As the Met Gala once again transformed New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art into fashion’s most extravagant stage, Jenny Sanders reflects on what lies beneath the glittering surface. Beyond the headline-grabbing couture, she explores what the spectacle reveals about how we see our bodies, and how God sees them.
On Monday night the glitziest event of the US social calendar lit up the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The annual event has been held as a fundraiser since its inception in 1948. Tickets cost an eye-watering $100,000 this year but guests are frequently funded by the designers whose creations they wear. It’s a giant publicity opportunity, seized by those in the industry with both bejewelled hands.
The event is curated by Anna Wintour, who stepped down as editor of Vogue last year and who arrived in a flamboyant turquoise feathered cape. The marketing team for The Devil Wears Prada 2, which was released this week, cannily took advantage of the gala to promote the film in which Meryl Streep portrays Miranda Priestly, a frighteningly similar figure for the fictitious Runway magazine. Ironic then, that Meryl chose to boycott the event which was partly sponsored by ex-Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos.
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Fifth Avenue buzzed as hordes of celebrities mingled in aid of the Costume Institute raising a record breaking $42 million this year.
Fifth Avenue buzzed as hordes of celebrities mingled in aid of the Costume Institute raising a record breaking $42 million this year. The funds cover the expenses of acquisitions, annual exhibitions as well as maintenance and improvements.
The theme this year was, ‘Fashion is Art’ and expectations were high for some cutting edge gowns perhaps featuring iconic looks from the past, dresses based on actual works of art (paintings or sculptures) along with much-anticipated unconventional, risk-taking designs which are more likely to be captured by the media, spotlighting both wearers and the designers who dress them: Versace, Largerfeld, Dior, Balenciaga, Armani, Marc Jacobs, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Chanel – legendary names that trip off the tongue in the world of fashion.
2026 didn’t disappoint. Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman and Beyoncé were co-hosts this year. For the singer, who arrived with husband, Jay-Z and fourteen-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, it was her first appearance in a decade. She wore an extraordinary skeleton-effect gown by Olivier Rousteing with an embellished head piece that the photographers loved. Other eye-catching looks included Heidi Klum whose outfit resembled a marble statue (striking but perhaps not super comfortable) and Katy Perry in a mirrored mask. The red carpet featured other cloaks, both hand-painted and embroidered, towering headpieces (Madonna’s ship in full sail looked precarious) and iconic dresses made from both silicone (Doja Cat) and strips of celluloid film (Sabrina Carpenter).
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One media outlet said, ‘Guests are encouraged to think of their bodies as a blank canvas.’
One media outlet said, ‘Guests are encouraged to think of their bodies as a blank canvas.’ I wonder what you would have come up with as an outfit under the same remit or what you might have vetoed? Too often we think of our bodies as unsightly, embarrassing or simply the casing we wear while we get on with life. To celebrate them without becoming obsessed with them is something we seldom do. Dressing up occasions for most of us are more likely to involve weddings, birthday or anniversaries than red carpet soirées. We don’t have limitless budgets, personal trainers or a queue of famous designers clamouring to have us appear in their latest creations.
The Bible tells us that our bodies are: created by God (Psalm 139); to be stewarded to serve us not master us (1 Corinthian 9:17), and a temple where the Holy Spirit can live (1 Corinthians 6:19). Isaiah 61:3 tells us that those in God’s family have been given ‘a crown of beauty instead of ashes… and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.’ Rich clothing indeed. He goes on to say that we’re now dressed in ‘garments of salvation’ and ‘a robe of his righteousness.’ Incomparable apparel from the greatest designer of them all!
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Anna Wintour may not have sent you an invitation to the Met Gala this year (she approves each one), despite saying the occasion ‘belongs to everyone’; but swing open the doors of your wardrobe and, as spring gives way to summer, why not pull together a look that celebrates life in the abundance that God promised, with colour, flair and panache while stepping out confidently assured that God has dressed you head to toe in His righteousness already?
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