Is fashion art? It’s an age-old question that’s haunted the industry for decades. If you’re listening to Andre Leon Talley backstage at John Galliano SS94, the answer is a resounding NO. “Fashion is hard work! Gritty. It’s not glamorous,” he famously told reporters. But if you’re listening to the dress code at this year’s Met Gala – sure it is! While The Met’s upcoming exhibition Costume Art finally gives fashion pride of place alongside other iconic works in the archive, the extremely broad style directive for the gala – ‘Fashion is Art’ – could be interpreted in a number of different ways. That means we might see celebs turning up with a picture frame around their faces à la Tracee Ellis Ross in 2019, or – even worse – dressed up as the Mona Lisa. Here’s what they should actually do instead, courtesy of Dazed’s crack team of fashion experts.

TED STANSFIELD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I’d like to see Zendaya in one of the pink looks from Comme des Garçons’ AW26 show because that collection was art! And Zendaya would look great in it.

ISOBEL VAN DYKE, LIFE & STYLE WRITER

I’d like to see Doja Cat go completely naked, wearing only International Klein Blue body paint. Naturally, the paint will need to be wet so she can roll down the Met steps, recreating Yves Klein’s famous Anthropometry paintings, for which the artist used women as ‘human paintbrushes’. Or, for anyone wanting to play it safer, they could opt for Schiaparelli’s AW23 couture collection, or Phoebe Philo’s Celine SS17 collection, both of which referenced the artist’s famous shade of IKB. 

ALEX PETERS, BEAUTY DIRECTOR

As the name suggests, Jean Paul Gaultier’s SS94 collection Les Tatouages was covered in tattoos. They were printed on the clothing and stencilled on the models’ bodies. Piercings, traditional Indian jewellery, African tribal prints and beading, corsetry, Joan of Arc–style armour, Eastern mysticism and the wild spirit of punk all also featured in a show that brought together the diversity of styles, cultures and traditions that Gaultier was seeing on the streets of Paris at the time.

The collection was hugely influential (and provocative) and also very fun, and it would be great to see tattoos and body modification recognised and represented during a celebration of different art forms. Although, depending on the heritage of the celebrity wearing the pieces, some of the traditional Indian and African piercings should be gracefully avoided.

ELLIOT HOSTE, FASHION WRITER

Michaela Stark’s work has always treaded the line between fashion and art, and that’s why she’s a perfect fit for this year’s theme. She uses contorting corsetry to subvert female forms, placing the body in direct conversation with fashion, and overturning our expectations of what certain bodies must look like in certain garments. One of her most recent works – a 2026 calendar – was inspired by the late performance artist Lee Bowery, who also skillfully blurred the lines between fashion and art. As the designer often uses her own body as a canvas, Stark herself on the red carpet would be the perfect person to capture the theme.

MARIOS MYSTIDIS, HEAD OF FASHION, SOCIAL

Not going to lie, this year’s theme is making it so hard to choose a look. And yes, while the broadness makes it easier for people to “have fun with it”, I’m slightly afraid we’re about to see a lot of questionable getups. Anyways, back to what I’d choose – I keep returning to the final look of Alexander McQueen’s legendary No. 13 show. Undeniably one of the wildest finale moments in fashion history, the piece perfectly encapsulated ‘Fashion is art’ at the time, creating a one-of-a-kind work live on the runway. The look was inspired by Rebecca Horn’s 1991 installation “High Moon”, and I’m not sure where it is now, but if any of the It-girlies could get their hands on it, it would definitely be a gag. Alex Consani, I’m looking at you.

EMILY DINSDALE, ART & PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Rather than spell out exactly what I want to see at this year’s Met, I will give you a very clear idea of what I do not want to see. I don’t want to see an overly literal interpretation of the theme. I don’t want to see someone walking up the red carpet brandishing a picture frame. Neither do I want to see ‘uncanny’ make up in the style of Picasso’s cubist portraits. A Vincent van Gogh “Starry Night” dress (AKA a dress with stars on) is also unacceptable. Ditto a Jackson Pollock-themed outfit, splattered with paint. Or anyone emerging from a shell à la Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Fin.

LAURA PITCHER, US EDITOR

This year, I want to see some genuine masterpieces on the red carpet – specifically through exciting artist-designer collaborations. Let’s get Bad Bunny in a suit by Willy Chavarria and the artist Ektor Rivera (like Pharrell did with Henry Taylor for his Louis Vuitton debut), or Taylor Russell in a sculptural Dior ensemble inspired by Lauren Halsey. There are plenty of opportunities to treat the carpet itself as a performance – I’m thinking Shalom Harlow at McQueen or Bella Hadid at Coperni – so I’m also expecting a dramatic entrance from the likes of Zendaya.

THOM WAITE, SENIOR WRITER

All too often, crossovers between fashion and art land somewhere in the realm of gauzy florals and chunky jewellery you’d find in the National Gallery gift shop. It’s time to forget about your Monets and your Mondrians – unless you’re pulling 60s YSL out of the archive, in which case... fair enough – in favour of some more interesting references. I’d like to see Jonathan Anderson dip into Dior’s recent-ish history to dress someone as a Hajime Sorayama robot (Grimes? Too obvious. Hunter Schafer maybe?). At the very least, the Met collection – which is supposed to inform choices at this year’s Ball – includes some more out-there masterpieces to serve as inspiration. Who dares dress as a little armoured critter from one of their several Hieronymous Bosch paintings? That’s what I want to see.

HABI DIALLO, BRANDED CONTENT EDITOR

From her very first BA collection up until now, Simone Rocha has consistently shown her love for French artist Louise Bourgeois. For AW19, Rocha worked in collaboration with the Louise Bourgeois Foundation to make a collection that channelled Bourgeois’ work, most notably her “Cells” series. Since Chloë Sevigny actually walked the runway of that show and has worn a Simone Rocha look to the Met before, she would be my dream guest to wear some iteration of one of those pieces. But the look MUST be worn with one of the rare 24K-gold-plated silver earrings which reinterpret Bourgeois’ 2003 “Spiral Woman” sculpture.

CHESTER MCKEE, VIDEO COORDINATOR

This year’s museum exhibit is all about connecting the body to art, so I’d like to see one of Thevxlley’s vase bodices on the Met steps next Monday. At Daniel Del Valle’s show in February, we watched models squeeze and cram themselves into the impressive works backstage, so it feels pretty on theme. And the fact that Del Valle considers himself more of an artist than a designer definitely fits the dress code ‘Fashion is Art’.

TIARNA, BEAUTY WRITER

A lot of younger designers right now are getting experimental with SFX within their collections, expanding the body’s form to build on the narrative of their shows. I’d love to see Alysa Liu in New York-based designer Gabe Gordon’s recent AW26 collection, which mixed 1960s ice-skating aesthetics with a supernatural werewolf plotline. Liu already has the ice-princess presence down, so it feels like a natural match. The SFX wolf claws and frostbitten make-up are mandatory.