On the night of May 4-5, the main event of the year for the entire fashion industry took place in New York – the Met Gala 2026. This year, the audience saw a real “night at the museum”, when the exhibition exhibits came to life: on the red carpet, living Greek sculptures walked in front of them, such as Kendall Jenner in the image of Nike of Samothrace, or heroines from the works of Gustav Klimt, Leonora Carrington and Yves Klein. Let's see what art references the guests of the ball used, because this year it was dedicated to the interaction between fashion, art and the body.
Madonna
Madonna, dressed as a witch, made a spectacular appearance on the Met Gala red carpet, accompanied by seven assistants who held her train. The performance is a reference to the work of British-Mexican artist Leonora Carrington entitled “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (1945).
Advertising.
Saint Laurent's creative director Anthony Vaccarello worked on Madonna's image – together they recreated the smallest details of the painting, including the ghost ship headdress.
Kendall Jenner
American model Kendall Jenner chose a sculptural dress for the 2026 Met Gala, inspired by the Victory of Samothrace, one of the most famous statues of the ancient era.
Kendall Jenner
The dress was designed by Zac Posen, his first collaboration with Jenner. Fun fact: he is now the creative director of the affordable GAP brand, so he took a plain white T-shirt as the basis for the dress and combined it with the draping traditions of such prominent designers as Madame Gre and Azzedine Alaïa.
Gracie Abrams
Musician Gracie Abrams showed how Gustav Klimt's iconic “The Kiss” can be a fashion statement at the 2026 Met Gala. She walked the red carpet in a gold gown designed by Chanel's creative director, Mathieu Blasi.
Blasi emphasized the connection to Klimt not only with the use of gold, but also with the Austrian artist's signature geometry. The bodice of the dress is decorated with a multi-colored mosaic, which thousands of tourists come to see in Vienna's Belvedere Palace, where the painting is kept.
Kim Kardashian
The image of Kim Kardashian became a tribute to the work of British artist Allen Jones, a key figure in European pop art. The object of his research has always been the female body. Since the 1960s, the artist has actually become an apologist for his cult, exploring both sexuality and glamour. Jones transformed women into paintings, sculptures and even furniture.
The main reference for the Kardashian team was a photo of model Kate Moss posing for Pop Magazine in a metallic orange bodysuit created by Jones.
Charli XCX
Singer Charli XCX chose a modest Saint Laurent dress that was actually a great example of how fashion and art can be combined. The inspiration came from a jacket from Saint Laurent's 1988 collection, which was itself dedicated to the work of Vincent van Gogh, in particular his work “Irises”.
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum, who is called the queen of transformations during the celebration of Halloween, transferred her talent for the most unexpected transformations to the red carpet of the Met Gala. This time she became a living sculpture. Her reference was the work of sculptor Rafael Monti “Vestalic Vestal in Veiled Form”, which was commissioned by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, during a trip to Naples in 1846. By the way, this sculpture could also be seen on the big screen – in the 2005 film by Joe Wright “Pride and Prejudice”.
Claire Foy
Another sophisticated look that connects fashion and art was presented by actress Claire Foy. The main detail of her black dress was the lowered strap – a nod to the painting “Portrait of Madame X” by John Singer Sargent. The painting became scandalous at the Paris Salon of 1884: initially one strap of the dress was painted lowered from the shoulder, and the public perceived this as a too frank gesture. Later, Sargent repainted it, raising it to the shoulder.
Tessa Thompson
Actress Tessa Thompson, for her part, was inspired by 20th-century art, specifically the work of Yves Klein. His famous monochrome paintings were praised for their use of a single color—blue. This specific shade, which Klein eventually patented, later became known as International Klein Blue (IKB).
Klein's experimentalism was characterized by works in which he used nude female models as living brushes, covering them in blue paint and dragging them across canvases to create an image. The artist called this movement anthropometry. This energy was also attempted to be conveyed through the Thompson dress, which was worked on by Anthony Vaccarello, the creative director of Valentino.
