Kim Kardashian arrived at the 2026 Met Gala and made a splash on the carpet with her interpretation of the “Fashion Is Art” dress code.
The reality star worked with British pop-artisan duo Allen Jones and Patrick Whitaker on a custom look, the highlight of which was a golden breastplate bodysuit. The piece featured a high-neck silhouette and cone bra, with sculpted abs and even a belly button detail. In a red-carpet interview, she revealed it was crafted from a mold of a ’60s model.
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A half skirt was added to the backside of her one-piece, and she paired the look with nude heels.
Jones is known for his metal body molds; however, the artist often stirred up controversy with his “fetish furniture,” a series of fiberglass female figures made into functional furniture pieces. Jones said that he believed that these design works “hampered his career” after receiving criticism from second-wave feminists, according to his interview with The Guardian. Even still, these works have inspired artists for decades, including model (and Kanye’s wife) Bianca Censori, who debuted a series of similar design artworks last year. (The drama!!!)
Chris Appleton treated the Skims founder’s hair to a lived-in look, and for makeup, Mario Dedivanovic went for coordinating rust-gold tones.
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Although she’s been known to love a Met Gala couples moment, Kardashian showed up to this one solo. She didn’t provide an explanation, but it was not completely unexpected. Her beau, Lewis Hamilton, was down in Florida this weekend, racing for Ferrari at the Miami Grand Prix—so it would have been a quick trip back to make the first Monday in May.
Kardashian was first rumored to be dating the Formula One driver just three months ago, and the two have since taken things public. This would have marked their Met Gala debut.
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A Met Gala veteran, Kardashian first attended the event back in 2013—when she walked the carpet with her then-boyfriend, Kanye West. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was pregnant with her first child, North West, at the time, and wore a floral high-neck gown by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy. Years later, she talked openly about the onslaught of public scrutiny from this appearance, in which she remembered feeling self-conscious about her pregnant body and crying on the way home reading comments on the look. “I was very pregnant, very puffy, and bloated, and I was like, ‘Oh god, of course the first time I go I’m gonna be huge,’” she recalled. “I was crying, like, the whole way home because I just couldn’t believe it. There were all these memes about me and this couch.”
“Now I love it, now it’s sick,” she added.
Since then, Kardashian has graduated from a +1 to a staple guest, attending the event at every iteration.