The Met Gala after-parties—of which at least 11 took place across New York this year, from Vogue’s own pre-Met party at Madame Tussauds to Teyana Taylor’s burlesque show—have come to function as an extension of the red carpet that precedes them, with guests using the official, Vogue-mandated dress code as a guide for their second look of the evening, too. (Or, in the case of Kendall Jenner, their third.)
And since most established houses are already very well represented on the Met steps, it’s typically independent labels and vintage that take center stage here. Such as Hailey Bieber, Kim Kardashian, and Hunter Schafer in a trifecta of rib-crunching Dilara Fındıkoğlu corsets; Paloma Elsesser in a 1997 Maison Margiela dress-form bodice; and Rihanna in a baby bump-debuting Ann Demeulemeester set following last year’s gala.
The other key distinction between the main event and its offshoots is that hemlines tend to inch that bit higher and fabrics become ever more diaphanous, as celebrities shed the high-concept looks that often render them unable to sit down for dinner, and slip into something a little more freeing: the naked dress. Then again, given the body-focused 2026 Met Gala was itself an ode to exactly that, the question is how far the after-party looks can go before falling foul of Instagram’s guidelines.
Scroll through the gallery below to see every major look from the 2026 Met Gala after-parties.
