It’s unarguably fashion’s night of nights, and the anticipation ahead of the Meta Gala was palpable. While all of us were wondering who would show up and what they’d be wearing, there was one rumour that was running rampant ahead of the event.
A photo of Lady Gaga’s boots and headpiece from her infamous ‘meat dress’ outfit was circulating online on Monday, with the post suggesting the outfit had been be loaned out by the Haus of Gaga — a museum in Las Vegas where the dress is featured in a fashion exhibition honouring the pop star’s most iconic outfits.
Besides the boots and headpiece, which appear to be inside a glass cabinet, a plaque read: “The ‘meat dress’ by Frank Fernandez is currently in use. Please come again on May 5th.”
The post suggested that Kim Kardashian was behind the archival piece disappearing from the museum, a clear nod to her famously wearing a dress of Marilyn Monroe at the 2022 Met Gala, and suggesting a similar tribute would take place this year, and she’d have it returned the day after the event.
So, was Lady Gaga’s meat dress at the 2026 Met Gala?
While the dress would certainly have fit the event’s theme of ‘Costume Art’, there were a few key factors indicating that it wouldn’t be at the event.
And spoiler… it wasn’t.
Firstly, there was a spelling mistake in the photo, a common detail of AI-generated imagery.
You’ll notice that the designer’s name is spelled incorrectly (Frank instead of Franc), which immediately cast doubt on the legitimacy of the photo.
Secondly, as one savvy person pointed out, “The wig in the reflection doesn’t have the meat hat” – a sure sign of the slopiness that often comes hand in hand with fake images.
Thirdly, the meat dress is exactly that — meat.
The designer, Franc Fernandez, famously had only two days to make the dress because he was essentially working with a live carcass that was decaying in his hands.
“There’s a serial killer energy to it because you’re just pulling apart flesh and sewing it back together,” Fernandez said to the BBC when speaking about the process of creating it for Gaga.
After it was worn by Gaga, it was promptly put into a large ice box in the hopes that freezing it would slow the decaying of the meat.
While it did successfully get to a taxidermist maggot-free, after it was defrosted, the dress had reportedly already showed signs of decomposing and was emitting an odour.
Yikes.
The dress was subsequently sanitised and it was able to be preserved, but it did have to be dyed red to restore it’s original appearance.
The dress was then featured in the Haus of Gaga, where it’s been on display in Las Vegas’ Park MGM casino since May 2019, marking her residency at the venue.
The dress was also reportedly glued to the mannequin to restore it’s original shape and allow the ‘garment’ to be on display, so sadly, it’s wearability is now remarkably low.
Who did fans think was going to wear the meat dress?
There were quite a few people who, as previously mentioned, thought the claim was fake, but it still didn’t stop people from guessing who “borrowed it.”
“Omg hope it isn’t Kim K,” one person wrote, while someone else lamented, “Great, another iconic dress for her to ruin…🫣🫠”
“Stop not Kim K,” echoed a third.
Interestingly, a couple of people suggested perhaps singer Addison Rae would be the one to don the dress at the Met Gala, while another person said they thought it had actress Megan Stalter written all over it.
In the end though, the dress is still safely where it belongs – at the Haus of Gaga.
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