Naomi Osaka lives up to the ‘Costume Art’ theme at this year’s Met Gala with a Robert Wun homage to transformation

The tennis star returned to the festivities for the first time in five years after she served as co-chair for the 2021 event.

Naomi Osaka is no stranger to turning heads, whether on the tennis court or in the fashion world. When she hit the carpet at the 2026 Met Gala on Monday, she made certain to live up to this year’s theme.

Wearing Robert Wun, Osaka first stepped out in a flowery white-and-red feather gown that was, in fact, taken from the Met’s current exhibition, “Costume Art.” The feathers sprouted upward like flowers, and she completed the look with bright red gloves with noticeable claws.

However, the gown wasn’t the only surprise Osaka had for onlookers. Underneath the white gown was a stunning red dress in her own version of performance art.

“I was able to work with Robert Wun, which is an incredible honor for me,” Naomi told Variety. “This is the shedding of the skin and the human anatomy.”

Osaka’s appearance is her first since 2021, when she served as co-chair for that year’s gala. However, fans quickly caught on to Osaka’s latest collaboration with Wun, which began during this year’s Australian Open.

Wearing a jellyfish-inspired outfit, the look not only dared tennis customs, but it also gave Osaka even more grace as a competitor, one who was vocal about turning her appearances on the court into her version of the Met Gala.

In January, she responded to critics of that Wun collaboration on Threads.

“There’s a demographic that’s been talking about ‘traditional’ tennis outfits and calling me classless for what I wear,” she wrote. “To be honest, I see it for what it is. I don’t do this for them though; they will never get it, and I don’t want them to. I do this for the people who are like me.”

View on Threads

What made the moment at the Met more unique? Wun and Osaka had never met until going over initial fittings for her gowns at his design studio in London.

“I was so appreciative to meet him and see how he works,” Osaka said. “He didn’t have an ego and was just willing to change things to make me more comfortable or hear my perspective on things.”

Per Wun, “The look debuts with a two-part act on the carpet. First is a sculpted ivory coat, with open seams exposing red crystals from within, adorned with stripped feathers flaring outwards like a fountain shape.”

Speaking of the red gown, which is a unique stunner in its own right, he said: “It totals over 3,280 hours of handiwork and thousands of faceted Swarovski crystals in four shades of red that illustrate the human anatomy, needle by needle, crystal by crystal.”

Something impactful indeed.