Fashion, Art, and the Spectacle of the Met Gala
In this essay for The Free Press, Suzy Weiss and Elliot Ackerman review the 2026 Met Gala, weighing in on the night's most memorable looks, celebrity fashion choices, and the uneasy relationship between fashion, art, style, and spectacle.
The 2026 Met Gala theme, “Fashion is Art,” opened the door to painterly references, sculptural gowns, surreal accessories, and a wide range of interpretations. Weiss covers the women’s fashion, from Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Beyoncé to Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Paulson, Amanda Seyfried, and Nicole Kidman, while Ackerman turns his attention to menswear, brooches, leather trousers, military-inspired tailoring, and the difference between fashion and style.
Sarah Paulson at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2026 in New York City. (Julian Hamilton via Getty Images)
Celebrity Fashion Under the Theme “Fashion is Art”
Weiss examines the Met Gala’s blend of cultural performance, celebrity image-making, and high-fashion risk-taking. The essay moves from clever art historical references to outfits that seemed more spectacle than style.
Among the looks discussed are Sarah Paulson’s dollar-bill blindfold, Lauren Sánchez Bezos’s Schiaparelli reference to John Singer Sargent’s Madame X, Kylie Jenner’s surreal sculptural gown, and Beyoncé’s crystal skeleton-inspired ensemble.
The result is a sharp, funny, and highly observant account of a night where fashion attempted to become art, though not always beautifully.
Menswear, Style, and the Tyranny of Leather Pants
Ackerman’s portion of the essay focuses on the men of the 2026 Met Gala, using the event’s theme to distinguish between fashion and style. His commentary moves from Colman Domingo’s harlequin-inspired Valentino look to Patrick Schwarzenegger and Bill Skarsgard’s black leather ensembles, Al Sharpton’s sequined pinstripe suit, Seth Meyers’s spider accessories, and Adrien Brody’s brooch-heavy Dior tuxedo.
Kim Kardashian and the Sculptural Red Carpet
Kim Kardashian’s futuristic orange molded bodysuit becomes one of the essay’s most memorable examples of the Met Gala’s art-meets-fashion premise. Weiss connects the look to British artist Allen Jones and the event’s broader fascination with bodies, sculpture, celebrity, and performance.
The article also considers how the gala’s broad theme produced both inspired interpretation and visual confusion, with some guests leaning into art history while others seemed to drift toward costume, spectacle, or pure branding.
Kim Kardashian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2026 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for the Met Museum/Vogue)
Read the Full Essay
This article originally appeared in The Free Press.