If her award season gauntlet was one battle after another for Teyana Taylor, the 2026 Met Gala was a moment to take a bow.
"What I love about this gala is you just get to be freedom and be present within a fashion space," the Oscar nominee told Zuri Hall during Live From E!: Met Gala 2026. And so, no, she didn't go subtle, intepreting the May 4 event's Costume Art" theme and dictated "Fashion Is Art" dress code in a glitzy Tom Ford. "They say I’m extra so it’s the perfect platform and stage to be able to be myself unapologetically and be expressive."
And for Venus Williams—who co-chaired the benefit alongside Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Anna Wintour— it was a chance to serve.
"I'm very competitive," the athlete admitted to E! as she climbed the famed steps of the Metropolitan Musuem of Art in New York City. And with her custom Swarovski 'fit, "I'd like to be best dressed, of course."
And hers was just one of many works of art strutting into the event.
Ciara channeled Egyptian queen Nefertiti, telling E! News, "I feel royal." Coco Jones chose a look that "emulates the feminine sculpture" and Tyla went for "animalistic vibes" in her Valentino.
"In my head it's how the earth is literally God's artwork and we take so much inspiration from it for fashion," the musician explained to E!. "The body is the outfit."
So, when she saw the initial sketch, "I was obsessed."
As was Chase Sui Wonders, drawing inspiration from a recent trip to Pompeii.
"There were all these ancient Roman wall paintings from 200 B.C.," the actress explained to E! of her McQueen gown. "And I just love how they were so raw and natural and yet so beautiful and all these natural pigments and they’re still so well-preserved. So, this is kind of like a nod to ancient Rome."
Amanda Seyfried, meanwhile, was just happy to be part of this world.
"I feel like a chic Aurora," she joked of her pink Prada channeling The Little Mermaid, "like, a 40-year-old princess."
Similarly, Lindsey Vonn's Thom Browne, had who's-its and what's-its galore, the athlete telling E!, "They spent 4,000 hours to make this dress."
All in a year's work if you ask stylist Law Roach.
"It's a lot of stress and they're only on the carpet for like five minutes," Zendaya's longtime pro noted to E! in March, "and then you go in and it's all over. So, it's months and months of hard work for a five-minute payout."
And with this year's "Fashion Is Art" dress code, there was a lot for the sartorially minded to play around with.
The nearly 400-piece Costume Institute exhibition, set to live in the Met’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries, will focus on the "indivisible connection between our bodies and the clothes we wear," curator Andrew Bolton explained to Vogue. "The idea was to put the body back into discussions about art and fashion, and to embrace the body, not to take it away as a way of elevating fashion to an art form."
And the looks stars crafted were certainly stunning. Hang all of these in a museum.
Beyoncé
in custom Olivier Rousteing and Chopard jewelry.
Rihanna
in Maison Margiela with Briony Raymond, Glenn Spiro, Dyne, Fred Leighton and Desert diamond jewelry.
Kim Kardashian
in custom Allen Jones breastplate, Whitaker Malem skirt and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Bad Bunny
in custom Zara.
Cardi B
in Marc Jacobs.
Hailey Bieber
in custom Saint Laurent and Belperron jewelry.
Blake Lively
in Atelier Versace, Christian Louboutin shoes and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.
Sabrina Carpenter
in Dior, Christian Louboutin shoes and Chopard jewelry.
Anne Hathaway
in Michael Kors.
Kylie Jenner
in custom Schiaparelli.
Katy Perry
in Stella McCartney.
Heidi Klum
in custom Mike Marino.
Connor Storrie
in Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Gigi Hadid
in custom Miu Miu and Jessica McCormack jewelry.
Tessa Thompson
in Valentino, Pandora jewelry and Chillhouse nail polish.
Lisa
in Robert Wun and Bvlgari jewelry.
Teyana Taylor
in Tom Ford.
Blue Ivy Carter
in Balenciaga and Henry & Henry jewelry.
Kendall Jenner
in Gap Studio by Zac Posen and Buccellati jewelry.
Doja Cat
in Saint Laurent.
Charli XCX
in Saint Laurent.
Carey Mulligan
in Prada and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Margot Robbie
in Chanel.
Sunday Rose Kidman Urban & Nicole Kidman
in Dior (Kidman Urban) and Chanel (Kidman).
A$AP Rocky
in Chanel.
Emily Blunt
in Ashi Studio, Jimmy Choo shoes, Kurt Geiger bag and Mikimoto jewelry.
Cher
in Burberry.
Zoë Kravitz
in Saint Laurent.
Suki Waterhouse
in Michael Kors and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
in Thom Browne.