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The 2026 Met Gala asked a simple question: is fashion art? Tied to the Costume Institute's "Costume Art" exhibition, celebrities like co-chair Beyoncé, Met Gala veterans Rihanna and Janelle Monáe, as well as breakout star Chase Infiniti all showed up ready to prove the point, each channeling their inner art connoisseur. But some took it a step further and used the opportunity to put Black art front and center on the Met steps. It's a welcome gesture after the 2025 Met Gala theme "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," which celebrated Black designers. The continuation sends the message that our identity is more than just a passing trend.
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Beyoncé wore a custom design by Olivier Rousteing and Tschabalala Self wore Brandon Blackwood, while Amy Sherald - known for her 2018 portrait of Michelle Obama - collaborated with Thom Browne on a blue gown with red accents inspired by her painting "Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)." Black art wasn't just included in the exhibit (represented by Telfar bags in various skin-tone hues and African antiquities) - it was all over the carpet.
Serving as co-chair this year, Venus Williams took the "fashion is art" brief literally, wearing a black gown dripping in Swarovski crystals that was inspired by a 2022 portrait of her at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, painted by Bronx artist Robert Pruitt.
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Angela Bassett followed a similar path, mirroring Harlem Renaissance painter Laura Wheeler Waring's "Girl in Pink Dress" in a pink floral appliqué Prabal Gurung gown.
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Grammy Award-winning singer and composer Jon Batiste took the idea of paying homage to Black artists to new heights.
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Leaving the Carlyle Hotel, he wore a blue Superman T-shirt and aviator shades inspired by Barkley Hendricks. On the Met Gala red carpet, he continued the reference in a full white look, nodding again to Hendricks' work.
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Everyone's favorite image architect Law Roach (sans Zendaya) also went for the physical art angle, wearing a custom collaboration between AMI and Gabonese artist Naïla Opiangah, a white suit with painted bodies.
Some stars expressed their appreciation for Black art through their glam, using hair and makeup as a canvas. Gabrielle Union, in a sequined brown form-fitting Michael Kors dress, wore her hair in large, doubled crowns as an homage to photographer Kwame Brathwaite, a key figure in the "Black Is Beautiful" movement of the 1960s. His work celebrated Black women, natural hair, and beauty during a time of racial unrest and narrow beauty standards.
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Ciara took a similar approach, channeling Egyptian queen Nefertiti in an embellished gold gown with matching accessories. The pièce de résistance was a gilded, sculptural hair moment created by Cesar Ramirez and inspired by Nefertiti's iconic crown.
It's powerful to see Black Met Gala guests using their platforms to highlight Black art in such a visible way. It's also a notable shift that celebrities took representation into their own hands this year, a divergence from the year prior when the museum, its curators, and the gala planning committee all championed Black designers and artists.
Either way, by the end of the night, it was clear that Black art was, is, and always will be the moment.
Shelton Boyd-Griffith (he/him/his) is a passionate writer who uses his platform to spotlight marginalized voices in the design space, queer and nonbinary designers, and BIPOC-owned brands. With bylines in Vogue, Fashionista, Models.com, Essence, and more, he covers fashion, fashion news, industry news, pop culture, and more.
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