If you’re a lover of Chelsea Hotel lore, Troye Sivan’s coiffed-in-every-direction hair at the 2026 Met Gala might’ve looked familiar. While chatting with co-hosts Ashley Graham and Cara Delevingne on the Vogue livestream, Sivan said his look was inspired by New York artists of the ’80s and ’90s-era. Specifically, he cited photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, whose signature ’do was often twisted into artfully dishevelled, gremlin-like tufts.
Sivan’s ensemble hailed from Prada—the label for whom both he and Hunter Schafer, who he walked the carpet with, serve as brand ambassadors. His bright blue jeans took on a rather ’80s-ish sag and high rise, pooling around his massive leather boots, with distressed patches peppered throughout. He finished off the look with a slim leather tie, long top coat, and feathery fur shawl. His sparkling accessories included a smattering of brooches and stacked wallet chains from Pandora, a flirty little hoop, and sapphire blue cufflinks. Raf Simons, Prada’s co-creative director, is a noted Mapplethorpe fan; the photographer’s work and signature leather cap appeared in Simons’s spring-summer 2017 collection.
This also isn’t the first time jeans have made an appearance on fashion’s biggest night. Kanye West sported ripped Fear of God dungarees to the 2016 Met Gala. At the 2022 edition, Kodi Smit-McPhee wore Bottega Veneta jeans—technically made of leather—with bright red opera gloves, while Ashton Sanders donned a gold-trimmed Canadian tuxedo from Casablanca made of real-deal denim. And elsewhere on the 2026 red carpet, Gap creative director Zac Posen wore a flared pair of the mall brand’s beloved blue jeans, as did designer Olivier Rousteing, the mind behind the show-stopping, crystal-drenched gown worn by Met Gala co-chair Beyoncé.
During his Vogue chat, Sivan cited a Mapplethorpe self-portrait in which he’s wearing a similar trench with sky-high hair. The late photographer often found the ultimate muse in his own physicality, sometimes conjuring the body through his cheeky use of props like bananas, pocket knives, and flowers in bloom. Mapplethorpe passed away in 1989, but tonight’s Met Gala proved a fitting reason to invoke his spirit through a leathery, naughty mode of dress.