Where was all the vintage fashion at the Met Gala?

This year’s Met Gala—or the biggest night in fashion, as most like to refer to it—has come and gone, leaving us all to reflect on the evening’s red carpet and after-party look trends. Upon the arrival of the event’s A-list guests, including Nicole Kidman, her daughter Sunday Rose, Margot Robbie, and Gracie Abrams in Chanel; Zoe Kravitz, Connor Storie, and Hailey Bieber in Saint Laurent; and Anok Yai, Hudson Williams, and Blue Ivy Carter in Balenciaga, one thing became quite clear: the industry’s heritage labels would be dressing the majority of the top talent in 2026.

Zendaya in vintage Givenchy from 1996 at the 2024 Met Gala

A quick Google search of past Met Galas delivers data pointing to a significantly different trend, one where stylists and image architects pulled from the vintage market and designer archives to dress the night’s most starry names. Case in point: The spring 1996 Givenchy gown that Zendaya chose as her second look for the red carpet of the 2024 Met Gala, Lily Rose Depp’s 1992 Chanel number with gold chains (originally worn by Christy Turlington) in 2019, and, of course, the polarizing moment Kim Kardashian stepped onto the Met red carpet wearing Marilyn Monroe’s Jean Louis dress in 2022. And that’s just the start of a long-running list, including everyone from Emily Ratajkowski in 1992 Versace and Kendall Jenner in Fall 1999 Givenchy couture at the Met Gala in 2024.

Kim Kardashian in a dress once worn by Marilyn Monroe at the 2022 Met Gala

In last night’s sea of Jonathan Anderson’s Dior, Alessandro Michele’s Valentino, and tons of Thom Browne, there was a mere handful of vintage moments—the best of which goes to Carey Mulligan, who showed up in a Prada look featuring an abstract print from 1998, which she told reporters was found by her stylist Danielle Goldberg while mulling over the archives. Two other looks from the past appeared after the guests were ushered inside. Co-chair Sabrina Carpenter swapped her Sabrina film-strip Dior gown to perform a song in a Versace Spring-Summer 2018 tribute dress that reimagined Gianni Versace’s 1991 pop art collection. And Ashley Graham was spotted in a body-con Jean Paul Gaultier dress from Spring 1999 while leaving her hotel to party after midnight.

Carey Mulligan at last night’s Met Gala in Prada from 1998

Coming off years of archival moments dominating the conversation on the Met Gala red carpet and red carpets overall, last night’s looks were slightly surprising—but not completely. An unusually high number of new creative directors have debuted their freshman collections in the past two seasons (including Piccioli, Anderson, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, and Demna at Gucci), so it makes sense for their respective houses to make a play for red carpet real estate at the Super Bowl of fashion. Hand in hand with that sentiment comes the money-making opportunities for celebrities who are offered valuable ties to those brands. Even John Galliano, newly minted as a two-year creative partner of Zara, had his moment in the sun, dressing the legendary Stevie Nicks in a midnight blue, silk taffeta gown with a matching velvet jacket.

gettyimages-2274669193

With so many talented names in the top positions at designer houses, it’s got to be hard for celebrities to ignore the potential of the current market, not to mention opportunities for custom looks. Given the widely accepted notion that vintage refers to clothing and accessories that are at least 20 years old, we may have to wait until the 2046 Met Gala to see archival looks return to the forefront.