“Isabella Is Going to The Met in Spirit”: How Madonna Got Isabella Blow’s Shipwreck Hat

Never one to make a timid entrance, Madonna made a big statement on the 2026 Met Gala red carpet.

There was the witchy dress, the tumble of raven hair, and the seven ladies-in-waiting carrying her diaphonous lavender cape, a reinterpretation of the 1945 oil painting The Temptation of St. Anthony, by one of the singer’s favorite artists, the British-Mexican Surrealist Leonora Carrington.

All of this seemingly in service of the dramatic centerpiece: a towering headpiece featuring a skeletal ship dripping in tulle and beads. The hat once belonged to the infamous fashion editor Isabella Blow, and was commissioned by her from fashion’s go-to milliner, Philip Treacy, who says it’s among his favorite creations and that Michael Jackson once offered him $25,000 to purchase it (Treacy politely declined). “There’s something very exciting about Madonna wearing a ship hat to the Met ball,” Treacy said in an exclusive video. “I think Isabella would be thrilled,” he added. “Isabella is going to The Met, in spirit, on Madonna’s head.”

Blow was, of course, well known for her love of demonstrative, face-obscuring, statement-making headwear, a manifestation of her desire to be noticed coupled with her insecurity about her looks. As such, she had no dearth of dramatic hats, and yet this one was so beloved that it was placed on her coffin during her 2007 funeral.

Additionally, the chapeau has something of a history with Vogue itself, having been featured in a February 1995 editorial from British Vogue, and an image from World of Interiors in 2009. In that one, the magazine visited the deceased fashion editor’s home, where the hat was placed on a mantle.

The ship hat is no mere arbitrary accessory. It’s actually a part of the Carrington piece, as is the French horn that the Material Girl carried with her across the Met Museum steps. The painting, she says, is an artistic rendering of Anthony the Great, the patron saint of lost items, miracles, and travelers. “His whole story is about the struggle of the soul,” the singer said. “And Leonora, she saw it as the struggle of women, and feminine divinity.”

The theme of art—the major thesis of this year’s Met Gala—extended to make-up artist Marcelo Gutierrez’s approach to the Queen of Pop’s beauty. “The outfit designed by Saint Laurent is incredibly ephemeral, cinematic, and monochromatic,” Gutierrez said. “So for the beauty, we really wanted to focus on keeping the color palette very cool-toned.” The key was in the contrast: “Our goal was to create a look that felt both architecturally defined and soft—an editorial statement that complemented her gown without overwhelming it.” For that, he relied on KIKO Cosmetics, using various shades of eyeshadow to create a “direction that was intentionally more stripped back: ephemeral, slightly witchy, yet elevated to meet the level of high glamour required for the red carpet.” Lighter shades, meanwhile, were applied to the inner eye and brow to lift and add structure. “The element I love the most is the subtle pop of silver shimmer on the lid. It feels both fierce and intentional—a little peekaboo of drama.”

For the lips, Guiterrez used Unlimited Double Touch and Creamy Colour Comfort Lip Line to create soft definition and to echo the balance between structure and lightness in the eyes. All aong the way, Carrington’s painting served as a guiding light. “Both the fashion and the beauty for the evening reflect a focus on our internal reflection, beauty, and the strength that comes both from the inside and exudes outward and onwards.”