Overview
- Guests treated outfits as artworks, with Hunter Schafer nodding to Gustav Klimt and Lena Dunham channeling Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes.
- Beyoncé returned after a decade away and arrived with Jay‑Z and daughter Blue Ivy, turning the gala into a family moment.
- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky drew focus as a couple, with Rocky telling Essence that being loved by a Black woman feels amazing.
- Spectacle set the tone as Bad Bunny used aging prosthetics, stars embraced masks and face coverings, and Madonna’s sheer cape was carried by seven helpers.
- Craft took center stage when Eileen Gu said her Iris Van Herpen dress featured 15,000 glass bubbles and required 2,550 hours to make.