It’s 72 hours before the 2026 Met Gala, and Law Roach is putting the final touches on his outfit for the biggest night in fashion. But unlike prior years, the stylist and image architect isn’t arriving solely as the mastermind behind someone else’s look. “It’s one of the first times in my career that going to the Met is about me,” he says from the penthouse of a downtown Manhattan hotel on a brisk Friday morning.
Roach approached this year’s “Fashion is Art” dress code twofold. His initial call was to Alexandre Mattiussi, the designer behind the French label Ami. “I’m such a fan of his work,” Roach tells ELLE. “I’ve used it at the Oscars for two of clients, Ryan Destiny and Jeremy Pope.” Mattiussi created a soft-structured three-piece suit done in a crisp white fabric, a wearable canvas that allowed Roach to work his magic.
As an arbiter of themed dressing, the stylist naturally rose to the occasion. He enlisted the Gabonese-Ghanaian artist Naïla Opiangah, whose work explores the intricacies of the Black identity and body, to offer her interpretation of the gala’s theme onto the Ami look. “I have a few of her works in my home in Atlanta. She’s an architect by trade. I’m the only Image Architect in the world,” he says with a laugh. “So everything felt right.”
Naïla Opiangah painting the Ami look.Chris Rodgers for Law Roach
The idea took form in early March when Opiangah flew to Paris, working with the Ami team to create a personalized motif on the double-breasted tuxedo jacket. The result was an abstract portrait of figures embracing, positioned across the body in shades of soft blue, earthy beige, and warm greens.
Although the artist wasn’t in town at the time of the fitting, her spirit was very much present. “This is crazy,” she beamed over FaceTime as Roach panned the look. “I’m going to cry,” she said, to which Roach answered, “Tears of joy.”
“I visualized an embrace, and the arms are coming together to embrace Law,” Opiangah says of her process. “I had the spirit of it in my head and then when I started the sketch, I was thinking of these bodies reaching towards that warmth that comes from an embrace.”
Law Roach modeling the finished result.Chris Rodgers for Law Roach
It’s become tradition for guests to keep their Met Gala looks under lock and key before stepping onto those famed museum steps. But Roach’s decision to reveal his ensemble early was intentional. He wanted not only to highlight the collaborative process with Mattiussi and Opiangah, but also build anticipation before the hustle and bustle of the big night sets in. “It’s beautiful to show this now,” he notes. “Then people become attached to it and are waiting to see the final look on the red carpet.”
As for his hopes on how others channel the theme? He’s keeping an open mind. “Fashion is the most interactive art form,” the stylist explains. “The fact that the theme is so broad, I’m excited because I do want to see how people interpret it. I want people that really go for it and then also people that do it in a way that’s subtle [and] they make you think about it.”
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