(late but amazing) met gala 2026 roast and review

Yes, I know the Met Gala was like sooooooooo two weeks ago. Sue me.

Apologies for not being as timely as I would have liked on a long-form #roastpost. I work a 9-5 job AND I was on vacation last week…and if you know me, you know I barely ever take time off to travel, etc.

Needless to say, I deserved a tiny break. But, I’m also a man of my word, and I said I’d write you guys a long-form Met Gala review, so here we are.

I did stay up late on May 4th to quickly review each of the looks on my Instagram story, so if you’re looking for a shorter yet more comprehensive opinion on even more looks, you can check out my pinned story highlights.

Cue the original intro!

“I know you can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?” — 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Another Met Gala has come to pass. How would I rate this one? On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a solid 6.5.

The looks that killed it were some of my absolute favorites in recent years—ones that will live rent-free in my head. But the vast majority of ensembles happened to be utterly subpar…go figure!

And I’ve grown BEYOND tired of watching the [insert color here] carpet interviews where they ask the celebrities what the “inspiration" was behind their look, only to be met with a nothing-burger statement that doesn’t mention the dress code whatsoever. They can’t even bother to come up with an answer anymore.

cough Nicole Kidman cough

Anyway—the theme of the exhibition is Costume Art, and the dress code was Fashion is Art. Yes, the event was sponsored by Amazon founder and proud owner of a brand new face, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, with a similarly man-made mug, Lauren Sánchez.

But this newsletter isn’t about billionaire politics. It’s about the fashion. And talk about it, we must. It is my duty to provide honest commentary (along with everyone else with a tiny mic and a dream) about said fashion. I don’t have a PhD in criticism, but I’d like to think I at least would be awarded an honorary Master’s in snark.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the looks from fashion’s biggest night.

Starting off strong with custom Mugler by Miguel Castro Freitas and hand-painted by artist Anna Deller-Yee—Emma looks positively delicious, although we’ve (hopefully) learned at a very young age not to eat paint.

She, of course, went for the “body as canvas,” in a literal sense, but this proves that being on the nose doesn’t HAVE to be cringe. The look was inspired by several archival Mugler pieces, but most notably the Butterfly dress from the Spring/Summer 1997 collection.

I think this look is breathtaking. You’d have to be crazy to think otherwise. The palette knife strokes that seamlessly blend into the lower half. The extremely fine fringe dripping from her sleeves. The understated yet haunting glam that matches the darkness of the dress but knows not to overshadow it. It’s incredible.

She looks like a giant peach pit.

Let me be frank, I’m not a “Rihanna can do no wrong” fashion stan. This look isn’t sending me into another stratosphere, but it’s good. It’s fine. She really went for it with the silhouette and the fabric and the hair(arguably the best part), but the long sleeve bodice loses me. It feels less artistic and more gaudy, like “look how many jewels I have.”

This look was originally featured in the Fall 2025 couture collection…and dare I say, the model wore it better? I love how the original look is all the same fabric, draped over the shoulders and covering the elbows in an elongated oval shape, rather than just one big circle over Rihanna’s top half. It feels more meaningful.

Rihanna’s version is more disjointed. My eye stops and starts every time I look up and down. If we didn’t have this runway look, I may have liked hers better, but knowing that we could have had something more seamless, like a liquid gold, I’m left feeling “meh.” Sorry to curse you with a side profile of the dress, but I have to just leave this here:

The Alaskan Bull Worm returns...in custom Matthieu Blazy? I do enjoy this outfit on its own, though I’m not sure it pairs well with the theme. What is this saying about fashion as art? What is this saying about the body? It’s a pink robe with a scarf tie and a flower brooch. That’s pretty much it. It just looks like he was contractually obligated to wear Chanel (which he was) and he met his quota.

Listen, I know Nicole is some of you guys’ “fav,” but we can’t keep letting her get away with EVERYTHING just because her wig sits right (most of the time) and she’s delightfully cat-like in an oddly comforting way.

The crime here? Theme be damned. When asked how the costume art theme inspired her look, she stumbled into this answer:

“Well for me, I mean, fashion is art. I wanted something red, because I wanted to…embrace the way in which red has been used in art, through the years.”

Earth-shattering. Consider my ground broken.

The dress looks great, obviously. But the Met Gala isn’t about just looking great. That’s the bare minimum. Nicole knows this. She just doesn’t care. And can’t even be bothered to come up with a legit answer to the one question she knew she would be asked.

Underwhelming for what we know Doja Cat is capable of, but a cool look nonetheless. Thank god someone did skin color.

She’s wearing a draped silicone dress designed by Anthony Vaccarello, inspired by Greek statues and of course…SKIN. She said she wanted the whole look (head to toe) to be a sort of monochromatic moment, matching her skin tone. Her glam team certainly nailed the hair and makeup. She looks insanely fresh in her flesh!

Someone injected themselves with a familiar green serum before hitting the carpet!

Honestly, one of the only Substance-esque looks we saw, which is surprising. I really thought more people would be wearing or paying homage to the Comme des Garçons “Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body” collection. I think celebrities are quite afraid of looking intentionally grotesque. They mustn’t let us forget they are hot.

This custom Marc Jacobs look is insane (in the best way). Exaggerated proportions meant to look like overflowing skin, all wrapped in black lace—it’s to die for. And guess what? She was still able to show off her body, showcase excellent glam, and be playful at the same time. It is possible, ladies and gentlemen.

Was I happy that someone did boning? Yes. Was this look THAT major? I’m sorry, no.

We’ve seen her in a headdress. We’ve seen her in furs. The skeleton concept was creative, but this look feels dated. The silhouette, glam, and accessories are nothing new for Beyonce. All things considered, Oliver Rousteing did a fantastic job with this design, but it’s not truly pushing any fashion boundaries.

It’s giving Muppet chic. Someone tell Louise Trotter that you can do a fluffy, fringe fur look without making the model look like a linebacker. I love this look, but it feels a bit safe for the Met Gala and I’m not exactly sure how this is on theme.

She looks lovely and very cool, but considering how fantastic Teyana looked at last year’s ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ Met Gala, this left something to be desired.

That being said, keep it coming with the Teyana Taylor in Tom Ford!

Film as fashion? Count me in. Sabrina wore custom Dior by Jonathan Anderson and this little number is to die for. The dress is made out of film strips from the 1954 film Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn.

Usually, I get bored when the homage is just “old Hollywood” but this is certainly an exception. I love when Sabrina leans into her cheeky side, rather than going full bombshell glam. The halter neck. The headdress also featuring stills from the film. The gathered/rolled strips with the bow on the side—looking almost as if she’s gift-wrapped. The whole thing is genius.

Sabrina and Emma Chamberlain were both styled by Jared Ellner and let’s just say, he really cooked with these two completely different looks. The man has RANGE.

I genuinely was expecting nothing from Hailey. She typically sticks to simple, black dresses—nothing too exciting. Her aura is typically that of a single breath. This year? I’m happy to report that she stepped it up.

She wore a 24-karat gold sculpted bodice with a cobalt blue chiffon skirt and a matching cape—inspired by a 1969 Yves Saint Laurent design collaboration with artist Claude Lalanne. Although, I wish Gen Z would branch out in the silhouette department and wear something that doesn’t have to showcase their bodies…I will take this as a win. The gold and blue are beautiful on her, the jewelry is balanced, and it’s simple but effective.

Claps for Hailey!

Call me a hater, but this look makes me want to boo AND hiss.

It’s so incredibly boring. It’s just a black dress with a resin iris on it to pay tribute to Vincent Van Gogh…but like in the most subdued way possible. Van Gogh was known for his emotional, expressive paintings, vibrant colors, and energy. This dress is a shell of that. It’s literally just a flower. It doesn’t even look like a Van Gogh specific flower.

Valentino has played around with a harlequin print through the years and this look feels like a continuation of that giant gown that Alessandro Michele showed in their Spring 2025 collection. I, for one, am a big fan of this look.

I respect the drama of a Colman Domingo fit. It’s colorful. It’s theatrical. It’s a little off-kilter. The harlequin print of the top does read a bit like paint strokes. They’re not perfectly straight squares and that imperfection makes it more meaningful. If I’m being nit-picky, the pants could be more cohesive. The sparkly red trim on the sides feels disjointed from the top and reads as an afterthought. I would have loved to see a solid red or light blue from the top translated to the pant.

The floating dress detail is very sweet. Yes, little birds got her dressed for the gala. How lovely! I hope they were paid handsomely. The draping is nice. Overall, I don’t think this is the strongest Chanel look, but it’s good. Her glam and accessories are not working for me, though.

Ayo’s darker blunt bob would have looked way better than a loose, brown curl. Her makeup feels dewy, rather than an ethereal glow. And don’t even get me started on the shoes. I understand the Greeks wore sandals, but this honestly ruins the look for me. I know it’s a sandal heel, but it feels lazy and doesn’t work.

It’s fine though. She will #slay at the next function. She’s one of the only Gen Z Hollywood girls I’m not worried about—fashionally speaking. This was a rare miss for her.

This is the one look of the night that I feel has divided people 50/50. My first instinct? LOVE the color. Very Barbarella. At first, I did feel it was a bit boring.

After doing further research (because Kim loves a reference), I found out that this look was designed by iconic British pop artist Allen Jones. He’s best known for his provocative sculptures, especially the ones of erotic female mannequins that acted as furniture—tables, chairs, and hat stands.

If you’re a Clockwork Orange head like me, you’ll recognize this style of mannequin from the Korova Milk Bar set. Stanley Kubrick actually contacted Allen Jones, asking him to create sculptures for the film. Allen declined, but gave Kubrick permission to make similar sculptures for the scene.

Basically, Kim’s collaboration with Allen Jones not only ticks off the body theme box, but also the “fashion is art” box. She’s playing 3D cone boob chess. And as someone who has a body that’s helped to pave her way in Hollywood, the whole idea is a meta commentary on herself. This is certainly a win for the fashion/art girlies (gender neutral).

Do I love to see Zac Posen win? Of course. Gap is slowly (and successfully) making its way onto red carpets, but in a sneaky sort of way. I’m not addicted to this look—overall, I wish people did more with color on the bricked carpet. The draping here is phenomenal. It was inspired by Winged Victory of Samothrace, circa 190 BC.

Great reference. I almost wish there was a wing detailing or something sticking out to represent wings in a non-literal sense. It’s no surprise that Kendall wore something form fitting, but I would have liked to see her play with proportion in a different way. Oh well!

This dress is a win for Zac Posen, but a net neutral for Kendall in my book. Also, the boob looks like the SKIMS nipple bra and I could have done without it.

Kylie also rocked the SKIMS bra effect. Kim’s influence runs deep.

I disliked this one at first, too. It’s certainly more exciting than Kendall’s. She did exactly as I predicted—having fake skin molded overtop her real body. The folded down corset in the front is an exciting touch, as if it’s slipping off of her, yet intentional. Classic Schiaparelli surrealism. It’s fun and playful. I also respect Kylie for committing to the bit and doing a full bleached eyebrow.

She’ll never let you forget the body is tea, but she will experiment with glam in a way that drives home the artistic aspect of a look. All in all, the more I see this, the more I like it.

Call me crazy, but this is one of my absolute favorite looks of the night. It totally feels like a Parker Posey Party Girl meets some sort of Memphis style chair. I’m a sucker for all things color blocking, so this one has my heart. It’s camp. And the singular painted toenail on top of the tights is a stroke of genius. I’m obsessed with the train that reminds me of a purple spotlight.

Marc Jacobs knows what to do with an it girl. Rachel was also seen blowing bubbles on the carpet—can you say performance art? It’s serious. It’s unserious. It’s playful. I love it. More please!

Chase Infiniti was a silent assassin at this year’s Met Gala. I was not a fan of her Oscars look, so I wasn’t anticipating anything exceptional here either, but I have been proven wrong—delightfully so!

This dress is divine. We’ve got the body on top of body trope and as cliche as the concept may be, it’s one of the most stunning pieces I’ve seen in a lonnggg time. And thank god for such saturated color! Honestly, I don’t even care if someone interprets the theme literally at this point. If the look is good, then the look is good. Who cares?

The dress is beaded in a way that makes it look as if it’s been painted and the hip fringe suggests that the paint is dripping down to the floor. I saw some other designers attempt to do this dripping effect, but none were as successful as Thom Browne.

Let’s just do all the fun ones! Again, this cobalt blue color is refreshing to see. This dress is like a pop art version of The Great Wave off Kanagawa. It’s stunning but it’s campy. The blue, dip dye detailing on her left hand is pretty neat. I enjoy these subtle little artistic choices that help tie the whole look together in an #artful way, rather than sticking to #basic jewelry and boring glam.

RIP Isabella Blow. This one is for you.

I’m sorry, but Madonna’s entrance put Beyonce’s to shame…if we are comparing. She arrived in full Saint Laurent with a ship hat, designed by the iconic hat designer Phillip Treacy—looking like Marie Antoinette’s haunted witch sister. At her side were 7 ladies- in-waiting that held onto her purple organza cape. The look was inspired by Leonora Carrington’s The Temptation of St. Anthony Fragment II, painted in 1945.

Such a niche reference, but it clearly spoke to her. I love seeing art recreated with fashion in this way. It’s not a total copy/paste of the painting, which I like. Certain liberties were taken—like her all-black dress, the outfitting of the helpers, and the way in which the cape drapes onto her hat. It’s unique. It’s fun. And again, it’s performance art as well.

Okay, back to negativity corner.

You’re telling me this isn’t Sherri Hill? This look makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a dull spoon. High school prom alert. The bottom of this dress isn’t the absolute worst, but the bodice may be the ugliest thing I’ve laid eyes on in a while. It’s giving figure skater. It’s giving little girl. Her whole aura feels like she just stepped out of the Marnie Michaels school for zero self awareness. And the unironic Judith Lieber bag is not helping the situation.

Idk—something about this feels delusional in the same way that my 50-year-old elementary school principal would wear a tiara, dress like a “princess,” and perform Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella songs on stage in front of hundreds of kids—except she was honestly more camp than whatever Blake Lively is doing.

This is one of the rare occasions where I’m actually not praising someone for not having a stylist. Please, someone get a hold of her or get her out of my face!!

This is the perfect example of how you can look beautiful AND cool AND stick to a theme. It can be done. The look was inspired by Mäda Primavesi by Gustav Klimt, painted in 1912. Hunter’s dress is an homage, rather than an exact replica—smaller floppy grey bow, monochromatic flowers, and instead of a short ruffled skirt, she rocks a tattered floor length one with a train. Grandma’s wallpaper, but make it cool.

My favorite thing about this look is that it simultaneously feels true to Prada’s current design motifs/story-telling (deteriorating clothes, worn over time), while also authentically encapsulating the dress code without it feeling like a stretch. I noticed a bunch of celebrities showing up in “fresh off the runway” looks that were copied and pasted off the original models. I know people have contracts and there are always going to be people (like the Chloe crowd from 2024) that do this, but it’s nice to see a custom look that checks all the boxes.

2008 Lady Gaga called! But seriously, this dress is magnificent. If an athlete can dress this incredible at the Met Gala, these other celebrities (and their stylists) have zero excuse. The dress is made of 15,000 iridescent glass bubbles. Designers engineered it to release 2-5 bubbles per second, making for one of the coolest design feats since Zendaya’s color-changing Cinderella dress from the 2019 Met Gala.

Light, airy, and surreal. Eileen is simply ethereal in this look.

Stevie Nicks as Carrie Bradshaw as Slash…in Zara. What a world we live in.

Louis Vuitton, making a young person look stupid? What’s new. This is abysmal and honestly, just goofy. It looks like she’s trying to flash someone but she’s being censored by a hundred giant ruffles. I get that she’s young, but this feels like a disservice to put her in something so toddler-esque. There’s a way to be playful without being inherently childish.

I believe Heidi Klum’s scary costume eyes will be the last thing I see before I die. This is full Halloween horror, but I’m here for it. I love that she’s not obsessed with looking “pretty” all the time. This woman commits to the bit. And to everyone saying “this isn’t a look, it’s a costume,” may I point you back to the theme of this year’s exhibition? Exactly. Designer Mike Marino was inspired by classical works like the Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sammartino and the Veiled Vestal by Raffaele Monti. Also, I have no idea what they did to her feet or how they made them so #thicc but I’m even more scared now. Happy nightmares!

We’ve now reached the point of this newsletter where I can’t possibly begin to review any more individual looks, because I’m delirious and the Met Gala was 2.5 weeks ago. Speed round categories, let’s go!

Honk shoo, am I right? I’ve said this before, but there is a certain breed of Gen Z celebrity that only dresses in tight fitting or see-through dresses to show that their “body is tea.” Rarely do they step outside the box and wear something interesting, with any personality, or with differing proportions. Some of these women do not fit into that mold ALL the time—Amelia Grey and Alex Consani—but in this instance…they unfortunately do. If this wasn’t the Met Gala, they would look great. But it is. So, I’m asleep. Zzzzz.

Not sure what was in the water with these guys. None of them are doing anything particularly interesting (except Bad Bunny in old man cosplay), but their idea of “fashion is art,” was to wear all black and dress slightly off-kilter whether in a weird little hat, a weird little bow, a weird little fur, or a weird little leather jacket.

And for the record, the Bad Bunny look isn’t working for me. I wish his outfit was a bit more something…anything. It feels like after he sat in the makeup chair for 6 hours, he just phoned in the rest of the look. Patrick Schwarzenegger always looks like a cartoon Batman villain and I respect the consistency. He’s committed to not just being a pretty face. He’s committed to looking like he’s about to send an army of penguins to destroy the city once and for all.

These 12 looks are to be congratulated—they are fun, cool, and on theme. SZA shows that you can incorporate jewels, diamonds, and expensive jewelry into your look in an intentional way, without it being tacky. I hate seeing a look that has #bling for #bling sake.

Gwendoline Christie is always a work of art and the mask of her own face is a cool touch. Seth Meyers’s wife is looking excellent in Phoebe Philo Celine. Janelle Monáe is giving Manus X Machina Met Gala but whatever. Lena Dunham in Valentino is delicious and her pasty, bruised leg is refreshing to see. Justice for those of us who bruise easily and don’t want to wear skin-colored pantyhose.

Some of these are way too overworked with no through-line, tacky/dated, or just plain cheap looking. The vision is dry. The ground is sour. It would bring me physical pain to know what it cost to make and put these looks together.

This category is for women who I simply expected more from—whether that’s more pizazz, more artfulness, or more…clothing on the body. Rosé’s Saint Laurent is an homage to their fun, 80s designs, but in the most boring way possible. Gigi Hadid is wearing Miu Miu undies and a slip. Sarah Pidgeon is wearing a decent yellow Loewe dress, but for this event, it’s putting me to sleep. At least it’s a color, though! The color of Margot Robbie’s dress makes me feel ill. It needs to either be straight skin color or darker.

Here, we have the looks that aren’t made to fit the theme. They are either fresh off the runway designs that are lovely, but stick out like a sore thumb at the Met Gala, OR if they aren’t, they hold SO much brand DNA that again, they stick out like a sore thumb. We’ve got Marc Jacobs, Prada, Dior, and Chanel.

Note: I’m pretty disappointed with a majority of the Jonathan Anderson Dior looks, aside from Sabrina Carpenter’s. They all feel lackadaisical, like they just picked any look or made something extremely similar to what was on the runway. Though Jonathan Anderson’s off-theme looks are still better than 80% of what is out there, I just wanted more!

As you may know, designer Robert Wun created a bunch of looks for this year’s event—many of which involving hands. While I appreciate the “concepts,” I feel his execution is poor and half-baked. All of these pieces lack substance—like he had 10,000 hours to make a look and spent 9,999 of them making the trope (hands, metal mask, giant hat, sitting mannequin, etc.) and the last hour making the rest of the dress. A roaring silence.

A wise Phil Collins once said, “It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all.”

Unfortunately Sydney Sweeney did not show up wearing 3 breasts. No one was sensationalizing their pregnancy for my fashion entertainment. And no one wore real human skin. Bummer. There’s always next year!