After shutting down the red carpet in a tailored power suit from Boss last year, Ashley Graham is back. And for this year’s 2026 Met Gala, she’s going a very different route.
With this year’s exhibition, “Costume Art,” focusing on the historical depiction of clothes and the body, the model turned to Greek designer Dimitra Petsa of Di Petsa to make her showstopping, slithering look—one that is sure to get plenty of notice as she’s playing host for the evening’s livestream. It goes without saying that Di Petsa, known for its signature wet-look dresses that cling to the body in all the right places, will no doubt help the model rise to the occasion.
For tonight’s look, Petsa and Graham looked to the designer’s fall 2026 collection and its serpent-skin dress as a starting point. With the idea of the dress becoming Graham’s second skin, the team took the task very seriously, sewing the entire dress by hand onto the model. The result is a nude mesh gown with a draping technique that creates the illusion of serpent scales. Graham styled the look with a wild-card move: silver chrome-dipped hands, as an homage to the artists who have tirelessly devoted their lives and hands to create the beautiful sculptures inside the museum tonight.
It’s a big night for Petsa, not just because Graham will be wearing one of her pieces for everyone at home watching, but also because it’s the first time that one of her pieces will be worn at fashion’s biggest night out. “I have always admired Ashley for her intellect and her beauty, and it has been a dream to dress her for such an important moment,” Petsa said.
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