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When influencer and entrepreneur Emma Chamberlain stepped out on the carpet at the 2026 Met Gala, it was in a swirl of acrylic ink and thick, glossy paint. She looked like a painting come to life\u2014as if, with each next step, a prismatic smear of color might follow in her wake.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Chamberlain was wearing a custom-made Mugler gown by creative director Miguel Castro Freitas. But what laid on top of the dress\u2019 expert construction is what turned it into a head-turning spectacle: The entire piece was painstakingly handpainted, from hem to neckline, by artist Anna Deller-Yee<\/a>. She relied entirely on real fine art supplies to achieve the final look, a process that took 40 hours of painting, four days of drying time, and a six-foot-long shipping crate to transport the resulting gown from Paris to New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n The theme of this year\u2019s Met Gala, which took place on May 4, was \u201cFashion is Art.\u201d The concept was inspired by \u201cCostume Art,\u201d an exhibition at the Met celebrating the \u201ccentrality of the dressed body\u201d through depictions and interpretations of the human form. Several celebrities took this theme to its most logical endpoint by directly recreating works of art, including Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos as John Singer Sargent\u2019s Madame X<\/em>, Gracie Abrams as Gustav Klimt\u2019s Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer I<\/em>, and Madonna as The Temptation Of St. Anthony. Fragment II.<\/em><\/p>\n Chamberlain took a different approach. Rather than reinterpreting a single piece of art, her garment pulls inspiration from a wide body of Impressionist and Expressionist works, aiming to capture their focus on visible brushstrokes and atmosphere. The final product turned Chamberlain into a kind of canvas, transforming each detail of Deller-Yee\u2019s craft into a statement in its own right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Deller-Yee first began her career as a print designer for the Italian apparel brand Marni in 2021. She specializes in hand-painted prints, alternating between creating works that can be digitally scanned and painting directly onto finished garments, depending on the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n Deller Yee\u2019s uniquely analog process has since catapulted her work into the global spotlight, including through partnerships with Nike; Nicki Minaj, whose 2024 Met Gala outfit she designed in collaboration with Marni; and Anna Wintour herself. She is now represented by creative agency Hugo & Marie as part of its in-house artist bureau.\u00a0<\/p>\n For her second-ever Met Gala project, Deller-Yee says Castro Freitas, who she\u2019s worked with as a Mugler collaborator since 2024, approached her directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBuilding on a history of fine art and fashion<\/h2>\n