For Emma Chamberlain, art imitates life.
The 24-year-old explained the special meaning behind her 2026 Met Gala outfit – a unique, hand-painted Mugler gown created by Miguel Castro Freitas – and how it relates to her childhood.
While planning her look for the “Fashion Is Art” event with stylist Jared Ellner, she decided to honor her father, Michael Chamberlain. She told Vogue that growing up in a home filled with art – her dad was an oil and watercolor painter – had a big influence on her.
She then commissioned Freitas to design a dress inspired by paintings. She wanted it to feel like a work of art, referencing favorites by artists like Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch, as well as Thierry Mugler’s famous 1997 butterfly dress. The dress successfully captured her vision, with the fabric meticulously hand-painted by Anna Deller-Yee. (You can see more of the night’s best celebrity looks here.)
Although Kristen Bell isn’t a painter or sculptor like her dad, she expresses her creativity through fashion, firmly believing that “fashion is art.”
Events like the Met Gala give her a chance to become the art itself, and she loves the freedom of being a ‘complete blank canvas’ when it comes to fashion.
Emma, who reported for Vogue at the event, explained on the magazine’s YouTube channel that the dress gave her a feeling similar to when she views a painting she truly loves. She said it made her feel curious and intrigued.
She explained she was drawn to a complex feeling within the gown. It wasn’t just beautiful; it had a delicate intricacy, with small details – like the painted hands and the watercolor effect resembling bleeding – that added a unique, slightly unsettling quality.
Read on to see some more fabulous looks from this year’s gala…
in custom Olivier Rousteing and Chopard jewelry.
in Maison Margiela, Briony Raymond and Dyne jewelry.
in custom Allen Jones breastplate, Whitaker Malem skirt and Christian Louboutin shoes.
in custom Zara.
in custom Mike Marino.
in Marc Jacobs.
in custom Saint Laurent and Belperron jewelry.
in Atelier Versace, Christian Louboutin shoes and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.
in Dior, Christian Louboutin shoes and Chopard jewelry.
in Michael Kors.
in custom Schiaparelli.
in Lafayette 14.
in Stella McCartney.
in custom Miu Miu and Jessica McCormack jewelry.
in Robert Wun and Bvlgari jewelry.
in Tom Ford.
in Balenciaga and Henry & Henry jewelry.
in Gap Studio by Zac Posen and Buccellati jewelry.
in Saint Laurent.
in Chanel.
in Dior (Kidman Urban) and Chanel (Kidman).
in Chanel.
in Ashi Studio, Jimmy Choo shoes, Kurt Geiger bag and Mikimoto jewelry.
in Burberry.
in Saint Laurent.
in Michael Kors.
in Thom Browne.
in Thom Browne.
in Valentino and Jacob & Co. jewelry.
in Vivienne Westwood.
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2026-05-05 18:47