The fashion and entertainment fraternity’s biggest stars descended on the red carpet of the Met Gala 2026 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City on Monday, to celebrate its spring exhibition—a true celebration of fashion and art.
This year, the theme for the Gala was “Costume Art”. With Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams serving as co-chairs, the May 4 event invited attendees to interpret fashion as an embodied art form, in line with the dress code, “Fashion Is Art”.
And we must say, the attendees did not disappoint!
A parade of biggest Hollywood celebrities, including Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter, Naomi Osaka attended the Gala along with Beyoncé, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Anne Hathaway, Kim Kardashian, Sabrina Carpenter, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Hailey Bieber, Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Heidi Klum, Demi Lovato among others.
From India, this year’s biggest representation came from filmmaker Karan Johar, who walked the Met Gala carpet in collaboration with long-time friend and ace designer Manish Malhotra.
The outfit, titled 'Framed in Eternity', featured Johar in a power-shouldered vintage jacket over a hand-painted cape approximately six feet in length. The piece was created by over 80 artisans over 85 days.
Johar, 53, accessorised the look with a multi-gemstone necklace and rings from his jewellery brand Tyaani.
The visual language of the outfit draws directly from Varma's works, including Lady with the Peach, Hamsa Damayanti, Kadambari, Arjuna and Subhadra, and There Comes Papa.
"It's amazing to represent your nation, your culture and heritage on a global platform as magnificent as the Met, which truly signifies the work of art. Today's theme really beautifully blends fashion and art, and I couldn't have chosen a better debut on a theme like this," Johar told reporters at the red carpet of the fashion gala, which is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City every year in May.
Along with Johar, India was represented at fashion's biggest night by businesswoman Isha Ambani, philanthropist and entrepreneur Natasha Poonawala, and Gauravi Kumari and Sawai Padmanabh Singh, members of Jaipur's erstwhile royal family.
Also read: Isha Ambani blends art, fashion, heritage at Met Gala 2026
Isha wore a custom Gaurav Gupta Couture, a sari inspired outfit woven with 1,000 diamonds and 800 other precious stones that pushed the boundaries between jewellery and textile and the blouse alone took 500 hours and 40 artisans to complete.
Hyderabad-based businesswoman and philanthropist Reddy arrived in a regal navy blue velvet lehenga by Manish Malhotra. The outfit featured intricate gold zardozi embroidery on the bodice, paired with a dramatic floor-sweeping long cape adorned with vibrant multicoloured floral and botanical embroidery in gold, red and green.
The centrepiece of her ensemble, however, was a historic necklace valued at more than USD 15 million from her personal collection. It featured a Victorian-finished chain of large triangular and pear-shaped rose-cut diamonds set in floral clusters.
At the centre of the necklace is the "Queen of Merelani", a 550-carat deep violet-blue tanzanite pendant from Tanzania's Merelani Hills.
Poonawalla, who also returned to the fashion gala, made a conceptual statement by opting for a sculpture, the Orchid Pectoral, crafted by British visual artist Marc Quinn, paired with a white couture gown by Dolce and Gabbana. The structure, cast in white resin, was conceived by Quinn exclusively for Poonawalla.
Anaita Shroff Adajania handled the styling for both Ambani and Poonawalla.
Birla's look was a collaboration between Indian contemporary artist Subodh Gupta and British designer Robert Wun.
Gupta crafted a mask in stainless steel, his signature material, that served as both a disguise obscuring the wearer's identity and a statement of foreboding strength, her team said.
Gauravi's blush pink draped saree gown drew directly from the wardrobe of her grandmother, the legendary Maharani Gayatri Devi. Her gown incorporated one of Gayatri Devi's own chiffon saris into the garment itself. She accessorised with layered pearl strings, a diamond pendant necklace, chandelier earrings and stacked bangles.
Notably, attending the event is not cheap. The Met Gala is strictly invitation only with individual tickets reportedly costing around USD 100,000. A full table can run up to USD 350,000 or more. The seats and tables for celebrities is usually purchased by fashion houses, luxury brands and corporations.
The charity money collected at the high on optics event is used to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute's operating budget, which covers staff salaries, conservation labs, and archival storage for over 33,000 costumes and accessories.
The gala is also seen as an occasion to enhance the cultural capital of the rich and often attracts criticism for it.
This year, the appointment of Amazon's chief Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Bezos as honorary co-chairs and lead sponsors, has kicked up a major controversy with protestors calling for boycott over Amazon's labour practices and its alleged connection to immigration enforcement
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