The 2026 Met Gala carpet was dressed in fantasy once again, and one of the most talked about appearances of the night was, without a doubt, that of supermodel and presenter Heidi Klum.

True to her reputation for transforming for the occasion, Klum walked on Monday night in an exclusive design by artist Mike Marino, who paid homage to classical sculpture.

The dress, made with a mixture of latex and spandex, managed to turn the model into a “living sculpture”. According to Variety, the optical illusion managed to the public perceive how the stone was carved in real time, a clear reference to masterpieces such as the “Veiled Christ” by Giuseppe Sanmartino and the “Vesal veiled” by Raffaele Monti.

The theme of the year

Klum wasn't the only star to shine on fashion's biggest night. Other celebrities like Connor Storie, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Chamberlain also walked in outfits that explored the relationship between textile and artistic expression.

This year's theme, “Fashion is art”, is directly linked to the new exhibition at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Under the curatorship of A ndrew Bolton, the “Costume Art” show examines “the centrality of the dressed body”, and shows pieces from the museum collection with historical and contemporary garments.

The exhibition will be open to the public from May 10,2026 to January 10 2027.

This year's gala is co-chaired by a luxury quartet: Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and the legendary Anna Wintour, director of Vogue.

As for the organizing committee, those in charge of leading it are Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, accompanied by a diverse group of figures that includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, Lisa (newly named content director) ditorial of Vogue US), Chloe Malle, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Lauren Wasser, Anna Weyant, A’ja Wilson e Yseult.

Financial support for the gala and exhibition is provided by lead sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, together with Saint Laurent and Condé Nast.