Alex Consani Channeled Botticelli and Black Swan at the 2026 Met Gala
Kristen Jan Wong
Kristen Jan Wong
Alex Consani is ready to shake her tail feathers at the 2026 Met Gala.
The model hit the Met Gala red carpet in a Gucci gown and cape by Demna, inspired by Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera. “We sent each other some references; we talked a little bit about how we wanted it to feel, and he was already on it,” Consani says. “At the fitting for his first show, we had a conversation about what I wanted, and he was really, really receptive to making it happen.”
While the Renaissance tableau isn’t short on fashion inspiration, Demna zeroed in on one element: the scene at the fair right of the painting in which Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, kidnaps Chloris, the goddess of flowers and spring. Channeling Chloris’s transformation into the goddess Flora, Consani’s look involved a metamorphosis of its own.
Consani hit the carpet in a white faille cape which, when removed, unveiled a dramatic gown, the nude tulle bustier, skirt, and train covered in feathers. “The best way to describe it is white swan to black swan,” she says of the reveal.
Leave it to the model—who told Vogue in her December 2025 cover that she had her sights set on Hollywood—to engineer a full performance on the carpet. Demna’s clothing, she says, helps bring out her theatrical side. “You feel as if it’s a piece of armor that changes you for the better.”
“Demna gives the girls the opportunity to express themselves individually,” Consani says of the designer’s proclivity for embracing archetypes in his work. So who does Consani become when she puts on her Gucci gown? “I instantly felt like a different bitch—I feel like I’m Natalie Portman, a little mix of Tilda Swinton… I think there’s just an actress energy that it puts me in.”
While Consani attended her first Met Gala just last year (in a plunging Swarovski suit dress encrusted with over 18,000 crystals), this year she returns as a member of the host committee, a reflection of her skyrocketing ascent in the fashion world. “It’s a really special moment for me being the first trans woman to co-chair the Met,” she says. “I’m just really grateful to be a part of it and hopefully set the conversation around expression and our bodies.”
Here, Alex Consani brings Vogue along as she gets ready for the 2026 Met Gala.
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This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Alex Consani wore a custom Gucci gown and white faille cape designed by Demna. The look featured a nude tulle bustier and feather-covered skirt under the cape.
Demna designed Alex Consani’s dress under the Gucci label for the event. The collaboration blended the designer’s structural style with the model’s theatrical vision for the red carpet.
Sandro Botticelli’s famous Renaissance painting, Primavera, inspired the look. Specifically, the design referenced the scene where Zephyrus transforms Chloris into the flower goddess Flora through a wardrobe reveal.
The performance reveal occurred when Consani removed her white faille cape to unveil a feathered gown. She described this dramatic transformation as moving from white swan to black swan.
Alex Consani made history as the first transgender woman to serve as a co-chair for the Met Gala. This role marked her rapid ascent within the global fashion industry.