NEW YORK - Celebrities including Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, supermodel Heidi Klum and singer Katy Perry walked the carpet at the Met Gala on Monday - many of them unrecognizable.

Leaning heavily into this year's theme of "Costume Art," Bad Bunny was dressed up as an elderly man, Klum was draped in a Statue of Liberty costume and Perry went incognito in a silver mask.

Pop icon Beyonce was among the most notable appearances of the night, returning to the Met Gala for the first time in 10 years as one of its co-chairs. Actor Blake Lively, who settled a lawsuit earlier on Monday with co-star Justin Baldoni over the filming of the 2024 romantic drama "It Ends With Us," also walked the carpet.

The annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has become known for its extravagant fashion and high-profile guests.

This year it drew protests against billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who sponsored the event for the first time.

He and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, made a donation reported by media outlets at $10 million and were named honorary chairs, which led to calls from critics for a boycott over wealth inequality and workers' rights.

Protesters held up giant letters spelling out "TAX THE RICH" and placards highlighting what they called the "Resistance Red Carpet." One protester was detained trying to get into the event. Actor Sarah Paulson walked the carpet in a grey tulle dress and long white gloves with a dollar bill covering her eyes, saying her look represented the "1%."

Tickets cost $100,000 each but most celebrities attend as guests.

MAKING A STATEMENT

This year's exhibition marks the inauguration of the Met's nearly 12,000-square-foot (1,115 square metres) Conde M. Nast Galleries and features nearly 400 objects from the museum's collection, pairing garments with paintings, sculptures and other works of art.

"When you go through the museum, the only art form that connects every single gallery in the museum is the dressed body, so it's this sort of commonality within art and culture," said Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Costume Institute. "Even if people say, 'I don't care about fashion,' or 'I'm not interested,' you're still making a statement by saying that."

Other eye-catching looks of the night were social media personality Emma Chamberlain's skin-tight dress with sleeves that hung to the floor and actor Gwendoline Christie's feathered headpiece and lifelike mask. Superstar Madonna arrived with a ship on her head and was joined by an entourage to fan out the long, grey train attached to her dress.

Men also used the night to move beyond the standard tuxedo. Canadian actor Hudson Williams, who starred in the viral ice hockey drama "Heated Rivalry," opted for a powder blue suit and makeup that he said was inspired by the "Black Swan" film.

(Writing by Costas Pitas and Kate Skelly; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Kate Mayberry)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 11:23 PM.

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