Fashion Critical's take on the 2026 Met Gala

Fashion Critical's take on the 2026 Met Gala

If you were anywhere near a social media feed on Tuesday, you would have likely been bombarded with posts and stories about the Met Gala. It seems like the event is only getting bigger with each consecutive year. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we have special guest ⁠Fashion Critical⁠ talking us through:

• The lewks

• The history

• And why the Met Gala is such a big deal

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Squiz the Shortcut

But first - what’s the Met Gala?
It’s a highly exclusive, theme-based fundraising event held annually at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to benefit its Costume Institute. Fun fact: the costume department is the only one of the Met’s 17 departments that has to entirely fund itself, so the gala pays for its exhibitions and upkeep each year. The event began back in 1948, but it got really big in the 1970s when Diana Vreeland, the former editor of Vogue, took it over and started influencing it.

I’ve heard it’s expensive…
When it started, tickets cost $50 (which to be fair was a lot back then). But these days, single tickets cost over $100,000 and brands shell out around $500,000 for a table. It gets a heap of exposure because of the guests - a mix of socialites, high society and countless celebrities dressed by designers who interpret each year’s theme in unique and often out-there ways that tend to go viral online… 

Now, over to FC… As we’ve just explained, the Met Gala is a big deal these days - it’s gotten a lot bigger and it now involves loads of celebrities. In your time covering it, how much have you seen it grow?
It’s definitely grown a lot in the past decade. When you go back and look at what people were wearing in 2008, 2009, 2010, it seemed like it was just a red carpet and wasn’t dissimilar to the Oscars or the Cannes Film Festival. But certainly as we got into the 2010s and beyond, it seems like with each year it has become more theatrical and the expectations have gotten higher in terms of what you're expecting people to be wearing and who’ll be there.

Are there rules around who’ll be there?
I think it's such an example of who is relevant in the cultural zeitgeist at the time. There are people who (Chair) Anna Wintour invites year after year - people like Rihanna or Blake Lively - and then there are people who might get a guernsey one year and you never see them again. We've seen the 2 guys from Heated Rivalry this year. Will they be there next year? I don't know. So it's become a real cultural representation of our time in terms of pop culture and fashion culture, and the themes are being interpreted much more elaborately than they used to be.

Do you feel like social media has been a major factor in why it's become a bigger deal over the past 15 years?
Yeah. Like they say now the Met Gala's a social media exercise. Other than the actual fundraising that happens, how they attract that fundraising and why people are prepared to be there and pay for the tables is because of the coverage that they get. Social media is 100% becoming ubiquitous in our lives and how we consume news and media. And the quality of photographs has changed too - that red carpet now would have more light on it than the surface of the sun. So, the way those photos now are just plastered through the world immediately definitely has escalated things.

There were some outlandish looks this year - Heidi Klum’s living sculpture comes to mind…
I thought she looked like one of those buskers you see, like that's dressed as a Statue of Liberty and then you throw money at it, and it comes to life.

But I guess there's money to be made in going viral, so the more outlandish the look, the more chance you have of that…
And the more chance you have of being remembered as one of those iconic looks that we will talk about forever, like Rihanna dressing as the Pope. There are those moments, and then there are other people that are always gonna play it in a more subdued way. Someone like Nicole Kidman, you'll never see her doing that. So it's also kind of how people see themselves as an artist and how they want to be perceived in the world.

As you say in your book, the red carpet is a machine…
A commercial machine, yes. Everybody there is making money or trying to make money. The designers, the stylists, the celebrities themselves who, you know, as long as they stay relevant, as long as they're being photographed, they're much more likely to be considered for other projects. Everybody's got skin in the game, and the red carpet is the place where they can put that to work. It's an enormous advertising and marketing opportunity. And that is definitely at play at the Met Gala. But to, I guess, illustrate how much bigger it's getting, they raised more money this year than they've ever raised before. 

The dress theme this year was ‘Fashion Is Art’. How important is the theme each year and do you think every celebrity puts a lot of thought into how they interpret it?
Definitely. When you look at the team of people brought together to dress someone, I think you absolutely have to take the theme into consideration. From my perspective, what I'm looking for is how they interpreted the theme, and I want it to be obvious because I'm a layperson. I don't work at Vogue. I don't understand the intricacies of it, and I think if you have to give a 10-minute explanation of how your outfit represented the theme, you've gotten it wrong. 

OK, let's get into this year's Met Gala. Who do you think interpreted the theme and had the best look this year? Or feel free to nominate a couple of different people…
Look, there were lots that I really liked. Janelle Monáe was in my top 3 for the women. She was like a human sculpture of all these ethernet cables, and then she had living moss, I believe, as well. I imagine that was saying something about technology and nature and how those things are woven together. So I feel like that had the storytelling. It gave her that amazing theatrical moment, and it was really visually beautiful. I also loved Sabrina Carpenter in her dress made of film…

So did we - but we were a bit worried she might catch on fire…
These are the risks we take. My wig is probably very flammable. Yes, her dress was made from negatives - she looked incredible. And then I read that it was actual film from the movie Sabrina. Genius. Brilliant. So again, you've got the storytelling, she was a piece of art. And then the last one was Emma Chamberlain, who was one of the first people to walk the red carpet, and she was wearing a gown that looked like a painting.

Tell us about that…
I think it was inspired by Van Gogh. It had long tassels hanging down, and it was in kind of rainbow colours, and it was painted. Because she was one of the first people to come out I was like, "Wow, that's really beautiful," but it's very early days, let's see who else comes out. And actually, that ended up being my favourite. But it was very close between all 3 of them.

What role does menswear play on the red carpet?
We’ve definitely seen men in the last few years step up a lot on the red carpet in terms of what's considered OK for them to wear. So, you know, we've got men wearing halter neck shirts, and big pussy bows, trinkets, and brooches and colour. Take the Rock - he was wearing a white tie kind of tuxedo but the jacket was sort of long, and then he had pants and combat boots, and sort of a skirt that kind of looked like a kilt. So you know, the Rock's wearing a skirt. They have a lot more freedom now to be expressive. 

Do you have a rule for fashion at the Met Gala?
If you can imagine them at any other event in what they’re wearing, it’s a no for me.

So, broadly then, do you think anyone sort of missed the mark?
Amanda Seyfried just wore a pink dress. I'm sure it was inspired by a painting or there was something that was artistic about it, but I was like, absolutely not. It was boring… Margot Robbie wore a gold Chanel dress. Obviously it looked beautiful. She looked beautiful. But pick her up and insert her into any other red carpet, and no one would know the difference. So it's that sort of thing for me, where I'm like, "Oh, that's a bit dull."

What about the co-chairs, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Beyonce?
Venus and Nicole were quite subdued - I think that's a personality thing. But I did also wonder if there's an element of if you're there as a co-chair, you're not the moment… Then that was proven wrong by Beyoncé, who arrived wearing the full contents of a Temu warehouse. 

Temu’s empty today…?
They’re out of stock… No feathers left, no glitter, no sparkles, no bedazzles. Nothing left. She had the biggest train though… I'm always like, "Who's gonna have the biggest train on the stairs?" Hers was several kilometers long. So yeah, maybe as the chair you can do whatever you want.

So looking ahead, do you feel like the event will only get bigger - or if Anna Wintour ever stops being involved in it, do you think there's a risk that it might lose some of its luster?
We daren't imagine a world where Anna Wintour's not involved - heaven forbid. But it's gonna happen at some point. You know, I had very big concerns, for example, when (Muppets creator) Jim Henson died. I know that's an obscure reference, but, like, who's gonna voice Kermit?

And Fozzie…?
Exactly… It's not gonna be the same. Actually, they have done it, so that's a weird reference, but you know my thing with Muppets and Fraggles.

We do - and we’re happy to report that not too many Fraggles were harmed this year in the name of fashion… But back to the Met…
Is the gala gonna get bigger and bigger? I don't know. I feel like it's pretty maxed out but I don't see it getting smaller. Even back in 1948 it was a high-society event. It was for very wealthy people. It was never an egalitarian pursuit as most fundraisers are not, because we want the richest people in the room to give the most money. So in that regard, I say more is more. It's a spectacle for a museum. We want the arts to still be around, and so this is a clever way to fund it. 

Exactly. May the spectacle of the Met Gala long continue… So for the uninitiated, if people want to read more of your work, where can they find your book and your fashion commentary online?
It’s a lovely Mother's Day gift, actually. And my audience is 94% female so I reckon mum would like it. It's called Fashion Critical: Red carpet lewks and LOLs from an undercover fashion critic. It’s a roundup of red carpet looks and trends over the years. There's lots of pictures, so if you're tired of reading words, it's a good one. 

And you’re on Facebook and Instagram @fashion_critical. Thank you so much for helping us understand more about the Met Gala and how the celebs, the fashion and the art all tie together… We really appreciate it.
Thank you for having me, it’s an absolute pleasure.

Onto our Recommendations

Scrolling: Through Fashion Critical's ⁠⁠Facebook review of every lewk⁠⁠ of the night...

Reading: For more history on the Met Gala and how it became what it is today, ⁠this Vogue article⁠ traces its evolution...

Reading: And to take a look at every outfit from the evening, check out ⁠Vogue's gallery⁠.

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