With “Fashion Is Art” as the dress code, the 2026 Met Gala red carpet produced a range of direct references to art history — from classical Greek sculpture to specific paintings, movements, and cultural traditions. Here is every look that drew from a work of art, and the reference behind it.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores Madonna in Saint Laurent was inspired by “The Temptation Of St. Anthony. Fragment II” by Leonora Carrington.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Sotheby's “The Temptation Of St. Anthony. Fragment II” by Leonora Carrington
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Michael Buckner Kendall Jenner in Gap by Zac Posen was inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: AFP via Getty Images The Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Masato Onada/WWD Yu Chi Lyra Kuo in Jean Paul Gaultier was also inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores Hunter Schafer in a custom Prada look inspired by Gustav Klimt’s painting “Mäda Primavesi.”
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art “Mäda Primavesi” by Gustav Klimt.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Michael Buckner Lauren Sánchez Bezos in Schiaparelli, inspired by “Madame X” (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau) by John Singer Sargent.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art “Madame X” (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau) by John Singer Sargent.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Lexie Moreland/WWD Gracie Abrams in Chanel, inspired by Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer I.”
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Public Domain Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer I.”
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Lexie Moreland/WWD Rachel Zegler dress was inspired by “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Paul Delaroche.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: London National Gallery “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Paul Delaroche.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Penske Media Heidi Klum in custom Mike Marino, inspired by “The Veiled Virgin” by Giovanni Strazza.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Shhewitt / Creative Commons “The Veiled Virgin” by Giovanni Strazza.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety Sam Smith in Christian Cowan, inspired by Evelyn Brent.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Bettmann Archive A portrait of Evelyn Brent.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores Ben Platt in custom Tanner Fletcher, inspired by Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.”
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores Lisa Airan inspired by Henri Matisse’s “Dance (I).”
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: MoMa “Dance (I)” by Henri Matisse.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Penske Media Angela Bassett was inspired by Laura Wheeler Waring’s “Girl in Pink Dress.”
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Michael Buckner Luke Evans inspired by Tom of Finland.
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Met Gala 2026: Art References
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores Amy Sherald was inspired by her own creation, “Miss Everything.”