FAME Presents: Met Gala Monday – Fashion and Art Collide
By Clarita Youkanna
The 2026 Met Gala once again transformed the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art into fashion’s most theatrical courtroom, where every train, silhouette, and accessory pleaded a case for relevance, artistry, or reinvention. A night where every fashionista’s tune in like it’s the Super Bowl and for the right reasons. A night where fashion meets both Avant-garde style and expression. The Met Gala is a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City that is held every year on the first Monday in May.
Fashion is Art: Costume Art
The exhibition by Tyler Dane Wingco explores the relationship between the body and fashion. This year’s edition encourages attendees to consider the way designers use the body “as their blank canvas.” A post from the Costume Institute stated “Focusing primarily on Western art from prehistory to the present, the show will explore artistic representations of the dressed body, pairing fashions and artworks from the museum’s vast collection to highlight the inherent relationship between clothing and the body”.
As expected, the guests this year pulled wearable takes on famous sculptures and paintings to make for on-the-nose references. As an art enthusiast, these art archival inspirations are incredibly exciting, which transformed from museum pieces into living, red-carpet spectacles. For me, Gracie Abrams and Hunter Schafer were the standouts for this—so elegantly referencing art.
In honour of the Met, here are some of the FAME committee members’ reviews of their favourite outfits.
Clarita Youkanna - FAME Basso
As a fashion nerd, this year’s theme could have been better executed. I think it was a bit misunderstood by designers. Personally, I really wanted designers to show off what garments can do in terms of texture, movement and creativity of the fabric as the theme encourages the body to be really used as a blank canvas to illustrate how gowns move. Schiaparelli does this best and I wish I saw more looks made by the iconic haute couture house.
But as an arts history nerd, the references have made an epic display! Claire Foy’s John Singer Sargent’s seminal work, Portrait of Madame X reference was peak perfection—it took my breath away. The Crown actress went to close friend, Erdem Moralioglu, a Canadian designer, to deliver. The reference was soo cleverly done as the painting caused a major scandal in Parisian society as it shows the female body and figure. This ties in well with the theme as it depicts the body and shows how fashion in art can cause a society uproar.
Other standout looks included Kendall Jenner’s wings Gap by Zac Posen look. Posen makes a fierce return to the Met, but this time with Gap Studio. Jenner’s look is inspired by Winged Victory of Samothrace, the second-century Greek statue of the goddess of victory that welcomes visitors to the Louvre.
Lee Clayton - Communications Director
Whilst I was obsessed with so many looks from this year, as a major film nerd, Sabrina Carpenter’s has to be my absolute favourite. Film is such an important part of art and with the red carpet dress code being ‘Fashion is Art, I feel she met the brief perfectly. The dress is custom Dior and is styled soooo beautifully. The cherry on top is that the film strips used are from the 1954 film ‘Sabrina’—GENIUS.
Claudia Roberts - FAME Basso
I loved the ingenuity behind Paloma Elsesser’s look, as well as Bad Bunny’s outside-the-box, thought-provoking interpretation of the theme—both felt genuinely considered rather than just visually dramatic for the sake of it. And Heidi Klum is actually an outrageous woman in the best possible way; every year she commits to the bit with such chaotic confidence that you can’t help but love her for it.
