Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Makes a Regal Return to the Met Gala

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, joined by her 14-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, wore a custom design by Olivier Rousteing at the 2026 Met Gala red carpet in New York City on Monday.

Knowles-Carter’s outfit was designed by the former creative director of Balmain, and gave a regal edge to the Grammy Award-winning performer’s Met Gala return. Knowles-Carter was styled by Ty Hunter for the event.

Knowles-Carter’s teenage daughter wore a youthful white dress, which complemented her mother’s regal apparel. The white strapless dress featured a high-low skirt with a Y2K-inspired bubble hem. A voluminous jacket complemented the look with a dramatic train.

The 2026 Met Gala marked Carter’s first appearance at the event. The daughter of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps as her mother made her own long-awaited return to the gala — the first time Beyoncé had attended since 2016. Her mother cochairs the 2026 event alongside Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour.

The last time Knowles-Carter attended the Met Gala, the “Levi’s Jeans” singer wore a pearl-encrusted latex Givenchy gown for the “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” theme.

Knowles-Carter made her Met Gala debut in 2008 in an Armani Privé gown and attended the event regularly throughout the first half of the 2010s, appearing in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 — largely in a run of custom Givenchy gowns.

Her 2015 appearance in a sheer, jewel-encrusted Givenchy gown became one of the most talked-about looks in the event’s history. She had previously served as an honorary chair of the gala.

The 2026 Met Gala took place on Monday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This year’s exhibition, “Costume Art,” celebrated fashion as an art form, with a dress code of “Fashion Is Art.” The event was cochaired by Knowles-Carter, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serving as honorary chairs. The annual benefit raises funds for the Met’s Costume Institute.