Met Gala 2026: The Before, During, and Many Afters

Chinyere Ibeh
7 minutes ago
7 min read

This year’s gala featured came in its truest fashion, featuring pre-parties, sculpted gowns, and various after parties for the ages.

a graphic featuring Rihanna, Cardi B, Beyoncé, Venus Williams, and Yseult — The 2026 Met Gala has come and gone with its dazzling red carpet, and parties throughout the weekend.

The first Monday of May has come and gone with celebrities, fashion royalty, athletes and models gracing the red carpet with their interpretation of the Fashion Is Art dress code.

As everyone knows, the theme goes hand in hand with an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The institute’s “Costume Art” exhibit will run from May 10, 2026 until January 10 of next year. The 12,000 square foot space, dubbed the Condé M. Nast Galleries, will feature hundreds of pieces that center the dressed body as well as thematically relevant fashions.

The Pre-Gala Events Did Not Disappoint

With many eager to see everyone's looks for the biggest night in fashion, pre-parties popped up across the city — notably Teyana Taylor’s burlesque show.

Taylor’s burlesque party, dubbed The Dirty Rose, banned cameras for the night as only Vanity Fair was allowed to capture the affair. Stars would fill a beautiful room in The Times Square EDITION, a Marriott hotel in the tourist destination. They would watch as Taylor and other dancers graced the stage, oftentimes leaping towards the audience.

Danielle Brooks, star of “Orange is the New Black,” MCed the night and later performed a song for the show. Film Director Baz Luhrmann, who directed the show, sat in a booth with a glowing lamp. Vanity Fair quipped that Luhrmann’s sitting arrangements were “proof that you can always trust a director to score the table with the best lighting.”

The publication spotted model Alex Consani at the event, who also attended Taylor’s Met Gala burlesque show in 2024. That show was also kept under wraps with no cameras allowed, with surprise performances by Summer Walker and LaLa Anthony.

At the time, Taylor spoke with Interview Magazine about The Dirty Rose and how it came to life.

“The actual idea has been on paper for years. I’ve been shopping it for years, but I’ve gotten so busy doing movies and being a mom and everything else in life,” Taylor said. “So when the opportunity finally came, it was one of those things where I was already ready so I didn’t have to get ready.”

For this year’s show, Taylor wore custom Calvin Klein designs throughout the night. She began in a hand-embroidered crystal and pearl embellished body suit underneath a fringed ivory coat and leather gloves. She later appeared in a red crystal bodysuit with heart patch and an under-bust cut out.

Eve Batey, the reporter who covered the event for Vanity Fair, noted that “the mysterious drinks” paired well with Raising Cane’s chicken fingers and fries served on silver platters throughout the night.

Taylor wasn’t the only one to host a pre-party as Players Magazine hosted one, notably featuring models, designers and “tunnel walk regulars.”

“We want to create a community with Players that is at the intersection of sports and fashion,” Vladimir Roitfeld, the publication’s editor-in-chief, told Vogue. Roitfeld launched the print and digital platform last year, with Dwayne Wayne serving as a guest editor, Spike Lee gracing the cover, and Mario Sorrenti photographing the cover.

The publication’s pre-Met Gala gathering took place at Moss, a new Fifth Avenue private members’ club. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb and Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman attended the event alongside Met Gala host committee member Lauren Wasser, designers Ludovic de Saint Sermin, Patricio Campillo, and photographer Sebastiona Faena.

Attendees mingled over cocktails made by Clase Azul, featuring tamarind, lime and mescal Mosscalita, and they also enjoyed the distiller’s new sipping tequila. Jenna Adrian-Diaz, who covered the event for Vogue, described the dinner as “relaxed and unhurried.”

The menu featured a three-course collaboration between Moss’ chef Angela Zeng, and the Paris-based chef and culinary producer Nicolo D’Alessandro. Dessert featured a genmaicha ice cream atop a goat cheese granita and cacao granola.

Roitfeld would later hint at the publication’s future in relation to the evening’s event.

“I feel that maybe we are on the right track,” Roitfeld said. “We want to bring something fresh, and a new vision [to the table].”

Prior to covering Players’ event at the Moss, Vogue hosted its annual First Friday kickoff party. Teyana Taylor hosted this party as well, alongside Chloe Malle and Simone Ashley. The cocktail party found itself at the Madame Tussauds on 42nd Street, the famed wax figure museum. Freya Drohan, Vogue’s parties editor, described the event as a good reason for many stars to visit the tourist attraction.

“I’ve definitely never been here — I mean, have any of us,” Michael Kors said in the museum’s elevator.

The night’s dress code was “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies,” a clear nod to the Costume Institute’s upcoming exploration of how the human form is portrayed in the form of fashion. The cocktails appeared to follow the theme, with Waisted Cosmos and the Body Electric being served throughout the night.

Apparently, as Drohan heard throughout the night, partygoers talked about Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen finally opening in New York City. Not only did guests express their excitement about Goop Kitchen, they were more than willing to try everything on that night’s menu — trays of health-focused food milling the event.

Guests also took to the seventh floor where they participated in a Google Try On Activation, which used artificial intelligence to allow them to see themselves in archival and runway looks.

The Main Event Features Interpretations of “Fashion is Art” and the Dressed Body

Not only did stars put their spin on the “Fashion is Art” theme, they turned to the “Costume Art” exhibit for inspiration.

Co-chair and newly married Venus Williams wore a look inspired by Robert Pruitt’s portrait of her, titled Venus Williams Double Portrait. Williams would grace the red carpet with a black Swarovski crystal mesh gown designed by Giovanna Engelbert.

Fellow co-chair and “Cowboy Carter” singer Beyoncé took the route of portraying the dressed body. The dress had a skin-tone mesh base with a diamond skeleton that went down to her fingers.

As the co-chairs shined on the carpet, here are Forty-Ninth Block Media’s favorite looks of the night:

The Party Didn’t Stop at the Gala: After Party Edition

As Stevie Nicks did a surprise performance, and Beyoncé pulled out another look during the main event, the after-parties carried the high fashion energy well into the morning.

Speaking of Beyoncé, the “Tyrant” singer and husband Jay-Z hosted a private party at Crane Club’s Members Lounge. A source told Page Six that attendees were hidden as they entered the party due to a makeshift tunnel. Due to this, paparazzi weren’t able to snap photos of partygoers going in or out of the event.

Onlookers were able to see some of the A-List attendees entering the party, notably Teyana Taylor and Mick Jagger. Sources told Page Six that the party went late, with attendees leaving at around four in the morning.

The only hints about the inside of the party came from music executive Lenny Santiago, who posted a video of himself walking through the makeshift tunnel into the party. The video showed a black carpet leading to a wall featuring the logo of Beyoncé’s whiskey brand, SirDavis.

Another popping after-party came from the likes of GQ, which was co-hosted by Chase Infiniti, Damson Idris, Lisa and Paul Anthony Kelly. The publication’s post-gala party took place at Cafe Zaffri at The Twenty Two. GQ’s new global editorial director Adam Baidawi and global fashion correspondent Samuel Hine greeted guests as they arrived.

“I think every GQ party is just about getting a ton of different people together across art, fashion, music, sports, and Hollywood, or whatever else it might be,” Hine told Vogue. They’re all members of this family we’ve assembled, so we like to throw it all together and see what happens.”

GQ hosted many A-Listers for its late night affair, including Angela Bassett, Babyface, Laufey, Shaboozey, and many others. Zachary Weiss for Vogue Singapore compared the atmosphere to “a suburban basement’s rumpus room while your parents might be out of town; a recipe for no-stop revelry with many unlikely pairings.”

Like the guests at Beyoncé’s event, many began calling it a night at four in the morning while others plotted their next move — Rihanna’s outing on the Lower East Side? Madonna’s in NoHo?

Some of them may have hit Kate Moss and Teyana Taylor’s party at The Box, which lasted until 7 a.m. The Richie Akiva affair, dubbed “The After,” had Kaytranada spinning while A-List guests included Shaboozey, Evan Ross and Lisa from Blackpink. Busta Rhymes and DJ Cruz offered performances and Diplo ultimately took his turn in the dj booth.

Similar to Taylor’s burlesque pre-party, dancers in sequin pasties took to the balconies to give the attendees a run for their money. Phones were notably banned from this party as well.

With the night ending so far into the morning, Vogue’s Malcia Green described the atmosphere as the party began to wrap up.

“As dawn approached, the only thing on anyone’s minds was seemingly scoring a skinny cigarette through the seas of silver confetti that clouded their view,” Greene wrote.

Eileen Kelly, host of podcast “Going Mental” and Vogue contributor, took on the daunting task of trying to attend every after-party of the night. She started quite early, 10 p.m. to be exact. At that time, the after-party hadn’t started as attendees were still at the Gala.

She did stop at the GQ after-party, but she was still too early. This was around 11:40 at night, and the gala had just ended. Her next stop was at what she described as a “chic French-fashion-brand party.” She described it as such due to the “no press” rule, so technically she wasn’t allowed to cover the party.

Upon inside, Kelly saw Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Pattinson, Suki Waterhouse and Mick Jagger having a time on the dance floor. She noted that this party was one of her favorites of the night.

It was at this party where she heard about Beyoncé’ and Jay-Z’s exclusive party at the Crane Club, though there was a QR needed to gain access.

With this year’s Met Gala focusing on fashion as an artform and the dressed body, the “Costume Art” exhibition will be on display until soon after the new year.