The most dramatic looks on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet, ranked from best to worst

The Met Gala’s 2026 theme, “Fashion is Art,” might be the event’s most ambiguous dress code yet.

Monday’s annual star-studded fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute was inspired by “Costume Art”, the Met’s blockbuster Spring exhibition, which explores depictions of the dressed body through a series of thematic body types: “the naked body,” “classic body,” “pregnant body” and “ageing body.”

Guests were instructed to “celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history” on the red carpet, and stylists had predicted plenty of naked dresses and subversive, sculptural silhouettes. But which celebrities played it safe, and who left us speechless?

Nicole Kidman was one of the first stars to arrive on the blue carpet Monday night in her role as co-chair for this year’s event, wearing a breathtaking sequinned and feathered Chanel gown — gorgeous, but not exactly nailing the dress code (yes, we are the theme police tonight).

Beyoncé, who returned to the Met Gala for the first time in a decade (now as a co-chair), blew us away in a custom diamante skeleton-style bustier dress by Olivier Rousteing, with her daughter Blue Ivy by her side in an all-white ensemble.

On the more bizarre end of the spectrum, Katy Perry was channelling fencing chic in a futuristic headpiece covering her entire face and a matching white gown from Stella McCartney, while Heidi Klum — known for her imaginative fancy dress looks — literally turned to stone and transformed into a walking statue.

Find our best and worst dressed below...