There are always a few wild-card looks at the Met Gala, and this year was no exception. Turns out you can always count on Katy Perry for a sartorial surprise, and boy, did she ever deliver at the 2026 Met Gala.
This year’s “Costume Art” theme provided the perfect opportunity for Perry to pair a custom Stella McCartney gown with some pretty major props—including a set of tarot cards and a face-obscuring Miodrag Guberinic headpiece reminiscent of a fencing helmet. The headpiece was “designed to be a literal and symbolic reflection that invites the observer to consider that their perception of others can mirror their own internal world, and conversely mask truth,” a representative for Perry told Vogue.
Perry has always been reliably on-theme for Met Galas past; her Jeremy Scott–designed crystal chandelier look from the “Camp: Notes on Fashion”–themed 2019 Met Gala is still one of the event’s all-time most memorable ensembles, and who can forget the giant cheeseburger she changed into post-dinner? (As I always say: Wear the snack you wish to devour at The Met after-party.)
Tarot and fencing each have a long and illustrious history in art, with artists including Leonora Carrington and Irving Penn depicting tarot readers in their work and French painter and illustrator Émile-Antoine Bayard depicting female sword fighters in his 1884 painting The Duel. Let’s now add Perry to that list—because after all, what finer artistry is there than slaying a Met Gala look?
Met Gala 2026: See Every Celebrity Arrival, Read the Latest Stories, and Get Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Access Here
