“Fashion is Art” or fashion as a form of artistic expression was the dress code of the latest edition of the Met Gala. A theme inviting interpreting fashion as art with textile sculptures, historical references, artistic movements and conceptual pieces. The body dressed as a work. And the anticipation generated has been satisfied with looks that walked the red carpet and that concealed great artistic references.
Painting, sculpture, cinema and even poetry have served as inspiration for names like Madonna, Anne Hathaway or the much-criticized Lauren Sánchez to elevate the chosen designs to their maximum expression. The result? Dresses that hide messages full of meaning and that have made this one of the editions with more depth in recent years.
Lena Dunham and the Judith Beheading Holofernes
The red dress full of feathers and sequins worn by the American actress is a Valentino design by Alessandro Michele, who drew inspiration from the painting Judith Beheading Holofernes, by the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. A work from 1620, which is currently in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Yu-Chi Lyra Kuo and the Victory of Samothrace
Jean Paul Gaultier signs this design by the entrepreneur that includes a bust reference to the Victory of Samothrace, a marble sculpture 2.75 meters tall, dated around 190 BCE, one of the Louvre’s essential pieces. Additionally, the dress is made with an origami-based technique, the Japanese term meaning ‘paper folding’.
Emma Chamberlain and Van Gogh’s Starry Night
Emma Chamberlain drew inspiration from works by Van Gogh—such as Starry Night—and from Munch to bring life to her Met Gala dress. A hand-painted Mugler gown, with a train and fringed sleeves.
Madonna and Leonora Carrington
Madonna’s look is a homage to Leonora Carrington, who inspired the music video for “Bedtime Story.” With a black slip dress by Saint Laurent, designed under the creative direction of Anthony Vaccarello, she made direct reference to the painting The Temptation of Saint Anthony by the surrealist painter born in the United Kingdom and later naturalized Mexican, whose work fused alchemy, mythology, fantastical creatures, hybrid bodies and scenes steeped in mystery.
Heidi Klum and The Veiled Vestal by Raffaele Monti
The Veiled Vestal by Raffaele Monti, an emblematic Neoclassical sculpture from 1847, has been the inspiration for Heidi Klum. In this work the artist recreated the figure of a vestal, a priestess of Ancient Rome. Monti depicted her clothed with a veil, kneeling and holding a bowl with fire in an offering gesture.
Blake Lively and Her Ode to Venetian Rococo
Venetian Rococo paintings from the eighteenth century were the theme chosen by the actress, who turned to Versace to create this dress with three-dimensional hip structures that evoke the architecture of a Baroque church.
Ashley Graham and Classical Greek Art
The model did not hesitate to pay homage to one of the most celebrated techniques of ancient art: the wet-drapery technique, characteristic of Classical Greek art. And she did so with this nude Di Petsa dress.
Lauren Sánchez and the Portrait of Madame X
Madame X or Portrait of Madame X is the informal title of a portrait by Anglo-American painter John Singer Sargent of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau. The model was a young American born in Louisiana and wife of French banker Pierre Gautreau, a prominent figure in Parisian high society of the time. Lauren Sánchez drew inspiration from it with this Schiaparelli dress.
Anne Hathaway and John Keats’s Poem
The beauty that lives eternally sculpted in the silent marble of a Greek urn is what awakens questions in John Keats and leads him to reflect on themes such as the immortality of art and the fleeting nature of man in this poem that has been the reference for the actress.
Sabrina Carpenter Pays Homage to Cinema
Hundreds of negatives from the Sabrina film, starring the iconic Audrey Hepburn, formed the Dior dress chosen by the pop star. The 1995 film, a six-time Oscar nominee, has been the theme Sabrina chose, who has put aside sculpture or painting to pay tribute to the known seventh art.
Venus Williams and Robert Pruitt’s Portrait
Venus Williams, Double Portrait (2022) by Robert Pruitt is a portrait of the tennis player commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in which she has drawn inspiration. The necklace, a central element in both the look and the artwork, is a recreation of the necklace inspired by the Wimbledon plate that appears in the painting, incorporating symbols of her family and career, along with nods to the historic fight for equal pay in tennis and to the first Black champions of the sport.
Anok Yai and The Madonna of Grief
The model stated that as soon as she learned the Met Gala theme, she knew she had to transform into a living statue. She thus reached out to Pierpaolo Piccioli, Balenciaga’s Creative Director, to design her striking black dress and to be, in the designer’s words, the “Black Madonna.” Online, her artificial tears have soon been compared to the Virgin of Sorrows.
Gracie Abrams and Adele Bloch-Bauer I’s Portrait
Painter Gustav Klimt was one of the gala’s references, slipping into Gracie Abrams’ look and her Chanel dress designed by Matthieu Blazy with ochre and gold touches.
Hunter Schafer and the Mäda Primavesi Portrait
Once again, Gustav Klimt and his Mäda Primavesi portrait were the inspiration for this Prada dress worn by the Euphoria star at the Met Gala. The painting depicts a Viennese high-society girl surrounded by flowers and pastel tones.
