Gigi Hadid has officially arrived at the 2026 Met Gala.
For her 11th Met Gala red carpet, Hadid turned to Miu Miu for the second year running, and wore a custom black gown embellished with hotfix crystals, patchwork flames and floral embroidery.
The dress is an amalgamation of Hadid’s favourite ideas drawn from past Miu Miu collections. Initially, the model planned an homage to spring/summer 2011 – “the floral and flame embroidery specifically,” she says. But days before the Met, “the patchwork really wasn’t sitting on my body the way that I anticipated from the sketch,” she explains.
Sometimes, a little pressure can go a long way. “I think the most special moments come when you have to rush it a little bit,” Hadid says.
Hadid dove back into the archives, and stumbled upon Miu Miu’s spring/summer 1998 collection. “I love how the body and the skin spoke through the material,” she says. A decision was made: Hadid and the Miu Miu design team would combine the two.
Starting with a sheer base à la spring 1998, the Miu Miu designers hand-placed patches inspired by spring 2011 on Hadid’s body. “We all sat in a hotel room two days ago, literally, and Scotch taped the patches onto me in a way that felt celebratory,” she says. “It’s built on the body. The body is the canvas.”
On the beauty front, Hadid opted for a softer look. “I think the star tonight will be Maybelline New York’s Cloudtopia Cheek Matte Mousse Blush,” she says. “It is something that really brings the story of romance. It’s like a girl running out of a romantic, foggy, moonlit garden where she just had an amazing night with a love of her life.”
For Hadid, the whole experience – from the custom gown to the glam – has been an exercise in ingenuity. “The Met is my favourite night because it’s a creative collaboration based on a theme,” she says, “which makes me feel like we’re all back in high school art class together.”