Schiaparelli
Under the direction of Daniel Roseberry, Schiaparelli has become synonymous with surrealist, avant-garde glamour that feels tailor-made for the Met Gala's most conceptual themes. The brand's DNA, rooted in founder Elsa Schiaparelli's collaborations with artists
like Salvador Dalí, is all about turning the human body into a canvas for bizarre beauty. This was perfectly captured at the 2026 "Fashion Is Art" gala, where Kylie Jenner's sculptural gown and Lauren Sánchez Bezos's mosaic-like creation dominated headlines. Similarly, Jennifer Lopez's 2024 gown, adorned with 2.5 million crystal beads to form butterfly wings, showcased the house's impeccable craftsmanship and flair for dramatic storytelling. Schiaparelli doesn't just dress celebrities; it creates walking sculptures.
Thom Browne
No one deconstructs and reimagines classic tailoring with more theatricality than Thom Browne. Known for his uniform of shrunken gray suits, Browne uses the Met Gala to explode his own conventions into high-concept art pieces. His work is less about a single dress and more about creating a complete narrative. For the 2023 theme honoring Karl Lagerfeld, Jenna Ortega wore a masterful tweed and chain creation that was part-Wednesday Addams, part-Chanel runway. At the 2025 gala themed "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," Browne was in his element, dressing stars like Demi Moore and Zoe Saldana in gowns that brilliantly repurposed elements like neckties and tuxedo seams into architectural marvels. Each look is a witty, impeccably crafted spectacle.
Maison Margiela
With John Galliano at the helm, Maison Margiela brings a unique blend of deconstruction and historical romance to the steps of the Met. The house, originally founded on principles of anonymity and anti-fashion, now marries those ideas with Galliano's signature theatricality. The results are often breathtakingly complex and deeply romantic. For 2018's "Heavenly Bodies," Rihanna's papal-inspired, jewel-encrusted ensemble became an instant classic, perfectly embodying the theme's fusion of fashion and religion. In 2024, Bad Bunny's look featured the brand's signature exposed seams, while Kim Kardashian wore a gown that referenced Galliano's own archives from his time at Dior, creating layers of fashion history within a single look.
Balenciaga
Under Demna, Balenciaga has mastered the art of the viral Met Gala moment, often by challenging the very idea of celebrity and glamour. The brand's approach is conceptual and frequently confrontational, making it a red-carpet disruptor. Who could forget the 2021 gala, where Kim Kardashian arrived in a head-to-toe black T-shirt-esque bodysuit that completely obscured her face, a statement on fame and identity in the age of social media? Rihanna also wore a dramatic, voluminous black coat-gown from the house that year. For the "Sleeping Beauties" theme in 2024, the brand took a historical approach, recreating archival designs for stars like Nicole Kidman and Michelle Yeoh, proving its ability to innovate both by looking forward and by honoring its own past.
Iris van Herpen
When the theme ventures into nature, technology, or the abstract, Iris van Herpen is the undisputed queen. The Dutch designer is a pioneer of futuristic couture, blending 3D printing, laser cutting, and mind-bending materials with delicate craftsmanship. Her creations often look like they belong in a natural history museum from the future. For the 2026 "Fashion Is Art" gala, she created a dress for Olympian Eileen Gu made of 15,000 glass bubbles that released actual bubbles on the carpet. In previous years, she's dressed a constellation of stars, including Grimes, Tessa Thompson, and Winnie Harlow, in gowns that ripple, shift, and transform, making them living embodiments of the Met's most imaginative themes.
Versace
Versace delivers pure, unadulterated glamour. While some brands lean into intellectual concepts, Versace understands the power of a show-stopping, jaw-dropping moment. Donatella Versace has a long and storied history of creating iconic looks for the Met Gala that are unapologetically bold and sexy. Blake Lively is practically Met Gala royalty thanks to her collaborations with the house, from her gilded gown for "Rei Kawakubo" to her Statue of Liberty-inspired transforming dress for 2022's "Gilded Glamour." Zendaya's armored Joan of Arc look for "Heavenly Bodies" in 2018 remains one of the most powerful thematic interpretations ever. Versace consistently proves that sometimes, the best way to meet a theme is with overwhelming star power and exquisite execution.
