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Emma Chamberlain explained how her painter father inspired her hand-painted custom Mugler gown designed by Miguel Castro Freitas for the 2026 Met Gala.
By Daysia Tolentino May 05, 2026 3:47 PMTags
Emily Blunt’s $500,000 Met Gala Body Necklace Is Indeed Groundbreaking
For Emma Chamberlain, art imitates life.
The 24-year-old revealed the sweet connection between her 2026 Met Gala look, a custom hand-painted Mugler gown designed by Miguel Castro Freitas, and her upbringing.
When she was dreaming up her outfit for the “Fashion Is Art” dress code with stylist Jared Ellner, she wanted to pay homage to her dad Michael Chamberlain, sharing with Vogue, “My dad is an oil painter and a watercolor painter, and I grew up in a very creative household with art all over my house.”
As a result, she asked Freitas to create a dress that felt like a painting, incorporating some of her favorite works from Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch as well as Mugler’s iconic butterfly dress from 1997. Indeed, Chamberlain achieved the look she was aiming for, as the fabric was hand-painted by Anna Deller-Yee. (See more of the best-dressed celebrities at fashion’s biggest night here.)
While the Chamberlain Coffee founder isn’t a traditional artist like her father, she has found her own way to creatively express herself through her clothes, saying, “I’m somebody who really believes that fashion is art.”
And moments like the Met Gala allow her to be the art, with the influencer adding, “I really am someone who enjoys fashion the most when I get to be a complete blank canvas.”
John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Elaborating on her thoughts about the dress on Vogue’s YouTube channel, Emma, who served as the magazine’s correspondent at the event, shared, “There's like a feeling I get when I look at a painting that really resonates with me. I feel intrigued.”
“There's a complex emotion here that I wanna uncover,” she added. “It's a subtle complexity, and I feel like this gown has that feeling to it where it is very beautiful, but then there are little elements—the hands, the bleeding sort of watercolor—that kind of gives it this edge.”
Read on to see some more fabulous looks from this year’s gala…
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Beyoncé
in custom Olivier Rousteing and Chopard jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Rihanna
in Maison Margiela, Briony Raymond and Dyne jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kim Kardashian
in custom Allen Jones breastplate, Whitaker Malem skirt and Christian Louboutin shoes.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Bad Bunny
in custom Zara.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Heidi Klum
in custom Mike Marino.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Cardi B
in Marc Jacobs.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Hailey Bieber
in custom Saint Laurent and Belperron jewelry.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Blake Lively
in Atelier Versace, Christian Louboutin shoes and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Sabrina Carpenter
in Dior, Christian Louboutin shoes and Chopard jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Anne Hathaway
in Michael Kors.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Kylie Jenner
in custom Schiaparelli.
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Sheinelle Jones
in Lafayette 14.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Katy Perry
in Stella McCartney.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Gigi Hadid
in custom Miu Miu and Jessica McCormack jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Lisa
in Robert Wun and Bvlgari jewelry.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Teyana Taylor
in Tom Ford.
Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images
Blue Ivy Carter
in Balenciaga and Henry & Henry jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kendall Jenner
in Gap Studio by Zac Posen and Buccellati jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Doja Cat
in Saint Laurent.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Margot Robbie
in Chanel.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Sunday Rose Kidman Urban & Nicole Kidman
in Dior (Kidman Urban) and Chanel (Kidman).
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
A$AP Rocky
in Chanel.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Emily Blunt
in Ashi Studio, Jimmy Choo shoes, Kurt Geiger bag and Mikimoto jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Cher
in Burberry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Zoë Kravitz
in Saint Laurent.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Suki Waterhouse
in Michael Kors.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
in Thom Browne.
Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Lauren Hashian
in Thom Browne.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Tyla
in Valentino and Jacob & Co. jewelry.
Photo by John Shearer/WireImage
Jeremy Pope
in Vivienne Westwood.
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