The 2026 Met Gala’s “Fashion Is Art” dress code gave celebrities room to turn their bodies into walking sculptures, but some viewers were left asking why so many of them seemed to arrive with extra hands.
The theme pushed guests toward conceptual fashion tied to the body as a canvas, with several looks drawing from Renaissance pieces, such as Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, sculpture, labor, creation, and the idea of the hand as the artist’s most important tool.
While that may have been the artistic explanation, online, the reaction was far less generous.
“What’s with the extra arms,” one viewer wrote under a post of LISA’s Met Gala outfit, followed by dozens of confused netizens sharing similar comments.
The hand motif appeared across multiple looks, from sculptural bustiers to metallic bodice pieces, veils lifted by artificial arms, and statue-like attachments that turned gowns into full body installations.
Between those praising the outfits, the designers, the artists, and those who inspired them, one comment captured the underlying sentiment of the audience.
“I’m not religious, but why does everything look like it’s in need of an exorcism?”
#1 Jordan Roth
Jordan Roth took the concept in one of the most theatrical directions of the night, arriving in a custom Robert Wun slate gray velvet gown with a sculptural figure attached to his back.
Hands were not the only body part featured, but an entire torso.
The back sculpture was 3D-printed and allegedly inspired by the work of 19th-century French painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme, with the figure’s hands arranged in a dramatic pose.
The construction was also physically demanding. Roth said the piece had to be reworked after an earlier prototype proved too heavy, with the final version supported at the hips.
“All weight at hips... don’t want to serve soup to my sculpture!” Roth told ET.
Roth’s look marked his eighth Met Gala appearance and continued his reputation for treating the carpet as performance art. But in the context of the night, it also became part of the wider hand-and-body obsession that viewers kept calling out online.
Hands were not the only body part featured, but an entire torso.
The back sculpture was 3D-printed and allegedly inspired by the work of 19th-century French painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme, with the figure’s hands arranged in a dramatic pose.
The construction was also physically demanding. Roth said the piece had to be reworked after an earlier prototype proved too heavy, with the final version supported at the hips.
“All weight at hips... don’t want to serve soup to my sculpture!” Roth told ET.
Roth’s look marked his eighth Met Gala appearance and continued his reputation for treating the carpet as performance art. But in the context of the night, it also became part of the wider hand-and-body obsession that viewers kept calling out online.
19points
#2 LISA
LISA arrived at the Met Gala in a custom Robert Wun look titled “The Veil,” which immediately became one of the clearest examples of the night’s extra-arm fixation.
The singer wore a sheer white mermaid gown with a long train and a crystal veil lifted above her head by two sculptural arms, both 3D-scanned from LISA herself. The result created the illusion that she was standing still while another version of her body lifted the veil around her.
Wun described the concept as “the bride lifting her own veil... illusion of two gestures,” connecting the piece to Thai dance and the idea of movement extended beyond the body.
The craftsmanship was intricate. The veil reportedly featured 66,960 Swarovski crystals and allegedly took 2,860 hours to craft.
LISA described the collaboration as “First time meeting Robert — heavenly drama.”
That drama was exactly what made the look work for some viewers and feel excessive to others. On X, Pop Base posted, “LISA has arrived at the #MetGala,” alongside images of the singer encased under the sparkling veil.
For defenders of the look, the added limbs tied directly into the theme, creating a multi-gesture effect that made LISA look almost ritualistic.
For critics, on the other hand, the extra arms made the outfit feel more confusing than elegant.
The singer wore a sheer white mermaid gown with a long train and a crystal veil lifted above her head by two sculptural arms, both 3D-scanned from LISA herself. The result created the illusion that she was standing still while another version of her body lifted the veil around her.
Wun described the concept as “the bride lifting her own veil... illusion of two gestures,” connecting the piece to Thai dance and the idea of movement extended beyond the body.
The craftsmanship was intricate. The veil reportedly featured 66,960 Swarovski crystals and allegedly took 2,860 hours to craft.
LISA described the collaboration as “First time meeting Robert — heavenly drama.”
That drama was exactly what made the look work for some viewers and feel excessive to others. On X, Pop Base posted, “LISA has arrived at the #MetGala,” alongside images of the singer encased under the sparkling veil.
For defenders of the look, the added limbs tied directly into the theme, creating a multi-gesture effect that made LISA look almost ritualistic.
For critics, on the other hand, the extra arms made the outfit feel more confusing than elegant.
18points
#3 Nichapat Suphap
Nichapat Suphap’s look pushed the motif in a more direct Renaissance direction, with metallic hands placed prominently over her body in a black sculptural gown.
The outfit was described as a custom Robert Wun dress inspired by “the creation of adam” by Michelangelo, sharing images of Suphap’s black dress alongside the famous fresco detail of two hands reaching toward each other.
Suphap’s gown featured a body-conscious silhouette with a black mermaid shape and dramatic train. Metallic hands appeared across the bodice area, turning the chest into a direct visual reference to the aforementioned painting and its focus on touch and divine connection.
Perhaps one of the most eye-catching aspects of the ensemble was the fact that the hands were seemingly robotic, moving on their own.
“Imagine explaining to Michelangelo his work would end up on a Met Gala dress,” a viewer wrote.
Others evaluated the dress in less favorable terms. “This looks nothing like the creation of Adam.”
The outfit was described as a custom Robert Wun dress inspired by “the creation of adam” by Michelangelo, sharing images of Suphap’s black dress alongside the famous fresco detail of two hands reaching toward each other.
Suphap’s gown featured a body-conscious silhouette with a black mermaid shape and dramatic train. Metallic hands appeared across the bodice area, turning the chest into a direct visual reference to the aforementioned painting and its focus on touch and divine connection.
Perhaps one of the most eye-catching aspects of the ensemble was the fact that the hands were seemingly robotic, moving on their own.
“Imagine explaining to Michelangelo his work would end up on a Met Gala dress,” a viewer wrote.
Others evaluated the dress in less favorable terms. “This looks nothing like the creation of Adam.”
Report
17points
#4 Sabine Getty
Sabine Getty also leaned into the night’s hand obsession, arriving in a custom Ashi Studio look that turned her body into something closer to a decaying painting or a webbed sculpture.
Her gown used web-like fabric across the body, with metallic hand embroidery placed over the bodice and torso. Black and silver threads mimicked strands of silk, giving the piece a spiderweb effect that made the hands appear embedded into the dress rather than simply attached to it.
The reaction was intense because the dress looked deliberately unsettling. Instead of using hands as elegant embellishments, Getty’s gown made them look bloodied, trapped inside the garment, almost as if they were pressing through a preserved layer of fabric.
According to fans, the hands appeared to evoke femininity and labor, with the body treated as something constructed and manipulated.
Needless to say, her fans loved it.
“Simply wonderful, a true work of art,” one wrote. Others were keen to notice how the left hand in the outfit was wearing the same ring Getty wore to the event.
Her gown used web-like fabric across the body, with metallic hand embroidery placed over the bodice and torso. Black and silver threads mimicked strands of silk, giving the piece a spiderweb effect that made the hands appear embedded into the dress rather than simply attached to it.
The reaction was intense because the dress looked deliberately unsettling. Instead of using hands as elegant embellishments, Getty’s gown made them look bloodied, trapped inside the garment, almost as if they were pressing through a preserved layer of fabric.
According to fans, the hands appeared to evoke femininity and labor, with the body treated as something constructed and manipulated.
Needless to say, her fans loved it.
“Simply wonderful, a true work of art,” one wrote. Others were keen to notice how the left hand in the outfit was wearing the same ring Getty wore to the event.
14points
#5 Lena Mahfouf
Lena Mahfouf arrived in a custom Burc Akyol look that used silver hands as the central feature of the outfit.
Her look paired a cut-out draped skirt with a barely-there silver bustier made from sculptural hands, which framed and covered her chest while leaving much of the torso exposed. The rest of the look relied on soft draping and a pale skirt, allowing the metallic hand pieces to take full visual control.
Compared to the rest of the outfits, the hand motif here was more sensual and body-focused. Instead of lifting a veil, emerging from fabric, or referencing a painting through gesture, the hands were used to frame and accentuate the body itself.
The design fit the night’s idea of the adorned body as art, but it also showed why viewers were starting to notice a pattern. By the time Mahfouf appeared, silver hands had become one of the clearest visual trends of the evening.
As is often the case with revealing outfits at high-fashion shows, many viewers felt baring so much skin wasn’t necessary.
“This looks creative but why did she have to show this much skin?” a viewer asked.
Her look paired a cut-out draped skirt with a barely-there silver bustier made from sculptural hands, which framed and covered her chest while leaving much of the torso exposed. The rest of the look relied on soft draping and a pale skirt, allowing the metallic hand pieces to take full visual control.
Compared to the rest of the outfits, the hand motif here was more sensual and body-focused. Instead of lifting a veil, emerging from fabric, or referencing a painting through gesture, the hands were used to frame and accentuate the body itself.
The design fit the night’s idea of the adorned body as art, but it also showed why viewers were starting to notice a pattern. By the time Mahfouf appeared, silver hands had become one of the clearest visual trends of the evening.
As is often the case with revealing outfits at high-fashion shows, many viewers felt baring so much skin wasn’t necessary.
“This looks creative but why did she have to show this much skin?” a viewer asked.
10points