What to expect from the Met Gala 2026 red carpet? Stylists answer
The Met Gala 2026 red carpet will focus on costume art and the human body. Expect dramatic looks, "naked" dressing, and bold Indian styles.
With the first Monday of May almost here, the countdown for the Met Gala, the fashion world’s most awaited event, is on.
Fashion’s biggest night, as it is known, has fans across the globe eagerly waiting to see which celebrities will grace the red carpet and what iconic fashion moments will unfold. This is the red carpet where guests go full eccentric and unapologetically extravagant with their fashion choices. And this year, expect an extra hearty dose of drama, all thanks to the theme of the Met Gala exhibition and its dress code.
But first, let us get you the basics right. Met Gala is essentially an ultra-exclusive event held every year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where celebrities, designers, and influencers show up in headline-making outfits. It marks the opening of its spring exhibition and also doubles as a fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute.
This year, the theme for Met Gala exhibition is ‘Costume Art’. It is all about exploring the relationship between clothing and the human body, treating fashion as something deeper than just clothes. The exhibition will look at how the dressed human body has been represented across the museum, pairing garments with art objects spanning some 5,000 years.
Almost in sync with the exhibition theme is the dress code. This year, it is ‘Fashion Is Art’. It is where things get unhinged. It basically tells celebrities to treat their bodies like a canvas. That means avant-garde fits, surreal designs, dramatic shapes, maybe even borderline theatrical or Met Gala-quintessential, ‘is-that-wearable?’ moments.
With such an expansive theme blending art and fashion, stylists are bound to go into overdrive, interpreting the dress code in bold and bizarre ways. Expect the gala red carpet to be a spectacle of unforgettable high-fashion moments - at least, that’s what fashion experts think.
We spoke to leading fashion stylists to get their take on this year’s Met red carpet. Their insights are compelling enough to make a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call for all the sartorial drama feel worth it.
Akshay Tyagi, a sharp-eyed celebrity stylist, loves how this theme elevates fashion beyond logos and labels. "I think it’s nice that the theme is about costume art and fashion as art instead of a brand name," he says. Sure, brands tied to the Met will still flex as it's a fundraiser at heart, but Tyagi predicts a killer lineup from Schiaparelli, Robert Wun, Rahul Mishra, and Gaurav Gupta. He is also expecting some vintage stunners from Jean Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake, Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, plus film-costume legends like Bob Mackie, Edith Head, and Givenchy
It's going to be a history-meets-haute mashup.
Edward, a celebrity stylist we chatted with, points out how celebs often ditch the brief for pure drama. "I feel most of the time they completely miss the actual theme and just wear dramatic clothes baring a few," he notes.
With "Fashion is Art" as the dress code, he is expecting full-on OTT costumes, but he's betting on the clever ones that nail it subtly, sneaking in smarts amid the spectacle.
Ruchika Mehta, Editor of Hello! Magazine India, sees the red carpet turning into a playground for bold experiments, where iconic artworks and artistic movements get reimagined as outfits you can actually strut in. “In that sense, ‘Costume Art’ is not just a theme, but a reaffirmation of fashion as an art form in its own right," she writes in her Editor’s Take. "It also brings added anticipation around how Indian designers and celebrities will interpret the brief, making this year’s Met one to watch.”
Expect plenty of “naked dresses” as well, in line with the exhibition’s focus on the human body. It explores how the body is presented through a series of thematic body types: like the “naked body,” “classic body,” “pregnant body,” and “ageing body.”
Celebrities may also turn to iconic artworks for their Met Gala red carpet looks, with outfits inspired by famous paintings or visual art. Expect to see designs that resemble sculptures or reinterpret pieces usually seen on gallery walls.
What will Indian celebrities wear to the Met?
Indian stars are expected to bring a strong dose of rich craftsmanship to one of the world’s most celebrated red carpets. Isha Ambani and Natasha Poonawalla have already set the tone with their neo-traditional looks at pre-Met Gala events.
Ambani wore a bandage dress crafted using 26 different types of borders representing various Indian regions, while Poonawalla chose an exquisite Kantha stitch ensemble in a contemporary silhouette.
Filmmaker Karan Johar and designer Manish Malhotra are also attending, and expected to wear eccentric and embellished look from Malhotra’s label.
India’s rich art and fashion legacy offers plenty of inspiration. It will be interesting to see how celebrities draw from it and interpret it at the Met Gala 2026.
With the first Monday of May almost here, the countdown for the Met Gala, the fashion world’s most awaited event, is on.
Fashion’s biggest night, as it is known, has fans across the globe eagerly waiting to see which celebrities will grace the red carpet and what iconic fashion moments will unfold. This is the red carpet where guests go full eccentric and unapologetically extravagant with their fashion choices. And this year, expect an extra hearty dose of drama, all thanks to the theme of the Met Gala exhibition and its dress code.
But first, let us get you the basics right. Met Gala is essentially an ultra-exclusive event held every year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where celebrities, designers, and influencers show up in headline-making outfits. It marks the opening of its spring exhibition and also doubles as a fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute.
This year, the theme for Met Gala exhibition is ‘Costume Art’. It is all about exploring the relationship between clothing and the human body, treating fashion as something deeper than just clothes. The exhibition will look at how the dressed human body has been represented across the museum, pairing garments with art objects spanning some 5,000 years.
Almost in sync with the exhibition theme is the dress code. This year, it is ‘Fashion Is Art’. It is where things get unhinged. It basically tells celebrities to treat their bodies like a canvas. That means avant-garde fits, surreal designs, dramatic shapes, maybe even borderline theatrical or Met Gala-quintessential, ‘is-that-wearable?’ moments.
With such an expansive theme blending art and fashion, stylists are bound to go into overdrive, interpreting the dress code in bold and bizarre ways. Expect the gala red carpet to be a spectacle of unforgettable high-fashion moments - at least, that’s what fashion experts think.
We spoke to leading fashion stylists to get their take on this year’s Met red carpet. Their insights are compelling enough to make a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call for all the sartorial drama feel worth it.
Akshay Tyagi, a sharp-eyed celebrity stylist, loves how this theme elevates fashion beyond logos and labels. "I think it’s nice that the theme is about costume art and fashion as art instead of a brand name," he says. Sure, brands tied to the Met will still flex as it's a fundraiser at heart, but Tyagi predicts a killer lineup from Schiaparelli, Robert Wun, Rahul Mishra, and Gaurav Gupta. He is also expecting some vintage stunners from Jean Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake, Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, plus film-costume legends like Bob Mackie, Edith Head, and Givenchy
It's going to be a history-meets-haute mashup.
Edward, a celebrity stylist we chatted with, points out how celebs often ditch the brief for pure drama. "I feel most of the time they completely miss the actual theme and just wear dramatic clothes baring a few," he notes.
With "Fashion is Art" as the dress code, he is expecting full-on OTT costumes, but he's betting on the clever ones that nail it subtly, sneaking in smarts amid the spectacle.
Ruchika Mehta, Editor of Hello! Magazine India, sees the red carpet turning into a playground for bold experiments, where iconic artworks and artistic movements get reimagined as outfits you can actually strut in. “In that sense, ‘Costume Art’ is not just a theme, but a reaffirmation of fashion as an art form in its own right," she writes in her Editor’s Take. "It also brings added anticipation around how Indian designers and celebrities will interpret the brief, making this year’s Met one to watch.”
Expect plenty of “naked dresses” as well, in line with the exhibition’s focus on the human body. It explores how the body is presented through a series of thematic body types: like the “naked body,” “classic body,” “pregnant body,” and “ageing body.”
Celebrities may also turn to iconic artworks for their Met Gala red carpet looks, with outfits inspired by famous paintings or visual art. Expect to see designs that resemble sculptures or reinterpret pieces usually seen on gallery walls.
What will Indian celebrities wear to the Met?
Indian stars are expected to bring a strong dose of rich craftsmanship to one of the world’s most celebrated red carpets. Isha Ambani and Natasha Poonawalla have already set the tone with their neo-traditional looks at pre-Met Gala events.
Ambani wore a bandage dress crafted using 26 different types of borders representing various Indian regions, while Poonawalla chose an exquisite Kantha stitch ensemble in a contemporary silhouette.
Filmmaker Karan Johar and designer Manish Malhotra are also attending, and expected to wear eccentric and embellished look from Malhotra’s label.
India’s rich art and fashion legacy offers plenty of inspiration. It will be interesting to see how celebrities draw from it and interpret it at the Met Gala 2026.
