The 2026 Met Gala red carpet did not disappoint. With references to almost every art style and genre in painted and sculptural form, this year’s theme, ‘Fashion is Art’ had multiple iconic takes.
However, there was a throughline in many of the guests’ accessories and shapes that walked the red carpet more than anything else: the human body.
From accentuated torsos and structured bodices to fake appendages, bodies and body parts were a recurring theme this year. While this may have come as a shock to some, the body-con focus was very much in line with the Costume Institute’s exhibition this year.
How do bodies relate to the 2026 Met Gala theme?
In a world increasing dictated by artificial intelligence, people are seeking physical experiences, and as always, the arts industry is at the helm of this revolution.
While many of the celebrities unable to attend the Met Gala in 2026 have been replicated through AI online, what cannot be replicated is the exhibition itself. For that reason, the 2026 curator of the Met’s blockbuster fashion exhibition is showcasing the bodily experience.
In exploring the relationship between fashion and the human body, 200 garments will be paired with 200 artworks from the museum’s collection, showcasing diverse body types across 13 themes, including the nude, pregnant, and disabled body.
“The whole show [is] structured around a typology of bodies, and these are bodies that you see across the museum when you encounter artworks,” Bolton, the show’s curator, explained. “The simple thesis for the show really is the fact that the dressed body is the connecting thread throughout the entire museum.”
At a time where it feels like Hollywood is moving backwards in terms of body representation, it’s refreshing to see the creative world shine a torch on just how diverse the lived human experience is and looks like.
The most iconic body themed Met Gala outfits
While Jordan Roth wore a custom Robert Wun dress, bringing a literal statue to life, Lena Mahfouf stole the show with a Burc Akyol design that had two sculpted hands grasping at her chest. Lisa from Blackpink also wore Robert Wun, showcasing some extra limbs that held up an angelic white and jewel encrusted veil.
Gwendoline Christie opted to detach a different body part as she carried her face as her accessory in a look designed by British designer Giles Deacon. However, it was Maria Zardoya, lead singer of The Marías who brought a whole new body to the gala – more specifically, a doll-sized version of herself.
Perhaps the least scandalous take on the body-focused theme this year were all the structured and naked silhouettes. From Kylie and Kendall Jenner’s almost-matching looks to Laura Merrier’s wet look, the human form was on full display. Even Heidi Klum, in her look paying homage to the Veiled Vestal statue, leaned into structural shapewear (literally) to bring to life the bodies that have been praised in museums for years.
While there were so many ways celebrities could have interpreted this year’s theme, amidst the hits and misses, you can’t deny that choosing a Met Gala look is an artform in and of itself.
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