Hidden Meaning Behind The Best Met Gala Red Carpet Looks

The 2026 Met Gala is still on everyone’s mind, with folks online talking nonstop about the art pieces referenced in the incredible gowns on display Monday night, May 4. Since this year’s Met Gala theme was “Fashion Is Art,” we thought you might be curious to know the inspiration behind certain looks. We did a deep dive into the stories behind the gowns of stars such as Beyoncé, Anok Yai and Rihanna and the tailoring of Colman Domingo’s suit. Take a scroll through and get ready to learn the link between art and how it inspires fashion.

Beyoncé First Look Of The Night

For the Met Gala steps, Beyoncé played with the subtheme “the aging body” and stepped out in a dramatic feathered cape and a bejeweled skeleton dress designed by Olivier Rousteing, the creative director of Balmain. On Instagram, Rousteing posted that the look was built from two months of collaboration with the “Pray You Catch Me” singer.

The Inspiration Behind Beyoncé’s Look

Though Queen Bey hasn’t explicitly said what inspired her dress, the Beyhive has done some digging and drawn parallels between Beyoncé’s dress and the 1944 painting “Visitor” by the Louisiana Creole artist Caroline Durieux, which would be a nod to the “Diva” singer’s Creole roots.

Beyoncé’s Second Look Of The Night

Her skeleton dress wasn’t the only look Beyoncé had up her sleeve last night. Inside the event, she switched into another dazzling gown with a mix of black and gold crystals, a veil, and nails that looked like they had been sprinkled with stardust. It might come as no surprise, then, that Beyoncé was inspired by the night sky with this look.

The Inspiration Behind Beyoncé’s Second Look

Beyoncé’s second crystal gown of the night was custom-made by London-based designer Robert Wun and was a nod to his spring/summer 2026 collection, according to Elle. The designer called the dress the “stargaze gown” and said it was inspired by the view of the sky during a red-eye flight, per the publication.

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett wowed her fans and paparazzi with a shimmery pink gown designed by Nepalese American fashion designer Prabal Gurung. According to Gurung’s Instagram, the flowers on Bassett’s gown were made of crystal and hand-embroidered onto the silk gown.

The Inspiration Behind Angela Bassett’s Look

According to the BBC, Bassett’s dress was inspired by the painting titled “Girl in Pink Dress” by the Harlem Renaissance artist Laura Wheeler Waring. In the painting, the unnamed girl sits in a blush pink dress, showing the poise and fashion of young Black girls during the Harlem Renaissance era.

Chase Infiniti

For her Met Gala debut, Chase Infiniti made sure to dress to impress in a colorful gown designed by Thom Browne. The dress swept the Met Gala steps and was adorned with over 1.5 million sequins, according to Town & Country. The look went with the theme of the aging body, featuring a gorgeous painting of the human body created by the sequins.

The Inspiration Behind Chase Infiniti’s Look

Per Vanity Fair, Infiniti’s look was inspired by the iconic “Venus de Milo” statue, which is kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The use of color in the look was meant to celebrate unique body types.

“The color is what really pulled me towards it, because while it mimics a naked body, it is also so bright and colorful, because that is what our bodies are; everyone is different,” the actress told Vanity Fair.

Rihanna

Always going for a bold and daring look, Rihanna graced the carpet in a silver gown studded with thousands of silver and bronze gems and beads, which was made by Belgian designer Glenn Martens, the creative director of Maison Margiela.

The Inspiration Behind Rihanna’s Look

The inspiration behind Rihanna’s look wasn’t a specific painting or artist, but instead the medieval street architecture of Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, according to Elle. The publication also reported that the dress was sculpted by hand and made through recycled materials, such as fine metal threads, antique jewels and chains.

Cardi B

Cardi B wore a dress designed by Marc Jacobs with subtle pops of color underneath the gown’s lace detailing and nude palette. The bold look turned heads on the carpet, with some people loving it and others not so much.

The Inspiration Behind Cardi B’s Look

According to Page Six, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper’s dress was inspired by the artwork of German painter and sculptor Hans Bellmer. Bellmer often sculpted provocative models of the female body, a style Cardi B definitely replicated on the Met Gala steps.

Audrey Nuna

Making an unforgettable entrance for her Met Gala debut, Korean American singer and rapper Audrey Nuna was splattered in black and white from her hat to the very bottom of her dress. The outfit was designed by Robert Wun, according to Vogue Singapore.

The Inspiration Behind Audrey Nuna’s Look

According to Vogue, Nuna’s outfit was inspired by the works of American painter Jackson Pollock. In the 1940s, Pollock was known for large paintings that featured different colors aggressively thrown onto a canvas to create art that would immediately catch the eye. However, instead of paint, Nuna’s look was created with 15,000 intricately placed crystals, per Vogue.

Kendall Jenner

Kendall Jenner wore a dress fashioned by the American designer Zac Posen, the creative director of Gap Inc. The creation of the dress started with Posen playing around with a simple white Gap T-shirt, which he twisted and pulled to inspire this sculpted look that Jenner wore, according to Vogue.

The Inspiration Behind Kendall Jenner’s Look

In an interview with Vogue Italia, Posen said that Jenner’s look was inspired by “The Winged Victory of Samothrace,” a Greek sculpture that portrays the goddess Nike and was made as an offering to the gods for a sanctuary on the Greek island of Samothrace, according to the Louvre, the Parisian museum where the statue is held.

Anok Yai

Anok Yai became a piece of art for her Met Gala look. Gracing the carpet veiled with a large hood, wrapped in a body-hugging black gown, and painted in bronze, Yai turned heads in an outfit designed by Balenciaga’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, according to Vogue.

The Inspiration Behind Anok Yai’s Look

Per Vogue, Anok Yai’s look was rooted in the figure of the Black Madonna, a religious figure found in Italian art. The reason behind choosing the Black Madonna was about more than fitting the Met Gala theme; it was about the model’s determination to send a message during the event.

“In the climate that we’re living in right now, we need hope. I feel like being the Black Madonna and sending a message of hope is what we need,” the model told the publication.

Emma Chamberlain

YouTuber and businesswoman Emma Chamberlain emerged as one of the most colorful attendees on the carpet with a dress that was hand-painted and designed in collaboration with artist Anna Deller-Yee and Mugler’s creative director, Miguel Castro Freitas, according to WWD.

The Inspiration Behind Emma Chamberlain’s Look

Chamberlain’s gown was inspired by the work and intricate brushstrokes of Vincent van Gogh, but there was also a personal connection between Chamberlain and the theme. According to E! News, Emma Chamberlain was showing love to her dad, Michael Chamberlain, a watercolor and oil painter.

Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo was another celebrity who strolled onto the carpet, splashing in color in a well-tailored suit, which took 400 hours to create and was designed by the creative director of Valentino, Alessandro Michele, according to GQ.

The Inspiration Behind Colman Domingo’s Look

Domingo’s look was inspired by two paintings, according to GQ. First, “Acrobat and Young Harlequin” by the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Pez Dispenser” painting, and was a “critique of consumer culture, power, and class inequality,” Domingo told the publication.

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka’s gown came as a two-parter. Starting with a large white coat and hat, the tennis star removed her first outfit to reveal a shimmering costume that resembled human anatomy, designed by Robert Wun, according to Town & Country.

The Inspiration Behind Naomi Osaka’s Look

In an interview with NBC, Osaka spoke about the meaning behind her gowns and dramatic outfit change. “It’s like the shedding of the skin and this is the human anatomy,” the tennis star said, adding that it took a few months to create. However, InStyle reported that the outfits, embellished with Swarovski crystals, took 3,280 hours, which is roughly four and a half months.

Madonna

Madonna didn’t go solo for her Met Gala look; instead, she had seven “ladies in waiting” to hold up the various sides of her veil. The custom look was designed by the creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, according to Billboard.

Madonna inspo

Madonna’s look was inspired by the 1945 painting titled “The Temptation of St. Anthony” by British-Mexican painter Leonora Carrington, according to WWD. The painting depicts the various temptations Saint Anthony resisted while journeying through the Egyptian desert, according to Harper’s Bazaar, with Madonna referencing the seductive woman sent to tempt him.