Celebs dressed like famous artworks at the Met Gala 2026—and these were their references

The 2026 Met Gala theme, 'Fashion Is Art', encouraged guests to think beyond dressing up. And this year’s carpet made one thing abundantly clear: many understood the assignment on a near-curatorial level.

Across the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrities arrived in curated outfits that resembled some of art history’s most recognisable artworks. Channelling everything from Gustav Klimt portraits to ancient Greek marble sculptures, the result was a red carpet that felt more like a living, breathing art gallery, where fashion truly paid homage to and mimicked art itself. 

Ahead, the standout stars who took the “wearable art” theme quite literally.

Madonna as The Temptation of St. Anthony by Leonora Carrington

Madonna has never exactly been subtle with her style, which made her custom Saint Laurent look by Anthony Vaccarello an especially fitting vehicle for Leonora Carrington’s surrealist world.

Drawing from The Temptation of St. Anthony, the black satin-and-lace gown was elevated by a ghostly violet cape, a surreal ship-topped hat, and symbolic accessories that pushed the look into dreamscape territory. Ornate, mystical, and just unsettling enough, it felt like Carrington’s surrealism stepping directly off the canvas.

Angela Bassett as Girl in Pink Dress by Laura Wheeler Waring

Angela Bassett approached Laura Wheeler Waring’s Girl in Pink Dress through a Prabal Gurung lens, bringing the portrait’s softness and elegance into full couture.

The pastel-toned gown, complete with a flowing train and polished structure, honoured the original artwork’s femininity while amplifying it with the kind of regal presence Bassett naturally commands. Graceful yet commanding, it was portraiture translated through pure red carpet power.

Kendall Jenner as Winged Victory of Samothrace

Kendall Jenner’s interpretation of the ancient Greek masterpiece came courtesy of custom GapStudio by Zac Posen, who transformed the draped dynamism of Winged Victory of Samothrace into a sculptural white gown.

Crafted from reimagined Gap T-shirts, chiffon, and leather, the look fused monumentality with modern American fashion. With fluid folds, goddess-like movement, and a sharply constructed corset, it was less costume, more contemporary marble monument.

Venus Williams as Robert Pruitt’s Venus Williams, Double Portrait

As one of the evening’s co-chairs, Venus Williams used Swarovski to turn her own image into art.

Referencing Robert Pruitt’s Venus Williams, Double Portrait, her crystal-encrusted ensemble transformed self-representation into spectacle, blending athletic iconography with high-fashion craftsmanship. Personal, reflective, and brilliantly self-aware, it was a reminder that sometimes the muse and masterpiece are one and the same.

Rachel Zegler as The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche

Rachel Zegler leaned fully into drama through a Prabal Gurung interpretation of Delaroche’s The Execution of Lady Jane Grey.

Romantic whites, soft structure, and painterly draping gave her look an almost tragic delicacy, capturing the artwork’s emotional intensity without tipping into theatrical excess. It felt cinematic, fragile, and hauntingly composed.

Lena Dunham as Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi

Lena Dunham embraced Artemisia Gentileschi’s visceral intensity in a custom dramatic look that leaned unapologetically into chaos and literal bloodshed.

Translating the Judith Beheading Holofernes painting with a focus on the blood spattering from Holofernes' neck, Dunham’s blood-red Valentino dress by Alessandro Michele felt deliberately confrontational. Feminist fury rarely looks subtle, and that was precisely the point.

Kim Kardashian as Allen Jones’ Body Armour

Kim Kardashian’s collaboration with Allen Jones and Whitaker Malem Creative transformed the artist’s provocative metallic fetishism into wearable sculpture.

Her bronze-toned breastplate, paired with an open skirt silhouette, channelled Jones’ hyper-constructed vision of femininity while staying true to Kardashian’s signature body-conscious aesthetic. Equal parts armour and anatomy study, it was unapologetically sculptural.

Gracie Abrams as The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

Gracie Abrams arrived in custom Chanel, translating Klimt’s gilded romanticism into a softer, more delicate red carpet language.

Gold embellishment, ornate detailing, and luminous texture gave the look an intimate warmth that nodded to Klimt’s opulence without overwhelming Abrams’ understated presence. Romantic, artful, and beautifully restrained, it felt like Klimt through a gentler lens.

Rosé as The Birds by Georges Braque

Rosé’s Saint Laurent look channelled Braque’s cubist abstraction through sharp tailoring, avian references, and fractured elegance.

Rather than opting for overt replication, her ensemble leaned into shape and suggestion, using structure to evoke movement and fragmentation. Modern, cerebral, and sleekly referential, it was art history with an edge.

Kylie Jenner as Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch

Kylie Jenner’s sculptural Schiaparelli look drew from the marble sensuality of Venus de Milo, filtering ancient Greek beauty through Daniel Roseberry’s surrealist precision.

Draped folds, corseted structure, and goddess-coded glamour gave the look a distinctly Aphrodite-like presence, while Schiaparelli’s signature anatomical drama kept it rooted firmly in modern couture.

Gwendoline Christie as Madame Yevonde’s Mask

Gwendoline Christie, in a custom Giles Deacon, once again proved she understands theatrical dressing better than most.

Inspired by Madame Yevonde’s surreal portraiture, the look embraced colour, drama, and uncanny glamour with Christie’s trademark larger-than-life presence. The result felt like surrealist portraiture reborn through couture fantasy.

Emma Chamberlain as Van Gogh’s Garden at Arles

Emma Chamberlain wore a custom Mugler by Miguel Castro Freitas, turning herself into a painterly canvas inspired by Van Gogh’s Garden at Arles.

With hand-painted textures, floral references, and expressive surface work, the gown felt deeply personal rather than costume-like. Whimsical but considered, it balanced artistry with Emma’s increasingly conceptual fashion identity.

Heidi Klum as Veiled Vestal by Raffaelle Monti

Heidi Klum’s transformation came via prosthetic artist Mike Marino, whose custom sculptural creation turned Monti’s famed marble veil illusion into living couture.

With stone-like textures, translucent draping, and an almost uncanny sculptural finish, the look blurred the line between fashion and installation art. It was one of the night’s most literal interpretations, but also one of its most visually arresting.

Hunter Schafer as Mäda Primavesi by Gustav Klimt

Hunter Schafer’s custom Prada look was one of the night’s most direct and elegant artistic translations.

Inspired by Gustav Klimt’s 1912 portrait Mäda Primavesi, Schafer wore a white empire-waist gown adorned with delicate floral rosettes, echoing both the silhouette and innocence of Klimt’s young subject. Rather than overcomplicating the reference, Prada kept it poised and painterly, allowing Schafer’s otherworldly presence to do what it does best.

Lead image: Getty Images

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