern-day self-expression.
8- Ciara in custom Celia Kritharioti referencing Egyptian goddess Neferititi.
Photo Credit: X
Ciara brings some African art references to this year’s gala, paying homage to Nefertiti. The singer wears a gold embellished gown by a Greek designer, Celia Kritharioti, paired with a headpiece. The look felt polished, regal, and avant-garde.
9- Yu-Chu Lyra Kuo in a custom Jean Paul Gaultier reference to the Winged Victory of Samothrace
Photo Credit: Instagram.
Yu-Chu Lyra Kuo had one of the most sculptural looks at the Met Gala this year. The tech investor wore a white, multi-draped gown designed by French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, inspired by origami, a Japanese art form that involves folding paper to create a sculptural look.
The look also had another meaning; it was a nod to the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a 1863 Hellenistic marble sculpture of the Greek goddess, Nike. The multi-layered ensemble pulls inspiration from multiple cultures, proving that fashion and art are pluralistic.
10- Blake Newby in custom Vicnate inspired by Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu.
In the Met Gala’s social commentary, it is often believed that non-guests at the event often have some of the most underrated looks, and that is the case with Blake Newby, an American writer and cultural expert who served as the red-carpet host for The Cut. She wore a sculpted dress by Nigerian designer Vicnate, which drew references from the work of Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, a painter and sculptor.
The brown-toned dress is a direct nod to Enwonwu’s The Glory of Ancient Benin, Song of the City 1942- 1989 Verso on Canvas painting. The look brings an interpretation of Nigerian and African art to this year’s event, something that is rarely celebrated.
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