Mondays share a secret talent for feeling exactly the same, which usually doesn’t offer much. You drag yourself out of bed, slip back into routine, and start planning your escape to the weekend before noon. Unless, of course, it’s the first Monday of May: Met Gala Monday. The one day New York feels like it’s powered by hairspray fumes and (too) high expectations. Celebrities, designers, and an average of twenty people you’ll never see collaborate to produce every detail of the red carpet look you end up judging online. This time, the evening’s dress code was “Fashion Is Art,” while the exhibition “Costume Art” folded the body into the artwork itself. “Even the nude is never naked,” Andrew Bolton, curator in charge, told Vogue a few months back.
Kylie Jenner in Schiaparelli
Most celebrities aren’t exactly known for subtlety on a red carpet. And with this year’s theme putting the body at the center, everyone expected skin. Kylie Jenner, however, went for a different kind of “naked,” one that wasn’t actually hers. Designed by Daniel Roseberry and built over 11,000 hours of embroidery, the result was a Schiaparelli gown that lands her firmly in our Top 1 best-dressed spot.
Kendall Jenner in Gap
Speaking of the Jenners, Kendall was not far off. The model worked with Zac Posen, who created a custom dress inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Greek sculpture of the goddess Nike, standing at the top of the Louvre’s most famous staircase, as if greeting you. The duo reworked Gap’s classic T-shirt into a fluid dress, built over a 3D-printed corset.
Kim Kardashian in Allen Jones and Whitaker Malem
The sculpted bodice theme quickly became a family favourite. Kim, a woman whose silhouette has become inseparable from her identity, was the first the public expected to fully commit to it. She teamed up with Allen Jones, who revived his ‘60s tangerine fiberglass body plate, alongside Patrick Whitaker and Keir Malem on the skirt, all guided by Nadia Lee Cohen’s creative direction.
Madonna in Saint Laurent
Ever seen Leonora Carrington’s 1945 painting The Temptations of Saint Anthony Fragment II? Madonna has. She showed up in a custom lace-and-satin slip dress by Anthony Vaccarello, naturally paired with a horn instrument, an alarmingly long wig, and a satin headpiece complete with its own ship. The organza cape only added to the impression that the painting’s surreal figures had walked out of the canvas just to attend the Met.
Sabrina Harrison in archival Jean Paul Gaultier
There are those who team up with the first designer who reaches out. Those who go through every possible option before settling on the perfect collaboration. And then there are the few who just walk into their closets. Harrison, a known fashion collector, went for a piece from Jean Paul Gaultier’s 2010 “Mexico” collection, paired with a beating-heart bag by Chris Habana and Cameron Hughes, under the direction of Carlos Alonso Parada.
Emma Chamberlain in Mugler
Chamberlain is no stranger to the Met Gala, or to Mugler’s universe. Miguel Castro Freitas delivered a look that felt like a living canvas, or an artist’s palette, in this case belonging to Anna Deller-Yee, who hand-painted every little detail. Fringed sleeves included.
Rihanna in Margiela
Rihanna is one of the Gala’s elite. This time, that meant a walking sculpture made from more than 115,000 crystal beads. Glenn Martens designed the custom gown with the Artisanal 2025 collection in mind, drawing inspiration from the medieval architecture and atmosphere of Flanders. The same influence, apparently, extended to the hair.
Olivia Wilde in Thom Browne
The evening carried more corsets than a Victorian palace, yet Thom Browne still finds ways to push the structure elsewhere. Wilde wore a black satin corset dress, accompanied by exposed leather panniers and a petticoat made from 300 meters of off-white tulle. So wrong, and exactly right.
Adut Akech in Thom Browne
Thom Browne was a favorite this year, but Adut Akech was one of ours. Inspired by birth and new beginnings, the gown is crafted from lace, silk organza, cut glass beads, and sculptured sequins, see-through in all the right spots. Like the belly, for example, decorated with little pink lily flowers, a stone long linked to May birthdays.
