Madonna is gearing up to return to the dance floor on July 3 with Confessions II, but on Monday (May 4), the Queen of Pop brought witchy wonders to the 2026 Met Gala red carpet in Manhattan.

Flanked by four women holding her grey veil trains, Madonna, imperious as ever, walked the red carpet wearing a black outfit with a gossamer, old-timey seacraft fixed to the top of her head. With the veils surrounding her headpiece, the effect was of a storm-tossed ship at sea. Designed by Anthony Vaccarello, it was a custom Yves Saint Laurent look inspired by British-Mexican painter Leonora Carrington’s painting The Temptation of St. Anthony, per Harper’s Bazaar. Centered around the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new exhibit “Costume Art,” the Met Gala dress code this year is “Fashion Is Art,” so Madonna’s campy, surrealist look is right on theme (as she always is at the Met Gala).

Madonna recently teased Confessions II with the release of “I Feel So Free” and lead single “Bring Your Love,” a duet with Sabrina Carpenter that dropped last Friday, following Madonna’s surprise appearance during Carpenter’s headlining set during Coachella weekend 2. The Man’s Best Friend singer also walked the Met Gala red carpet, draped in a gown made out of film strips taken from 1954’s Sabrina, a romantic comedy starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, which Carpenter called “one of my favorite films of all time.”

Beyoncé is one of the 2026 Met Gala co-chairs; for her red carpet look, she brought out daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay-Z, making her appearance a family affair. To see what other musicians hit the 2026 Met Gala, check out this photo gallery.

Bad Bunny is no stranger to turning a look, but at the 2026 Met Gala on Monday (May 4), the Latin superstar had everyone doing double takes–even if it gave them a crick in the neck afterward.

Artificially aging himself with white hair and wrinkle makeup, Benito strolled down the Met Gala carpet, cane in hand, in an all-black suit with a large, flowy bow. (Presumably, the Puerto Rican artist was hoping to score the senior discount on Met Museum tickets.) Beyond hair and makeup, his body language sold the senior citizen look, too–no surprise, given that he’s set to star in a film about Puerto Rico directed by Residente following acting turns in Bullet Train and Happy Gilmore 2.

Vogue red carpet co-host La La Anthony asked the Billboard Hot 100-topping, Grammy-winning Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner how he continues to one-up himself at the Met Gala. “I don’t know,” he replied. “It’s getting a part of my life, trying to do something different. This day of the Met is a perfect day to explore and be creative and express yourself in a different way.”

As for how long the look took to put together, Bad Bunny joked to Anthony, “53 years exactly. It took a little bit but it’s worth it. I hope I look good,” he said.

Elsewhere at the 2026 Met Gala, Maluma, Madonna, Beyoncé (one of this year’s co-chairs), Charli xcx, Sam Smith, Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter and all four members of BLACKPINK—JISOO, JENNIE, LISA and ROSÉ—all walked the red carpet. Check out a gallery of the many musicians at the 2026 Met Gala here. The 2026 Met Gala theme is “Fashion Is Art,” centered around the “Costume Art” exhibit.

BLACKPINK members JENNIE, JISOO, LISA and ROSÉ all hit the Met Gala red carpet on Monday (May 4), walking the red carpet individually and flaunting distinct fashion sensibilities.

For her Met Gala debut, JISOO was decked out in a sparkly pink floral gown, which she told Vogue red carpet co-hosts Ashley Graham and Cara Delevingne was a custom Dior by Jonathan Anderson. “It’s my first Met Gala. I’m so excited and a little nervous too,” JISOO told them with a laugh. “We’re trying the flowers,” she said. “It’s so exciting.”

In addition to the Dior fit, she was wearing a vintage Cartier necklace. The BLISOO boss told Graham and Delevingne the outfit took “four to five hours” to pull together, which they acknowledged was more than worth it.

ROSÉ spoke to Vogue red carpet co-host La La Anthony about her look, an Yves Saint Laurent dress with an avian theme. ROSÉ explained she was talking with celebrity stylist Law Roach about fashion and art ahead of the Met Gala and “the bird stood out because of the theme of the Met Gala this year,” she said, referencing the “Fashion Is Art” dress code for the “Costume Art” exhibit. “It helped do my homework and learn the history of Yves Saint Laurent. It was a privilege to learn the inspiration YSL had with art,” she said, referencing the Georges Braque painting The Birds on the ceiling of the Louvre in Paris, which inspired her dress.

LISA arrived at the Met Gala red carpet in a sculptural look designed by Robert Wun. “I’m just so happy to showcase myself in an art form like this,” LISA said, explaining that the arms winding around her veiled gown were her own arms recreated via 3D printer. She also teased her upcoming Las Vegas residency. “It sold out!” she beamed. “I can’t wait to show my fans what I prepared.”

JENNIE was the last member of BLACKPINK to hit the Met Gala, strolling down the carpet in a shimmery, silver Chanel dress by Matthieu Blazy. JENNIE told Vogue‘s Anthony her dress was made out of 15,000 sequined leaves. “I feel like a mosaic art work come alive,” she said, adding she was excited to see her BLACKPINK bandmates inside the Met Gala.

Fashion icon Janelle Monáe dazzled in custom couture by Christian Siriano at the 2026 Met Gala on Monday (May 4).

The multi-hyphenate artist wore a floor-length gown that combined nature and technology, with wires and plants intertwined all over the piece. Monáe’s look was an entanglement of cables and greenery, with moving mechanical butterflies and dragonflies dotted along her body, including a butterfly perched atop her head.

In an Instagram post sharing a closer look at her couture, Monáe referenced her futuristic alter ego Cindi Mayweather, who has made appearances in her music since her 2007 EP Metropolis: The Chase Suite.

“And Cindi whispered from the future — remember what made you human,” Monáe wrote. In the caption, the singer also expressed her gratitude to the team that put her look together, sharing that the outfit encompassed live moss, succulents, a motherboard, ethernet cables, 230 electrical wires and 5,000 black crystals. “Thank you to the artisans and hands that built every fiber. It’s an honor to showcase your work.”

Monáe’s appearance at the Met Gala comes less than two weeks before her new film, Is God Is, is set to hit theaters. In the upcoming thriller, based on a play of the same name, Monáe plays the new wife of an abusive man who attempted to murder his previous wife and twin daughters in an intentional house fire. Monáe has an extensive acting resume, including roles in 2017’s Hidden Figures, 2018 Oscar best picture winner Moonlight and the second film in the Knives Out franchise, Knives Out: Glass Onion.

It’s the first Monday in May and the stars have pulled out their best looks for the year’s biggest night in fashion: the Met Gala.

Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 4, the 2026 Met Gala dress code was “Fashion Is Art,” a theme that left attendees with much room for interpretation. The gala’s theme reflects the theme of the museum’s Costume Institute spring exhibition, “Costume Art.”

“Focusing primarily on Western art from prehistory to the present, Costume Art presents connections between garments from The Costume Institute and objects from the Museum’s other collecting areas,” reads a description of the exhibit on The Met’s website. “Pairings between fashions and artworks will present a spectrum of connections and experiences: from the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the individual to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound.”

For the first time in a decade, Beyoncé attended The Met Gala, and this time as a co-chair.  Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour co-chaired the event alongside Beyoncé while the gala and exhibit’s lead sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos were honorary co-chairs. Alongside the co-chairs, the 2026 Met Gala also had a host committee: Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, LISA, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Yseult and more served as members. Lauren Graham, Cara Delevingne, La La Anthony and Emma Chamberlain served as Vogue red carpet co-hosts.

Check out red carpet photos from the 2026 Met Gala, including Sam Smith, Charli xcx and more.