5 Met Gala 2026 looks that turned famous paintings into iconic fashion moments

Met Gala 2026 is considered to be fashion's biggest night. On the first Monday of May, the world's most popular names dress up in designer ensembles and strut up the stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, all in the name of art and fashion. This year, the theme was a challenging mix of both: 'Fashion as Art'. Numerous attendees took inspiration from literal art pieces, such as paintings, to dress up and nail the assignment. Here are 5 of the best looks inspired by real-life paintings and transformed into iconic fashion moments.

One of the most popular Indian film directors, Karan Johar debuted at the Met Gala this year and his look was definitely for the books. The filmmaker donned an outfit by Indian designer Manish Malhotra which was inspired by Raja Ravi Varma. With zardozi border, three-dimensional pillars, lotuses, swans and a hand-painted jacket lining featuring Varma's paintings, specifically the famous Hamsa Damyanti. “Raja Ravi Varma gave India its most enduring images of itself,” Johar says. “The artisans who built this ensemble gave those images new life. And I get to wear that. That feels very much like me, the person who has always believed that how you tell a story matters as much as the story itself."

Emma Chamberlain is the internet's 'IT' girl and she made all her followers proud with her appearance at the Met Gala 2026. She wore a custom-made Mugler bodycon dress designed by Miguel Castro Frietas. Designer Anna Deller-Yee hand-painted the entire dress into the colourful surprise it was. As per Vogue, her outfit was inspired by works of Vincent Van Gogh and Munch such as The Starry Night.

The Queen of Pop surely popped out on the green carpet with her ensemble for the day. Madonna shut down the stairs in a custom Saint Laurent look inspired by The Temptation of St. Anthony Fragment II, a painting by Leonora Carrington. She wore an all-black outfit with satin opera gloves and a hat topped with a towering ship headpiece. Moreover, the vessel was topped with a grey scarf and seven female helpers carried it, akin to the painting.

In a custom Dolce & Gabbana ensemble named 'Renaissance Genius' Mona Patel wore a cape with scribbled notes, portrait studies, the Vitruvian Man, along with an ivory gown with a braided spine. For the inspiration for her look, she headed to Milan's Biblioteca Ambrosiana, one of the oldest public libraries in Europe and the home of Da Vinci's original codices. “Da Vinci has inspired me since I was a child, once I understood who he was and what my name stood for,” shares Patel. “He is one of the greats, a true Renaissance genius.”

For her second appearance at the Met Gala, Angela Bassett turned to the costume art theme with a reference to Black artist Laura Wheeler Waring's 1927 artwork, 'Girl in a Pink Dress'. She looked incredible in a pink custom Prabal Gurung dress with a matching clutch.