Olympic champion skier Eileen Gu wore a custom Iris van Herpen dress featuring 15,000 hand-crafted glass bubbles at the 2026 Met Gala in New York City [1].

The appearance highlights the intersection of high fashion and technical engineering, aligning with the event's specific focus on the fusion of art and attire.

Gu's ensemble was designed to fit the "Costume Art" theme of the gala, which sought to blend technology, art, and fashion [2]. The dress is a mini-style garment that weighs 30 pounds [5].

The production of the garment required a significant investment of labor. Reports on the total time spent creating the dress vary slightly by source, ranging from 2,500 [3] to 2,550 hours [1]. Other reports simply state the process took over 2,000 hours [4].

Van Herpen is known for utilizing 3D printing and unconventional materials to create sculptural forms. The use of 15,000 individual glass bubbles [1] serves as a primary example of the designer's approach to blending organic shapes with rigid materials.

Gu, who has transitioned from the slopes to international modeling and celebrity, used the red carpet to showcase the dress's structural complexity. The garment's weight and the thousands of hours of labor underscore the shift toward "wearable art" at the annual event.

“15,000 hand-crafted glass bubbles”

The choice of an Iris van Herpen piece for the "Costume Art" theme reflects a broader trend in the fashion industry where garments are treated as architectural installations. By wearing a piece that required thousands of hours of labor and weighed 30 pounds, Gu emphasizes the Met Gala's role as a gallery for technical achievement rather than a traditional red-carpet event.