All The Artworks That Inspired the 2026 Met Gala Red Carpet Looks

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute announced that the 2026 Met Gala dress code would be “Fashion Is Art,” style savants were curious to see how designers would interpret the directive. The material they had to work with was wide-ranging. Opening May 10, the gala’s accompanying exhibition, “Costume Art,” showcases “artistic representations of the dressed body” as a way to highlight “the inherent relationship between clothing and the body,” explains one post from The Met’s Instagram account. The show is organized into three main categories—the classical body (as in the nude form), the overlooked body (the aging, pregnant, or disabled body), and the universal body (or the anatomical body). Last night, we finally saw how the stars decided to embody that theme.

Some embraced the idea of the naked, classical body, leaning into creative nude dressing inspired by ancient Grecian statues. Others ran with the overlooked body—like Bad Bunny, who dressed as an elderly version of himself. And some, like Beyoncé, chose to play around with glamorous interpretations of the anatomical body, using jewels and other adornments to create head-turning looks.

Many attendees leaned directly into the “art” part of “Fashion Is Art,” referencing various famous and historical paintings, sculptures, artists, and artistic movements for their red carpet ensembles. Below, ELLE Decor rounds up some of the artworks that inspired the sartorial tableau of the 2026 Met Gala’s red carpet.