Katy Perry has officially returned to the Met Gala. On Monday, the 41-year-old “bandaids” singer attended the Met Gala red carpet for the first time in four years, giving her take on the official “Fashion is Art” dress code.
Perry arrived to the 2026 Met Gala red carpet incognito in a custom white strapless gown by Stella McCartney with a full, pleated skirt and lengthy train with cutouts designed to resemble burn marks, which could be a nod to her rumoured new project, Watch It Burn. The look was complete with a futuristic, fencing mask, which Perry removed to pose for photos. Her boyfriend, former Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau was not in attendance.
Katy Perry wearing Stella McCartney at the 2026 Met Gala. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
(Matt Crossick – PA Images via Getty Images)
Perry teased her Met Gala return on social media sharing photos of the Stella McCartney look posted by fan account Kursat Perry, hours before the event. The look included elbow-length gloves with six fingers on one hand, a nod to the common AI error to capture hands in 3D.
Many fans speculated that the “Teenage Dream” singer was poking fun at a Met Gala moment from 2024, where an AI-generated image of the star on the red carpet went viral on social media. The photos fooled Perry’s mother, who called the singer a “rose parade.”
Perry made her Met Gala debut in 2010 and served as co-chair for the event in 2017 while promoting her album Witness. The then 32-year-old singer showed off her dramatic newly shorn and dyed blonde locks in a red veiled look by Maison Margiela.
Katy Perry attends the “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2017. (Photo by J. Kempin/Getty Images)
(J. Kempin via Getty Images)
The singer last attended the event in 2022 for the “Gilded Glamour” dress code in an Oscar de la Renta ensemble that featured a nude structured bodice and black silk taffeta overlay.
Katy Perry attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2022. (Photo by Gotham/Getty Images)
(Gotham via Getty Images)Why wasn’t Justin Trudeau at the Met Gala?
Perry and Trudeau haven’t shied away from attending events as a couple. The 53-year-old politician joined Perry during several stops on The Lifetimes World Tour, while Perry accompanied Trudeau to the World Economic Forum earlier this year in Davos, Switzerland.
Following their Coachella appearance, many hoped that Trudeau would join Perry on the Met Gala red carpet. However, Trudeau recently travelled to Australia for the Women Deliver Summit in Melbourne. It’s likely that the lengthy journey and time away from his three children, 18-year-old Xavier, 17-year-old Ella-Grace and 12-year-old Hadrien played a factor in his Met Gala absence.
Let us know what you think by emailing us or threading us @yahoocanada. Follow us on TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram.