I. When the Mermaid Walks the Met Steps
May 4, 2026, Upper East Side, New York. Jennie Kim walked the Met Gala red carpet for the fourth time, this time choosing an almost poetic self-description: “I feel like a mosaic artwork come to life.”
The gown, custom-made for her by Chanel’s artistic director Matthieu Blazy, truly lived up to this metaphor. The straight, strapless dress, from chest to floor, was completely covered in varying shades of blue sequined leaves—not ordinary sequins, but 15,000 meticulously arranged metallic leaves, like fish scales, or the shimmering light on the water’s surface in an Impressionist painting. The entire gown took 540 hours to complete, a number that speaks volumes about patience.
II. The Evolution of Blue
This isn’t Jennie’s first encounter with blue.
In 2024, she wore a custom-made royal blue gown designed by Pieter Mulier for Alaïa, with a cutout at the waist and a floor-length train, like a mermaid emerging from the deep sea. That blue was intense and dramatic. The blue of 2026, however, was more subtle—ranging from light blue to cobalt blue, from silver to indigo, with 15,000 sequins displaying different color temperatures under varying angles of light, as if the layers of an entire ocean were sewn into the dress.
This obsession with blue may be related to her identity. As Chanel’s global brand ambassador, blue is an indispensable element of the brand’s DNA—from Coco Chanel’s favorite navy blue suits to the cool-toned satin and ribbons in Karl Lagerfeld’s Fall/Winter 1990 collection. Jennie’s debut at the 2023 Met Gala was in a muse look personally chosen by Lagerfeld before his death: a white satin strapless mini dress, a black satin ribbon bow, and white camellias. It was a tribute to a deceased master, and her official coronation as the face of Chanel.
III. The Rebellious Code in Her Makeup
If her gowns were Jennie’s “safety net,” then her makeup concealed a hidden dagger.
Extremely thin brows—the kind of razor-sharp brows popular in the 90s—replaced her signature feathery brows of recent years. This makeup choice carried a deliberate retro sharpness, creating a subtle tension with her soft, pale pink undertones. Her hairstyle was a classic Hollywood updo, but with a wisp of “kiss curl” framing her forehead, a detail borrowed from old movies, or perhaps a playful personal signature.
For accessories, she opted for an asymmetrical earring strategy: one side a long, dangling chain earring, the other a single diamond. This “mismatched” way of wearing clothes is uncommon on the red carpet, but it perfectly echoes this year’s Met Gala theme, “Fashion Is Art”—art doesn’t pursue symmetry, it pursues the unexpected.
IV. From Camellia to Mosaic: A Four-Year Red Carpet Chronicle
Looking back at Jennie’s Met Gala journey is almost a miniature evolution of her personal style.
In 2023, she was Karl Lagerfeld’s last Chanel muse, the camellia on her white mini-dress resembling a stamp. In 2024, she stepped out of Chanel’s comfort zone, choosing an Alaïa royal blue gown, proving she could find a balance between brand loyalty and personal expression. In 2025, she wore a Chanel black off-the-shoulder satin jumpsuit with an overskirt, paying homage to Coco Chanel’s vision of liberating women’s bodies with the “Tailored for You” dress code—a piece that took over 330 hours to complete.
In 2026, she returned to Chanel, but with something entirely different: not a replica of vintage archives, but a completely new work of art, one that resonates with the present. 15,000 sequins, 540 hours of work—behind these numbers lies a clear signal—Jennie is no longer just a girl wearing Chanel; she has begun to participate in shaping Chanel’s narrative.
V. Another Face After the Party
On the red carpet, Jennie is a mermaid, a mosaic artwork. But at the Met Gala after-party, she revealed another side of herself.
She changed into a white silk two-piece Chanel suit: a lace corset-style crop top paired with a low-waisted satin midi skirt, the hem also adorned with lace flowers. Nineties-style sunglasses, loose knee-high boots, and her hair transformed from a meticulous updo to loose waves. Her makeup also shifted from pale pink to a luminous red lip and blush.
This “dual nature” is precisely Jennie’s forte. She can be a Chanel ambassador on the runway, or a cool girl in a bikini top and oversized pants on a music festival stage. She can simultaneously create a work of art that takes 540 hours to complete, and an outfit perfect for wandering the streets of Manhattan at 2 AM.
VI. Group Reunion and Individual Declarations
The 2026 Met Gala also had a special note: it marked the first time all four members of BLACKPINK attended together.
Lisa, as a member of the organizing committee, wore a white gown with 3D-printed arms by Robert Wun, resembling a walking human sculpture. Rosé chose a black Saint Laurent gown, adorned with a Tiffany & Co. bird-shaped diamond accessory at her waist. Jisoo made her debut in a pink floral Dior gown, looking like a fairy stepping out of a classical painting.
However, it’s worth noting that they didn’t appear as a group, but as four independent individuals, each representing their own brand and style. Jennie told Vogue on the red carpet that she was most looking forward to reuniting with her fellow members there. There’s a gentle contradiction in this statement: they are part of each other, yet each is writing their own chapter.
VII. A Summer Preview
On the Met Gala red carpet, Jennie is already a skilled storyteller. But her story continues.
This summer, she will grace the main stages of major music festivals like the Governors Ball and Lollapalooza. In a previous interview, she revealed that her festival looks will be “fun and daring,” unlike her regular performances. Considering she has already proven her mastery of the keywords “art” and “body” at the Met Gala, the summer stage will only be another, freer canvas.
From white camellias to blue mosaics, from miniskirts to sheer gowns, Jennie’s four years at the Met Gala have been a textbook example of how to transform from a “person being dressed up” to a “co-creator.” And this chapter in 2026 may be her most complete self-expression to date—not through words, but through 15,000 breathing blue scales.
