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At the 2026 Met Gala, Bridgerton star Simone Ashley proved she's the real diamond of the season in stunning fashion. See what she wore on the red carpet at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Met Gala 2026 Dress Code Revealed
All is fair in love and war, but Simone Ashley is the victor of the 2026 Met Gala red carpet.
Celebrating the "Costume Art" exhibit's focus on the dressed body, the Bridgerton star ascended the iconic steps at New York City's Metropolitan of Art wearing only threaded silver chains on May 4.
Simone completed the nearly-naked look with bejeweled bracelets and chandelier earrings, dazzling like a diamond of the season. (Click here to see all the Met Gala fashion.)
And this isn't the 31-year-old's first time at fashion's biggest night. She made her debut in 2022, stepping out in a bronzed bodice and black skirt with a dramatic train from Moschino as a nod to that year's "Gilded Glamour" theme.
Simone returned two years later with a blue sequin gown by Prabal Gurung and a Rapunzel-like, knee-length hairdo in keeping with 2024 Met Gala's "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" exhibit.
“The original idea was to create floor-length, super long hair inspired by Cher," her hairstylist Shon Hyungsun Ju told Vogue at the time, "but I adapted it as I was more inspired by Botticelli hair—more like a goddess with soft waves."
But Simone purposefully sat out on last year's Met Gala, telling her team, "'I want to focus on work.'"
"Life after Bridgerton has been so exciting," she told Vogue India in 2024. "I was doing all these unbelievable things, like going to the Met Gala and shooting fashion editorials. It was a whirlwind. There were days when I would think, ‘What is going on?’"
Simone continued, "I struggled to admit that I was overwhelmed because I’m a person with such clarity. I know exactly what I’m doing and what I want."
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
That includes working with Meryl Streep, playing the new assistant to the Oscar winner's iconic Miranda Priestly character in the newly released The Devil Wears Prada 2.
“That was the magic," Simone said of the experience in a recent interview with Bustle, "to be able to just go home and share it with the people around me."
To see Simone and more stars at the Met Gala, keep reading...
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Beyoncé
in custom Olivier Rousteing.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Rihanna
in Maison Margiela, Briony Raymond and Dyne jewelry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kim Kardashian
in custom Allen Jones and Whitaker Malem.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Bad Bunny
in custom Zara.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Heidi Klum
in custom Mike Marino.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Cardi B
in Marc Jacobs.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Hailey Bieber
in custom Saint Laurent.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Blake Lively
in Atelier Versace.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Anne Hathaway
in Michael Kors.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Kylie Jenner
in custom Schiaparelli.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Gigi Hadid
in custom Miu Miu.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Lisa
in Robert Wun.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Teyana Taylor
in Tom Ford.
Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images
Blue Ivy Carter
in Balenciaga.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kendall Jenner
in Gap Studio by Zac Posen.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Ayo Edebiri
in Chanel.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
A$AP Rocky
in Chanel.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Tyla
in Valentino.
Photo by John Shearer/WireImage
Jeremy Pope
in Vivienne Westwood.
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Tessa Thompson
in Valentino.
Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images
Odessa A'zion
in custom Valentino.
Matt Baron/Shutterstock
Jay-Z
in Louis Vuitton.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
A'ja Wilson
in Prabal Gurung.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Marc Jacobs & Rachel Sennott
in Marc Jacobs.
David Fisher/Shutterstock
Romeo Beckham
in Burberry.
Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Daisy Edgar-Jones
in McQueen.
Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Chase Infiniti
in custom Thom Browne.
Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Law Roach
in custom Ami painted by Naïla Opiangah.
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Jennie
in Chanel.
Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Image
Alexa Chung
in Dior.
Tune in to E! today, May 4, starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT for every must-see moment from the Met Gala 2026.
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