Last night, figure skater Alysa Liu—who won Team USA the gold medal and charmed the world at this year’s Winter Olympics—marked her very first time attending the 2026 Met Gala. And this year’s theme, “Costume Art,” exploring the centrality of the dressed body, seems ready-made for a pro athlete of her pedigree. “I love the theme, especially as an athlete, because for me it’s all about the relationship with clothing and our bodies as an artistic medium,” says Liu, who is no stranger to sporting an expressive look on the ice. “I’m a figure skater—we are the winter artistic sport!”
Hitting the red carpet, Liu wore a custom Louis Vuitton gown: a strapless, full-skirted design—rendered in a deep red hue—made of satin and tulle. Liu’s stylist, Katie Qian, said the design originated in close consideration of this year’s theme and dress code, Fashion Is Art. “We thought these themes were perfect because Alysa represents the intersection of both,” Qian says. “She is an elite athlete who uses her body every day in training and performance, and she is also a true artist when developing her programs.”
To help bring their vision to life, they teamed up with Louis Vuitton to manifest a sculptural dress. A main inspiration for the silhouette? Liu’s very own athletic form. “We wanted Louis Vuitton to help us elegantly reference vascularity, cell structure, and muscle tissue, which are reflected in the red hue as well as the detailed ruffles,” Qian says. “It also happens to emulate how ice is carved when figure skating! The dress perfectly frames the feet and accentuates the curves, and we are thrilled with how it turned out.”
