The Met Gala is considered the number-one fashion event of the year, drawing the buzziest guest list and a drove of photographers to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its surrounding hotels every year. The outfits on the red carpet can be counted on to be couture or custom, even down to the shoes.
Ahead of the 2026 Met Gala, where the theme is “Costume Art” and the dress code “Fashion Is Art,” FN turned to the footwear industry to find out about the process of making custom shoes for the high-profile event.
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Everything is heightened when it comes to Met Gala fashion, and that means footwear can be bigger, bolder, bespoke or maybe all three at once. Take, for example, the shoes worn by Debbie Allen last year in her Met Gala debut: a pair of Clergerie platforms that were hand-bedazzled by Anthony Cotillard at Le Rhinestud to go with her custom Paul Tazewell look.
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Cotillard told FN about the vision behind Allen’s sparkling personalized shoes.
“The shoes were a style Debbie Allen already loves and wears regularly. Even though they were mostly concealed under the wide-legged trousers and ball skirt, the intention was that every element of the look felt considered and contributed to the overall story,” Cotillard said. “From my side, I was brought in to develop a red ombré crystal treatment that would bring depth and dimension to the shoes while staying aligned with the rest of the look.”
To create the dazzling gradient ruby red effect, he used Preciosa crystals in Siam and Light Siam, with sizes ranging from SS30 (about 6.5 mm) to SS3 (about 1.3 mm). Cotillard explained, “Mixing these sizes allows for a smooth color gradient across the surface of the shoe.”
When it comes to timeline, there’s preference versus reality to consider. Cotillard shared, “Ideally, I would have two to three weeks to develop and execute a design. In reality, timelines tend to be much shorter — it’s not unusual for projects like this to come together within a few days, sometimes even less.”
The team over at Paris-based luxury brand Amina Muaddi understands crunch time as well. Last year, the brand made custom shoes for guests including Rihanna (with whom the brand has previously collaborated) and Kim Kardashian.
Speaking of customs, Desree Ade, junior PR coordinator at Amina Muaddi, told FN that the team will create a curated range of options for a client, potentially three to five, making variations of the same style by switching up details like color and material to align with the client’s look. These are developed in close collaboration with the Amina Muaddi design team, styling teams and the talent.
The brand worked closely with Fenty creative director, Amina Muaddi art director and Rihanna’s stylist Jahleel Weaver, who had the idea for the two-toned brogue spectator style that Rihanna wore with her custom Marc Jacobs look in 2025. It was a new style for Amina Muaddi, but the lace-up silhouette was later released as part of Amina Muaddi’s collection, dubbed the Kim mule. Weaver also styled Kardashian that year and collaborated with Amina Muaddi on her custom lace-up boots in croc leather.
“Working around Met Gala themes in close collaboration with talent and their teams creates an ideal opportunity to experiment with new ideas and see how they perform,” Ade told FN.
Another designer who’s deeply familiar with the customs process is Chris Francis, who is known for his uniquely artistic bespoke footwear creations.
“Over the years I’ve made several pairs that I know of that attended the Met Gala,” the designer told FN. “I often make for an outside fashion house that sends me their celebrity custom orders, the more artistic one-off pieces that need to be custom made. Some of those pairs have been specifically created for the Met Gala.”
Unless Francis is working with one of his own personal customers, he usually doesn’t know who he is creating shoes for until he sees them worn at an event. (This recently happened with a performer at Coachella.) He recommends a two-week notice for his custom shoe process, but he’s used to creating a pair in one just one week. It’s generally a quicker process for an existing customer, since Francis takes measurements of clients’ feet and makes custom lasts for them, which he then keeps on file for the future.
Francis’ creations are wide ranging and dependent upon the circumstances they’re made for.
“Some of my boldest designs have been for museums, I can get away with absolute creativity in the art arena but my artistry in the walkable world is often found in the small details and in providing clients proper service and meeting their needs,” Francis said. “For an event like the Met Gala, a client may already have their attire planned but they just need proper shoes to complement and my service would be to make that happen, from simple and elegant to the most flamboyant and experimental.”
Stay tuned for the custom shoe looks at the 2026 Met Gala.