Happy first Monday of May to all who celebrate! Tonight, a host of A-listers will gather on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum Of Art for the annual Met Gala. This year's exhibition theme is "Costume Art", with a corresponding dress code of "Fashion Is Art", leaving plenty up to the imagination this year.
Thankfully, fashion and art have been colliding for decades, and as someone who is heavily invested in both formats of creative expression, tonight feels particularly exciting. Tonight's theme is one that can be interpreted in a literal way, with plenty of vintage runway pieces directly referencing famous artworks just waiting to be pulled out of the archives, and a more abstract one, like anything from a Schiaparelli Haute Couture collection, or one of John Galliano's many Dior Couture looks.
We have high hopes for what the stars will be wearing tonight, and instead of predicting, the Coveteur editors are partaking in a kind of fantasy casting, if you will, on what they would love to see their favorite stars in for the 2026 Met Gala.
Shalom Harlow, Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 1999
Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images"Few fashion/art crossovers are as famous as Lee McQueen's performance art at the end of his Spring/Summer 1999 show, where Shalom Harlow emerged in a white belted dress and was spray painted on site by robots. I would love to see her return to the Met steps in her iconic look almost three decades later." - Ella O'Keeffe, Senior Fashion Editor
Mariacarla Boscono, Rick Owens Spring/Summer 2013
Shutterstock"Mariacarla Boscono is the ultimate ethereal girl, and what better pairing than her in Rick Owens Spring/Summer 2013, which to me feels perfectly referential to Gustav Klimt's 'The Kiss'. She would look like a painting!" - Ella O'Keeffe, Senior Fashion Editor
Zoë Kravitz, Ashi Studio Spring/Summer 2026 Haute Couture
Launchmetrics; Shutterstock"I think of Zoë Kravitz as a minimal cool girl. While the Met Gala, especially considering this year's theme, doesn't really call for minimalism, I think this look from Ashi Studio's Spring/Summer 2026 Haute Couture collection is right up Kravitz's alley. It's sleek, it's sultry, and it's a little sheer, but its shiny texture, elongated slightly frayed sleeve, distinct shoulders, and draping make it Met Gala worthy." - Bianca Asare, Associate Editor
Dua Lipa, Iris Van Herpen Fall/Winter 2016 Haute Couture
Launchmetrics; Shutterstock"Someone put Dua Lipa in Iris Van Herpen, stat. I'm dying to see Lipa have a little more fun and take more risks on red carpets in general, and it almost feels like this Met Gala theme was made specifically for Iris Van Herpen. This entire collection felt like an optical illusion in that best, most complimentary way imaginable. This dress, in particular, plays with shape, structure, and texture at the same time—fashion as art in a nutshell." - Bianca Asare, Associate Editor
Anok Yai, Yves Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 1988
Getty Images; Shutterstock"Yves Saint Laurent is one of this year’s Met Gala sponsors, which is a pretty perfect fit, given how seamlessly he merged art and fashion (remember his Mondrian Collection and ode to Vincent van Gogh?). For this year’s carpet, it would be so good to see one of those archival looks brought back to life—especially on a YSL collaborator, Anok Yai, who could pull off the full moment, hat included." - Kala Herh, Social Strategy Lead
PinkPantheress, Vivienne Westwood Fall/Winter 1995
Getty Images; Shutterstock"PinkPantheress is already making Rococo feel modern (and genuinely cool) for this generation, so for the Met, it only feels right to lean all the way in. I'd love to see her in something from Vivienne Westwood's Fall 1995 Collection, which was Westwood’s own take on Rococo—full of corsets, lace, and a little powdered drama. Like it just makes sense!" - Kala Herh, Social Strategy Lead
Kendall Jenner, Schiaparelli Spring/Summer 2025 Haute Couture
Schiaparelli; Shutterstock"Coming off the simplicity of last year’s look, I’d love to see Kendall do something surprising and have fun with the theme. Schiaparelli is anything but basic. This asymmetrical dress has been living in my head rent free, and it feels so whimsical that I can imagine it being accessorized to perfection to fit the theme." - Natasha Sheridan, Social Creative Lead