Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna, Stevie Nicks and Cher Return to Met Gala 2026 in New York

The Met Gala 2026 returned Monday, May 4, with Beyoncé, Rihanna, and music icons including Madonna, Stevie Nicks and Cher making surprise appearances on the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute fundraiser.

“Based on facts observed and verified directly by our journalists or by informed sources”

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USA Today described the event as “all about the body – andBeyoncé,” and said Queen Bey joined Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour as co-chair of the annual invite-only fundraiser in New York City.

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Vanity Fair framed the night as a red carpet moment where the dress code “Fashion Is Art” supported the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition “Costume Art,” and it said the exhibition examines “the centrality of the dressed body throughout time and culture.”

Vanity Fair also reported that “Costume Art” opens to the public on Sunday, May 10, and runs through Sunday, January 10, 2027, and that it is curated by Andrew Bolton.

The same Vanity Fair account said the exhibition is organized into 13 “thematic body parts” and pairs garments and accessories with paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs, ultimately displaying nearly 400 objects.

CBS News added that the co-chairs are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour, and that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos are the honorary chairs, while Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz are the host committee co-chairs.

Zoë Kravitz’s Met Gala 2026 appearance became a focal point of fashion coverage, with Vogue describing her as attending for the 11th time and walking the garden-inspired carpet clad in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.

Vogue said she wore Jessica McCormack jewelry and a piece of sentimental jewelry—“her gorgeous new engagement ring from Harry Styles, with its dazzling east-west cushion-cut stone.”

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The magazine described her guipure-lace dress as “dyed black and worn unlined,” featuring a basque waist that “drops low over the hips,” and it called the silhouette “one of the hottest bridal looks of 2026 so far.”

Vogue also detailed the jewelry’s visual concept, saying McCormack dressed Kravitz in a suite of “Cry Baby” pieces, including asymmetric diamond-drop earrings and a cocktail ring, and it quoted the design language as “cry” pear and baguette-cut diamond tears.

For beauty, Vogue quoted makeup artist Nina Park saying, “We kept coming back to restraint,” and it described the look as having “Soft light, diffused edges, a natural flush that feels like it lives within the skin.”

Vogue further tied the aesthetic to the dress code by quoting McCormack: “I wouldn’t say we set out to reference surrealism directly, but it naturally found its way into the process,” and it added that Park said, “There’s a subtle reference to Renaissance portraiture, more in the feeling than anything literal.”

While Kravitz’s look leaned into a Renaissance-inspired beauty and jewelry story, other outlets highlighted different interpretations of the “Fashion Is Art” dress code across the Met steps.

“- Published It's described as the biggest night in fashion”

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Vanity Fair described the event’s scale and cast, saying the gala drew “roughly 450 guests” from fashion, entertainment, politics, technology, media, sport, and more, and it named co-chairs Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams as arriving earlier with Anna Wintour.

USA Today emphasized the celebrity entrances and said Beyoncé returned in a “showstopping silver ensemble” with Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, while Rihanna “shut down the carpet with a fashionably late entrance.”

CBS News added operational details about what happens inside, saying stars sit down for a catered dinner from Olivier Cheng Catering and Events, with a burrata appetizer, a rack of lamb, and “three different desserts,” and it said performers take the stage at the Temple of Dendur.

CBS News also quoted the event’s restrictions, saying the Met Gala has a “strict no-phone, no-social-media policy once inside the museum.”

For fashion-specific moments, Daily Times reported that Olympic freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu arrived in a custom creation by designer Iris van Herpen featuring “15,000 glass bubbles,” and it said Gu described the design as “intended as a play on surrealism, movement, nature, and whimsy.”

Several sources embedded direct statements from designers and performers about how they interpreted the theme, connecting the fashion choices to specific artistic ideas.

Vogue quoted Jessica McCormack saying, “I wouldn’t say we set out to reference surrealism directly, but it naturally found its way into the process,” and it also quoted McCormack about referencing “Fashion is Art” by saying, “Artists such as Man Ray and Dalí, who explored the eye as a symbol of perception and consciousness, were a subtle influence.”

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Vogue also quoted makeup artist Nina Park on the beauty approach, saying, “Soft light, diffused edges, a natural flush that feels like it lives within the skin,” and it quoted Park again: “There’s a subtle reference to Renaissance portraiture, more in the feeling than anything literal.”

CBS News included a direct quote from Eileen Gu on the red carpet, where she told CBS News New York’s Ali Bauman: “I'm thinking about art in motion. I'm thinking about surrealism. I'm thinking about sports and fashion and femininity and whimsy, so.”

Channels Television quoted Tyla describing her look as “a shiny peacock,” and it said she described the design as intended to celebrate movement, light and the human form.

The Mirror quoted Heidi Klum speaking at the event about her outfit, saying, “I got inspired by The Veiled Vestal. I was like, I want to become her.”

Beyond individual outfits, the coverage also reflected how the Met Gala’s theme and spectacle were received, with some outlets emphasizing fashion rankings and others pointing to criticism.

“South African singer Tyla delivered one of the most striking appearances at the 2026 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City”

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The Washington Post presented its own framing by listing “The 9 best-dressed celebrities at the 2026 Met Gala,” and it described the event as christening “its new Condé M. Nast Galleries” with the themed Met Gala “Fashion Is Art.”

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In the same Washington Post piece, the text included a section titled “What readers are saying,” describing “strong criticism of the Met Gala” and comparing the event to a “freak show” or “circus,” with comparisons to “The Hunger Games” and “Halloween.”

People magazine, meanwhile, framed the night through “Best, Worst and Most Oops,” saying the “Costume Art” theme invited interpretations “good, bad and baffling,” and it described the exhibit and dress code as the “jumping-off point for celebrity ensembles.”

People also stated “Technically, people under 18 aren't invited to the Costume Institute Gala,” while noting co-chair Nicole Kidman and Beyoncé, and it said “rules were made to be broken.”

For fashion stakes, Daily Times reported that Eileen Gu’s bubble dress “reportedly took 2,550 hours to complete,” while Nbsla.ca claimed Emily Blunt stunned in a “$500,000 pearl body necklace” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.