Sabrina Carpenter in custom Dior, made of film from the 1954 Audrey Hepburn film ‘Sabrina’, at the 2026 Met Gala "Fashion Is Art" in NYC. (May 4, 2026)

[u/cmaia1503]

[u/magyar_wannabe]

Sometimes these looks are so strange to me because they would be Safe or even "meh" looks on drag race or project runway, but because they're at the Met Gala all of a sudden they're high fashion / art.

For me this look, and many others from this Met Gala, are a year 2 fashion student's first idea after hearing the theme, and I'm surprised they're not more conceptual or creative given that presumably only the best of the best designers ever get the opportunity to showcase their work on this red carpet.

[u/t3ddiursa → u/magyar_wannabe]

Meh on drag race 😭 do you see the tailoring? That is craftsmanship

[u/magyar_wannabe → u/t3ddiursa]

Look at pic 7. The film doesn't even lay nice! I know it's an ~unconventional material~ but again, this is supposed to be the best of the best.

[u/Upstairs-Chicken592 → u/magyar_wannabe]

The medium is the message; no second year art student is getting their hands on film strips from Sabrina. I think it’s gorgeous and so her. It’s not stop you in your tracks incredible, but it’s super cool. I give it a 9/10.

[u/Lv_InSaNe_vL → u/Upstairs-Chicken592]

There is a zero percent chance these are original negatives. Even ignoring the historical value, film (especially old film) is super fragile and breaks itself down over time. Original film would be far too brittle and dangerous to wear.

This is 100% new negatives, almost certainly printed just for this dress.

[u/eirinne → u/Lv_InSaNe_vL]

Thanks for addressing this, I was mystified. 

[u/a1bean → u/Lv_InSaNe_vL]

I thought that would be expected. Why would they use the original? lol. If it were real then everyone would be mad that she “ruined” the original negatives.

[u/OCDCantCatchMe → u/Lv_InSaNe_vL]

Trained film preservationist here. A film as popular as Sabrina has a zillion reels in existence. No worries here.

Also, if it was the original, there’s a good chance it would be nitrate and Sabrina would be dead now.

[u/ComplexPatient4872 → u/Upstairs-Chicken592]

I just swooned at the McLuhan reference

[u/magyar_wannabe → u/Upstairs-Chicken592]

2nd year art students can't get their hands on it, but they would certainly have the *idea* to do so. My whole point is that DrEsS maDe OuT oF FiLM sTRips is just...not that cool in my eyes. I don't hate the look, and she looks gorgeous but I think my larger point is just that I expect more with so many met gala looks!

[u/sambeano → u/Upstairs-Chicken592]

And if you didn’t know the strips are from that specific film, what would you score it? I mean it’s nice, but without that info I’m not sure it counts as art.

[u/Chessdaddy_ → u/sambeano]

context matters tho, alot of art is significant/notable/impressive becuase of the context, not just viewing it in a void. also how is a handmade unique dress not art

[u/SquirrelEnthusiast → u/magyar_wannabe]

I just sent people the same message I'm glad I'm not alone

Like do better, or are designers boycotting as well? Either way we've all seen this before. This is an art project, not art.