r/TheMetGala

Watch as Heidi Klum took Glamour behind the scenes of her Met Gala look.

How do you make Schiaparelli boring?

Genuinely. How?

This is the house of Elsa Schiaparelli — a couture legacy built on surrealism, theatricality, illusion, anatomical gold hardware, exaggerated silhouettes, and fashion so visually confrontational it helped redefine what couture could even be. Under Daniel Roseberry, the brand has become synonymous with modern spectacle: sculptural corsetry, impossible proportions, gilded fantasy, and red carpet moments that practically demand cultural conversation.

And somehow, Lauren Sánchez arrived at the Met Gala in Schiaparelli looking… underwhelming.

To be clear, she looked beautiful. Lauren Sánchez is an undeniably glamorous woman with the kind of hyper-polished bombshell presence that naturally lends itself to couture. But the gown itself felt strangely empty — more “luxury awards season” than “Fashion Is Art.”

For someone married to arguably the wealthiest man on the planet, attending fashion’s most theatrical night in one of couture’s most visually daring houses, the expectations should have been astronomical. Instead, the look felt aggressively safe. The silhouette lacked drama, the styling lacked imagination, and the overall effect never escalated into anything memorable despite the pedigree behind it.

And that is what makes the look so frustrating.

Schiaparelli should overwhelm you a little. It should provoke a reaction. Even when the house misses, it usually misses loudly. But this felt restrained to the point of creative disappearance — a gown that looked expensive without ever becoming interesting.

On a carpet filled with attendees attempting sculpture, fantasy, surrealism, and artistic transformation, Lauren Sánchez’s Schiaparelli somehow landed in the aesthetic territory of “D-List celebrity Attending Prom”

Beautiful?
Certainly.

But the Met Gala is not simply about beauty.

It is about image-making, risk, fantasy, and understanding the difference between wearing couture and embodying it. And unfortunately, this look never fully crossed that line.

For a house like Schiaparelli — and for a woman with virtually unlimited access to fashion’s most extraordinary resources — “pretty” should never have been the final result.

For years, one of the most frustrating aspects of the Met Gala has been watching the men approach fashion with the creative ambition of a corporate awards banquet. While the women were expected to embody fantasy, narrative, and spectacle, many male attendees seemed content to rotate between slightly different variations of the same black tuxedo and call it “classic.” Somewhere along the way, menswear on the Met carpet became painfully allergic to imagination.

That is why this year felt refreshing.

For the first time in a long while, there was a noticeable shift in how men approached the theme. We saw dramatic tailoring, embellishment, historical references, sculptural silhouettes, rich textiles, jewelry, capes, and genuine theatricality. More importantly, we saw men willing to participate in fashion instead of merely wearing clothes. And there is a difference.

The strongest looks of the night understood that tailoring itself is not the problem. A suit can absolutely be artistic. The issue has always been the lack of vision surrounding it. Too many male celebrities have historically treated fashion as something to survive rather than something to engage with creatively. But the Met Gala is not meant to be safe. It is one of the only red carpets where excess, absurdity, and performance are not only welcomed but expected.

What made this year exciting was seeing men finally loosen their grip on the idea that masculinity must remain visually restrained in order to appear sophisticated. Some of the best dressed attendees embraced softness, ornamentation, exaggeration, and even vanity — all things menswear desperately needs more of. Fashion becomes infinitely more compelling when men stop dressing out of fear.

That being said, this is still very much a work in progress. While it was absolutely a step in the right direction, there is still plenty of room for evolution. I want to see even more risk next year. More storytelling. More references pulled from art, history, cinema, and fantasy. I want men to arrive looking slightly unhinged in the pursuit of beauty rather than merely “well-tailored.”

But for the first time in years, I walked away from the Met carpet genuinely optimistic about the future of menswear. And honestly? That alone felt like a fashion miracle.

(as great as they looked) a handful of people who attended didn’t follow the theme. these are my top 3

One of the best... Just hang a portrait picture of her at a Museum.

Anok Yai’s Balenciaga was one of the most intellectually compelling interpretations of “Fashion Is Art” at this year’s Met Gala because it understood something many attendees missed: art does not always need to be loud to be unforgettable.

Drawing heavily from Cristóbal Balenciaga’s sculptural approach to couture, the look felt rooted in old-world fashion discipline — severe, architectural, almost devotional in its construction. The tightly ruched bodice, dramatic black opera gloves, and exaggerated hood framing Anok’s face evoked religious portraiture, mourning dress, and ecclesiastical silhouettes all at once.

There were echoes of Spanish Catholic iconography throughout the look, particularly in the way the hood created a halo-like darkness around her face, transforming Anok into something between a widow, a saint, and a couture apparition. The vast black skirt and sweeping train added to that sense of ritual and ceremony, recalling the emotional severity often found in Cristóbal Balenciaga’s historical couture collections.

What made the look extraordinary, however, was how modern it still felt.

Rather than leaning into costume, the gown distilled those references into a sharply contemporary fashion image. The beauty styling — slick sculptural hair, lacquered skin, almost ghostly stillness in her expression — heightened the sense that she was not simply wearing the garment but embodying the atmosphere behind it.

This is where Anok Yai consistently succeeds as a model: she understands that couture is not just about clothing, but transformation.

In a year filled with overly literal interpretations of “Fashion Is Art,” Anok’s Balenciaga stood apart because it approached fashion the way true couture always has — as emotion, silhouette, mood, and visual mythology.

. it didn't. The "denim" was not denim at all, but silk muslin, printed and constructed to mimic it - a detail later noted by fashion websites. The simplicity, in other words, was carefully engineered.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cre13zeql51o

I am completely puzzled by how all three of these women whose looks reference Madame X put down the strap on the wrong shoulder. I’ve seen video, so I don’t believe the images are reversed. It feels like a sloppy mistake to me by their teams, and I’m shocked that it happened three times.

Kendall Jenner — Winged Victory of Samothrace
Kendall Jenner’s draped ivory gown referenced the ancient Greek sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace. The fluid folds, asymmetrical draping, and windswept silhouette recreated the movement and monumentality of the marble statue, turning classical antiquity into modern couture.

Cardi B — The Doll by Hans Bellmer
Cardi B’s distorted silhouette referenced Hans Bellmer’s surrealist dolls — unsettling sculptures known for their exaggerated limbs, fragmented anatomy, and eerie sensuality. The inflated forms wrapped around the gown transformed her body into living surrealism, blurring the line between couture and sculpture.

Kylie Jenner — Venus de Milo
Kylie Jenner approached classical sculpture through restraint. The sculpted nude corsetry and draped ivory skirt directly evoked the Venus de Milo, with the asymmetrical styling and soft marble tones recreating the elegance of ancient Greek statuary.

ROSÉ — Henri Matisse’s Doves
ROSÉ’s minimalist black gown became a canvas for Matisse-inspired abstraction. The crystal dove detail referenced the artist’s iconic cut-out motifs, translating his playful, graphic language into sleek modern couture.

Gracie Abrams — Gustav Klimt’s The Lady in Gold
Gracie Abrams wore a shimmering embroidered gown that mirrored Klimt’s signature gold-leaf portraits. The intricate beading, metallic surface, and mosaic-like embellishment recreated the opulent texture and ornamentation that defined Viennese Secession art.

Beyoncé — Renaissance Anatomical Studies
Beyoncé’s crystal skeleton gown referenced Renaissance anatomical drawings, where the human body was studied as both science and art. The exposed skeletal structure transformed anatomy into couture, merging mortality, glamour, and spectacle.

Heidi Klum — Raffaelle Monti’s Veiled Vestal
Heidi Klum recreated the illusionistic marble veils of 19th-century sculptor Raffaelle Monti. The look mimicked carved translucent stone, making her appear less dressed than sculpted — a literal living statue on the carpet.

Anok Yai — The Weeping Madonna
Anok Yai drew from religious iconography and sorrowful Madonna paintings. The metallic tears, shadowed hood, and solemn expression transformed her into a haunting devotional portrait reminiscent of baroque religious art.

Rachel Zegler — The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche
Rachel Zegler referenced Delaroche’s tragic neoclassical painting through her blindfold styling and soft white drapery. The look captured the vulnerability, innocence, and theatrical tension of the doomed queen moments before execution.

Madonna — Leonora Carrington’s The Temptation of St. Anthony
Madonna’s dramatic performance piece echoed Leonora Carrington’s surrealist painting, particularly through the ghostly veils and ritualistic staging. The look felt less like fashion and more like a moving dreamscape pulled from a surrealist canvas.

LISA — Traditional Thai Dance
LISA paid homage to traditional Thai dance and ceremonial costume. The elongated silhouette, jeweled detailing, and sculptural headpiece referenced the elegance and precision of classical Thai performance traditions while modernizing them through couture.

Most of the met gala outfits makes you question the exact theme. Art is hardly conveyed even after squinting... The art was minimal... Which made it underwhelming. What did you guys think?

Last is a hm

This met gala is tbh not that bad a LOT of ppl had amazing outfits and much more ppl were on theme this year

I love it smmm

(Not all outfits here are judged by look but by the story behind it)

This is still one of my favorite met gala looks ever.

Los medios hablarán maravillas de la inspiración del Vestido de Lauren Sánchez y bla bla… Porque que les pagan para que alardeen a estos personajes. Pero lo cierto es que la que no tiene clase ni porte, ni con todos el dinero del mundo lo consigue. Así vaya vestida de Schiaparelli una de mis Firmas favoritas. En ella no queda bien. Así de sencillo. No es la ropa, es la percha.