• Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are both entering the National Recording Registry for the first time with ‘1989’ and ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),’ respectively.
• The Library of Congress named 25 recordings to its 2026 class, chosen from more than 3,000 public nominations.
• Other inductees include Weezer’s Blue Album, The Go-Go’s ‘Beauty and the Beat,’ Chaka Khan’s ‘I Feel for You,’ and Ray Charles’ ‘Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.’
• Rosanne Cash and her late father Johnny Cash become the first daughter-father duo both represented in the registry.
• The additions bring the registry’s total to 700 titles — a fraction of the Library’s nearly 4 million recorded sound items.

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have conquered just about every chart, award, and record the music industry has to offer. Now they can add the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry to that list.

Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen announced the 2026 class of inductees Thursday, selecting 25 recordings deemed worthy of permanent preservation based on their “cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.” Swift’s 2014 pop landmark 1989 and Beyoncé’s 2008 anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” both make their Registry debuts — the first time either artist has been included in the archive.

“Music and recorded sound are essential, wonderful parts of our daily lives and our national heritage,” Newlen said in a statement. “The National Recording Registry works to preserve our national playlist for generations to come. The Library of Congress is proud to select these audio treasures and will work to preserve them with our partners in the recording industry.”

1989 is the most recent recording in this year’s class — and the only one from after 2008. The Library notes that Swift made the bold choice to fully abandon country on her fifth studio album, a decision she defended at the time. “A big goal of mine was to make this album very sonically cohesive,” she told CBS This Morning in 2014. “So, if I were to put a fiddle on a version of ‘Shake It Off’ and service it to country radio, that would’ve completely shattered the entire idea I had that this album was going to have its own sound.” The gamble paid off — 1989 produced three number-one singles, won Album of the Year at the Grammys, and was later re-recorded and released in 2023 as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) after Swift acquired the rights to her masters from music executive Scooter Braun.

“Single Ladies” gets its own moment of recognition too. The Library describes the song as a blockbuster “embraced by all generations and fans of almost every musical style.” It was the centerpiece of Beyoncé’s double album I Am… Sasha Fierce, which debuted at number one, sold 10 million copies worldwide, and won five Grammys. Beyoncé, who has spoken about how hard-fought her success has been, put it plainly in a 2010 interview: “I didn’t wake up and become famous. I started out without a tour bus, having the seat in the back of the awards show, at the Grammys. And every year, gradually we had to work and we became stronger and more people acknowledged us. But it was a lot of tears, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work that went into my career.”

There’s a political footnote worth mentioning: acting Librarian Newlen was appointed after President Trump fired the previous Librarian, Carla Hayden, in 2025. Trump, who has publicly voiced contempt for both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, has not commented on either induction.

The Full Class of 2026 Has Something for Everyone

Beyond the two headline names, this year’s class is a genuinely eclectic sweep through American musical history — spanning 70 years, from Spike Jones and His City Slickers’ 1944 novelty single “Cocktails for Two” all the way to Swift’s 1989.

Weezer’s self-titled debut — universally known as The Blue Album — was among the most nominated recordings submitted by the public this year. The Library describes it as a record that “broke through the angst-filled sounds of alternative rock and presented a new nerdy geek-rock charm,” featuring “Buddy Holly,” “Say It Ain’t So,” and “Undone – The Sweater Song.” Rivers Cuomo reflected on the band’s contrarian approach in a 2024 interview: “Rock bands were getting more and more outrageous with tattoos and piercings. We came out completely clean-cut, four guys standing in a line, singing songs in major keys, about girls or whatever. It didn’t quite make sense how that was the next step for rock and roll.”

The Go-Go’s landmark debut Beauty and the Beat is also in, and the band is understandably emotional about it. “I don’t know that there is a better feeling than knowing that women are raising their daughters and playing them the Go-Go’s,” guitarist Jane Wiedlin said. “As far as the Go-Go’s legacy, the biggest accomplishment is that we broke the glass ceiling. I get in a lot of arguments over this, but there is literally no other all-female band that went No. 1 on the charts, play their own instruments and write their own songs. None.” Singer Belinda Carlisle added her own long view: “It’ll be great 100 years from now when someone is doing their research and they see The Go-Go’s in there.”

Chaka Khan’s 1984 cover of Prince’s “I Feel for You” — the one that opens with Grandmaster Melle Mel chanting her name on a loop, which Khan has admitted she wasn’t thrilled about at the time — is now immortalized alongside the rest. “For the Library of Congress to say this recording belongs in the permanent collection of American sound heritage, that means it wasn’t just a hit, it was history,” Khan said. “And I am so very grateful to have been part of it.” The track spent 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and won two Grammys.

Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962), Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Texas Flood (1983), Reba McEntire’s Rumor Has It (1990), and the original 1975 Broadway cast recording of Chicago round out the album selections. Classic singles entering the registry include Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia,” The Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” The Byrds’ “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad,” Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High on That Mountain” — a song Gill wrote for his brother Bob, who died of a heart attack — and the Chicago house music staple “Your Love” by Jamie Principle and Frankie Knuckles.

There are a couple of genuinely unexpected entries too. The Doom video game soundtrack (1993) becomes only the third video game score inducted into the registry, following Super Mario Bros. and Minecraft: Volume Alpha. And the March 8, 1971 radio broadcast of “The Fight of the Century” — Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier — gets its moment, preserved for the way announcers Van Patrick and Charles King managed to cover the bout from a nearby hotel after fight organizers blocked ringside radio access.

A Family First

One of the quieter milestones in this year’s class belongs to Rosanne Cash. Her 1993 album The Wheel — written during the painful stretch between the end of her marriage to Rodney Crowell and the beginning of her relationship with producer John Leventhal — earns her a place in the registry alongside her father, Johnny Cash, whose At Folsom Prison was inducted back in 2003. They become the first daughter-father pair to both be represented in the archive.

The 2026 class brings the National Recording Registry to 700 total titles — still just a sliver of the Library’s collection of nearly 4 million recorded sound items. Public nominations for the class of 2027 are open through October 1.

The post Taylor Swift, Beyoncé Make History in National Recording Registry appeared first on Cream.

• Kelvin Evans pleaded guilty May 12 to stealing unreleased Beyoncé music during her 2025 Cowboy Carter tour stop in Atlanta
• Evans was sentenced to two years in prison plus three years probation after rejecting a harsher five-year deal in March
• The theft targeted Beyoncé’s choreographer Christopher Grant, whose car was broken into on Krog Street on July 8, 2025
• Stolen items included hard drives, MacBook laptops, unreleased music, future set lists, and show footage — none of which has been recovered
• Evans had declared “I’m ready for trial now” in March before reversing course and taking the deal on the eve of proceedings

Kelvin Evans won’t be going to trial after all — but he will be going to prison. The Atlanta man accused of breaking into a vehicle belonging to Beyoncé’s choreographer and walking off with hard drives full of unreleased music pleaded guilty Tuesday in Fulton County Superior Court, bringing a close to one of the more jaw-dropping theft cases the music world has seen in years.

Evans, 40, entered guilty pleas to entering auto and criminal trespass before Senior Judge Jane C. Barwick, who sentenced him to five years total — two to be served behind bars, the rest on probation. The judge also ordered Evans to stay away from the Krog Street location where the theft occurred and from the victims involved in the case.

The timing was striking. Just weeks earlier, Evans had stood in court in March and turned down a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for five years. “I’m ready for trial now,” he told the court. Jury selection had already begun Monday when he reversed course and cut the deal — one that ultimately shaved three years off the sentence he’d been willing to risk at trial, where a conviction could have meant up to six years in confinement.

What Was Stolen — and Why It Mattered So Much

The theft happened on July 8, 2025, just days before Beyoncé was set to perform at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta leg of her Cowboy Carter tour. Choreographer Christopher Grant and fellow dancer Diandre Blue had parked their rented 2024 Jeep Wagoneer in a parking deck on Krog Street around 8:09 p.m. When they returned less than an hour later, the rear window was shattered and their luggage was gone.

What was inside those bags made this far more than a routine smash-and-grab. Investigators say the stolen items included two MacBook laptops, Apple AirPods Max headphones, luxury clothing and accessories — and, most critically, hard drives and flash drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music, watermarked tracks, show footage, and past and future set lists. Grant also told police he was carrying what he described as “personal sensitive information” belonging to Beyoncé herself.

For any artist, that’s a nightmare. For Beyoncé — who has built her entire modern era around airtight secrecy, surprise drops, and total control of her creative output — it was on another level entirely.

Surveillance footage captured a red 2025 Hyundai Elantra connected to the crime. Investigators traced the vehicle to its owner, who told them Evans had used the car that day. Cameras later showed Evans, his niece, and a child removing black bags from the vehicle. Light fingerprints were also recovered from the scene. Evans was arrested by Hapeville police on August 26, 2025, and has been held in Fulton County Jail ever since. A grand jury indicted him in October, and he pleaded not guilty in January.

Prosecutors also noted that Evans is implicated in other car break-ins beyond this case.

The One Detail That Still Hangs Over Everything

Even with the guilty plea and sentencing done, there’s no clean ending here: none of the stolen property has been recovered. Not the laptops, not the hard drives, not the unreleased music. Atlanta police confirmed as much after Evans’ arrest, and nothing has changed since.

That means somewhere out there, those drives still exist — containing music, footage, and set lists that Beyoncé’s team never intended anyone outside their circle to hear or see. Whether any of it ever surfaces publicly remains an open question, and almost certainly the one her team is still losing sleep over.

Evans begins serving his two-year sentence with the stay-away order in place. The Cowboy Carter tour has long since moved on. But for the BeyHive, and for anyone watching how far the consequences of a single car break-in can reach, this case was never really just about a smashed window on Krog Street.

The post Beyoncé Music Thief Pleads Guilty, Gets 2 Years in Prison appeared first on Cream.

• Blue Ivy Carter, 14, made her Met Gala debut on May 4 alongside parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z
• Video shows Jay-Z, Beyoncé’s publicist, and stylist Ty Hunter all asking Blue Ivy to remove her sunglasses — she ignored every one of them
• Blue Ivy wore custom Balenciaga and became one of the youngest people ever to attend the gala
• Beyoncé secured a parental exception to the event’s strict 18-and-over rule as co-chair
• Beyoncé was attending the Met Gala for the first time in a decade

Blue Ivy Carter showed up to the Met Gala, kept her sunglasses on, and did not take instructions from anyone — including her father, Jay-Z.

The 14-year-old daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z made her long-awaited Met Gala debut on May 4, stepping onto fashion’s biggest stage in a custom Balenciaga look: a strapless white gown with a long flowing train, a matching cropped bomber jacket worn off the shoulders, silver stiletto heels, a diamond rivière necklace with rings and a hand chain — and a pair of chic cat-eye sunglasses she had absolutely no intention of removing.

Footage obtained by the Daily Mail and now circulating widely on social media captures the moment the whole thing played out. As the Carter family made their way up the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art staircase, Beyoncé’s publicist Yvette Noel-Schure can be seen approaching Blue Ivy and repeatedly gesturing for her to take the shades off. When that didn’t work, Noel-Schure turned to Beyoncé for backup. Stylist Ty Hunter stepped in next. Then a tuxedo-clad Jay-Z — looking sharp in Louis Vuitton — moved closer to make sure his daughter could hear him over the noise of the crowd.

Blue Ivy was unmoved. The glasses stayed on.

@beyhivebabii

Blue WAS NOT coming off them sunglasses 😂😂😂 She so cute thoooo! #blueivy #beyonce #metgala2026 #fyp #beyhive

♬ original sound – BeyHiveBabii 🐝

Beyoncé, for her part, didn’t seem the least bit bothered. The proud mom — stunning in a diamond-encrusted skeleton-inspired gown custom-made by Olivier Rousteing, complete with a sweeping feathered train and jeweled headpiece — stood beside her daughter smiling adoringly through the whole standoff.

“It feels surreal because my daughter’s here,” Beyoncé told Vogue during a livestream of the event, acknowledging her ten-year absence from the gala. “She looks so beautiful. It’s incredible to be able to share it with her. And I think she looks so incredible.”

“She was ready!” Beyoncé added. “She is ready.”

How Blue Ivy Got Through the Door in the First Place

The sunglasses weren’t even the biggest rule Blue Ivy bent on Monday night. The Met Gala has maintained a strict 18-and-over policy since 2018, when Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler publicly revealed she’d been turned away for being too young at 15. Event organizers confirmed the policy to The Hollywood Reporter at the time, stating plainly that the gala is “not an appropriate event for people under 18.” Charli D’Amelio was reportedly turned away in 2021 at 17. Kaia Gerber waited until she was 18. Millie Bobby Brown has never attended.

Blue Ivy just turned 14 at the start of 2026.

The loophole: organizers have always allowed exceptions for minors accompanied by their parents. And with Beyoncé serving as a co-chair of this year’s event — alongside Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos as honorary chairs — an exception was made. Blue Ivy stayed close to her parents all night, which is exactly what the rules require.

She’s now one of the youngest people ever to walk those stairs. The record still belongs to Elle Fanning, who attended the 2011 Met Gala at just 13, before the age restriction existed.

Blue Ivy wasn’t the only famous teenager to benefit from the co-chair exception. Nicole Kidman brought her 17-year-old daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban — who turns 18 in July — who arrived in a pale purple Dior look beside her mother. Keith Urban was not in attendance.

A Debut Years in the Making

Blue Ivy was four years old the last time Beyoncé attended the Met Gala. That was 2016, under the “Manus x Machina” theme. This year, she came back as co-chair — and brought her daughter with her to a night that felt, by every measure, like a full-circle moment.

It’s not as though Blue Ivy needed an introduction to the spotlight. She’s one of the youngest Grammy winners in history, taking home the award for Best Music Video at age nine. She joined Beyoncé onstage during the Cowboy Carter Tour in 2024, walked the red carpet at the London premiere of the Renaissance concert film in 2023, and voiced Kiara in the 2024 animated film Mufasa: The Lion King. She walked the 2025 Angel Ball alongside her grandmother Tina Knowles and was photographed at the 2026 Super Bowl wearing a $3,895 Off-White varsity jacket. She’s been building a public fashion history for years.

Monday night was just the next chapter.

And if the sunglasses moment is any indication, Blue Ivy Carter is going to write it entirely on her own terms.

The post Blue Ivy, 14, Ignores Jay-Z’s Sunglasses Request at Met Gala appeared first on Cream.

• The 2026 Met Gala raised a record $42 million under the theme “Fashion Is Art”
• Beyoncé brought Blue Ivy Carter to her very first Met Gala, one of the night’s most talked-about moments
• Rihanna and A$AP Rocky made a statement on the carpet, as did the Kardashian-Jenner family in full force
• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez served as honorary chairs, drawing significant criticism
• Taraji P. Henson publicly called out attendees ahead of the event, asking “WTF ARE WE DOING”

The first Monday in May delivered exactly what it always promises — spectacle, fashion, and more than a little drama. The 2026 Met Gala went off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a record-breaking $42 million raised and a theme, “Fashion Is Art,” that practically dared its guests to go big. Most of them did.

Guests arrived on a mossy-looking, trompe l’oeil cobblestone carpet framed by a backdrop that felt ripped straight from a Monet canvas — a deliberate, immersive nod to the evening’s artistic brief. It was theatrical, it was intentional, and it set the tone for a night where fashion wasn’t just clothing. It was statement-making.

The Moments Everyone Will Be Talking About

If there was one image from the night destined to live forever, it was Beyoncé walking those steps with Blue Ivy Carter — the teenager’s very first Met Gala. A mother-daughter debut at fashion’s biggest night doesn’t get more cinematic than that.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky showed up and reminded everyone why they’re one of the most compelling couples in pop culture. Their coordinated approach to the carpet — always a study in controlled cool — felt like a masterclass in couples’ style without trying too hard.

Madonna turned the evening into a full girls’ night out, and the Kardashian-Jenner family came through as a unit: Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and Kris Jenner together on that carpet was its own kind of fashion moment. Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman had a quieter but genuinely charming red-carpet beat alongside her daughter Sunday Rose — a reminder that the Met Gala’s best moments aren’t always the loudest ones.

The Controversy That Followed the Carpet

Not everyone was celebrating. Before the first limo pulled up, the 2026 Met Gala was already caught in a cultural crossfire — and Taraji P. Henson made sure no one could ignore it.

“I am so confused by some ppl that are going. I am just like WTF ARE WE DOING!?!?!?!” she wrote in the days leading up to the event. It was blunt, it was unfiltered, and it landed.

The source of the tension: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez stepped in as major backers and honorary chairs this year, a move that drew sharp criticism from those who saw the symbolism of extreme wealth underwriting an arts institution as deeply uncomfortable — particularly given the current economic climate. A viral video from writer and commentator Meredith Lynch helped amplify the conversation, with Lynch raising questions about the museum’s decision to accept Bezos-tied funding and flagging the political implications of certain protest symbols being worn on the carpet. The post drew engagement from figures including Liza Colón-Zayas and Bella Hadid.

Behind the scenes, the guest list reportedly became something of a quiet battleground, with some high-profile names quietly opting out while others showed up as planned. For many, attendance was never purely about endorsement — it’s about tradition, visibility, and the kind of cultural influence the Met Gala still commands like almost nothing else.

For Henson, the pushback wasn’t surprising. The Oscar-nominated actress has consistently used her platform to challenge institutions and refuse to separate culture from consequence — whether she’s talking about pay inequity in Hollywood or mental health in Black communities. Her Met Gala callout fits that pattern exactly.

The Met Gala delivered its spectacle. The looks were there, the moments were there, the viral images were there. But in 2026, every entrance carried a little more weight than usual — and Taraji P. Henson made sure of it.

The post 2026 Met Gala: Best Moments and the Backlash appeared first on Cream.

• Robert Wun dressed eight guests at the 2026 Met Gala, including Lisa, Beyoncé, and Naomi Osaka
• Lisa’s crystallized ivory gown featured 66,960 Swarovski crystals and 3D scans of her own arms, inspired by Thai dance
• Beyoncé’s Stargaze Gown involved 20+ rounds of sketches and 4,340 hours of handwork — the most the label has ever put into a single look
• Naomi Osaka’s two-part look debuted in the Met’s own “Costume Art” exhibition and revealed a second red gown underneath
• Wun’s team was still working until 3 a.m. the night before the Gala at his New York atelier

Robert Wun didn’t just have a good Met Gala. He had the Met Gala. The London-based, Hong Kong-born couturier dressed eight guests at fashion’s biggest night — including BLACKPINK’s Lisa, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, tennis star Naomi Osaka, producer Jordan Roth, Indian businesswoman Ananya Birla, singer Audrey Nuna, Norwegian salmon heir Gustav Magnar Witzøe, and Thai luxury consultant Nichapat Suphap. For an independent designer who shows on the Haute Couture calendar in Paris, it was a moment that would be hard to top.

And yet, Wun says he wasn’t panicking. “The management of dressing all of them wasn’t particularly challenging. I was expecting the worst,” he told WWD the day after the Gala. Most clients had reached out months in advance, giving his team enough runway to build each look with care. Still, “it’s still challenging. There’s a lot of back and forth, and even until the day before, we’re still working until 3 a.m. in the New York atelier,” he said.

This was Wun’s fifth Met Gala. But by any measure, 2026 was his biggest.

Lisa’s Look: 66,960 Crystals and a Bride Lifting Her Own Veil

Of all eight looks, Wun singled out what he created for Lisa as “something truly special.” The custom piece — officially titled “The Veil” — is a fully crystallized ivory sheer gown and veil that took its conceptual anchor from a striking idea: a bride lifting up her own veil. Extending from the shoulders are extra-arm sculptures, each one built from 3D scans of Lisa’s actual arms, arranged in postures that reference traditional Thai dance positions. It’s surrealist couture that also happens to be deeply personal.

The execution was staggering. The gown is embroidered with exactly 66,960 white Swarovski crystals, each placed by hand, across 2,860 hours of work. The arm motif draws from Wun’s Fall/Winter 2025 Couture Collection, but his team rebuilt the concept entirely around Lisa’s form. She finished the look with a Bulgari sapphire-and-diamond necklace — the one flash of color against all that ivory.

Wun says he deliberately proposed something Lisa had never tried before. “When I propose a design for a moment worth fighting for, especially on the carpet, such as the Met Gala, I would try to propose something that maybe the artist has never tried before, or not usually a direction they would be willing to explore,” he said. “I was very pleasantly surprised when they actually confirmed to go ahead with that look.”

The two had never met in person before the week of the Gala — despite Lisa wearing his designs for the past five years. When they finally did, Wun was floored. “She has been nothing but sweet, kind and willing,” he said. “Although the veil and armpiece are so heavy. I think it’s about five kilograms in weight. At the end, when she had to be on the carpet by herself — she literally just owned it like a champion. You don’t feel like she is carrying all that weight on her shoulders. She simply shone, and I have so much respect for her.”

Lisa, a member of the Met Gala host committee this year for the first time, attended the 2025 Gala in a Louis Vuitton look. This year, she was the only BLACKPINK member to wear something outside of a brand endorsement — and she made it count.

Beyoncé’s Stargaze Gown: 20 Rounds of Sketches, 4,340 Hours of Work

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter wore Wun’s Stargaze Gown inside the museum — not on the red carpet, where she arrived in a custom Olivier Rousteing design alongside her daughter Blue Ivy Carter. The conversation for the Wun piece started back in December, and what followed was an unusually collaborative process.

“There are over 20 rounds, I believe, of design sketches, and a lot of conversation back and forth. A lot of personal notes on what she loves,” Wun said. The concept he landed on was cosmic in scale: the perspective of stars looking down at Earth, seeing the golden glow of coastlines at night — the kind of view you catch from a plane window. When Wun described the idea to Beyoncé, she already had a reference. “She said she found that look also on social media, she screencapped it, shared it with us, and she said ‘Yeah I think this is the one.'”

The finished gown contains 3,180,000 stitches of embroidery across 4,340 hours of handwork — the highest volume of work Wun’s label has ever put into a single piece. “Even when we got to New York, the amount of work that we carried out just to make sure all the embroideries were perfect, and the veil sat right,” he said. “I have to give all the credit and all my love to my incredible team. They have worked so hard on this look, and to be able to see that come together inside the museum as well has been truly phenomenal.”

Beyoncé, one of the four co-chairs of the 2026 Gala alongside Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, made her Met debut back in 2008 in Armani Privé and attended consistently through 2016, often in custom Givenchy. This year marked her return to the event after a decade-long absence. “It is an honor to dress the co-chair of this year’s Met Gala and to be part of her big return,” Wun said.

Naomi Osaka’s Two-Act Moment

If Lisa and Beyoncé were the headliners, Naomi Osaka gave the Gala one of its most theatrical surprises. She arrived in a sculptural ivory coat with open seams that exposed red crystals from within, adorned with stripped feathers flaring upward like a fountain — and a matching wide-brimmed hat by London milliner Awon Golding. Underneath, when she shed the outer layer, was a breathtaking red gown illustrating the human anatomy, needle by needle, in four shades of faceted Swarovski crystals. The red gown alone totaled over 3,280 hours of handwork.

The outer look had already made its debut in the Met’s current “Costume Art” exhibition — so Osaka was, in a sense, wearing art that was already on display inside the museum she was walking into.

“This is the shedding of the skin and the human anatomy,” Osaka told Variety on the carpet.

It was only her second time attending the Met Gala — she co-chaired the 2021 edition — and her first appearance at the event in five years. The collaboration with Wun began earlier this year at the Australian Open, where she walked onto the court in a jellyfish-inspired dress and a massive veiled hat from the designer. That look drew criticism from some corners of the tennis world, but Osaka was unfazed. “There’s a demographic that’s been talking about ‘traditional’ tennis outfits and calling me classless for what I wear,” she wrote on Threads. “To be honest, I see it for what it is. I don’t do this for them though; they will never get it, and I don’t want them to. I do this for the people who are like me.”

Wun and Osaka had never met in person until the London studio fittings for the Gala looks. “I was so appreciative to meet him and see how he works,” she said. “He didn’t have an ego and was just willing to change things to make me more comfortable or hear my perspective on things.” For his part, Wun — a self-described huge tennis fan — was just as taken with her. “Being able to share this creative moment has been incredibly special,” he said.

Osaka was attending ahead of traveling to Rome for the Rome Open, which began the following day — a reminder that for her, fashion and competition aren’t separate worlds. She’s been treating them as one for a while now. The Met Gala just happened to be the biggest stage yet.

The post Robert Wun on Dressing Lisa and Beyoncé at the Met Gala appeared first on Cream.

• Blue Ivy Carter, 14, and Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, 17, both attended the 2026 Met Gala despite its 18+ age restriction
• Their moms — Beyoncé and Nicole Kidman — were both co-chairs of the event, which appears to have cleared the way for their daughters
• Beyoncé gushed on the carpet that Blue Ivy was “ready,” while Kidman kissed her daughter’s hand on the museum steps
• The 18-and-over rule has been in place since 2018, when Maddie Ziegler was turned away at age 15
• Sunday wore Dior and Blue Ivy wore Balenciaga for their respective Met Gala debuts

The Met Gala has had a strict 18-and-over policy since 2018. But on Monday night, two of the most famous teenagers in the world walked right past that rule — and nobody was mad about it.

Blue Ivy Carter, 14, made her official Met Gala debut at the 2026 event, stepping onto the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps alongside her parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z. And across the carpet, Nicole Kidman arrived with her 17-year-old daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban for her first Met appearance as well. Two teens, one very exclusive party, and a very convenient explanation: their mothers were running the show.

Beyoncé co-chaired this year’s gala alongside Kidman, Venus Williams, and the ever-present Anna Wintour. It’s widely understood that when you’re one of the people organizing fashion’s biggest night, your guest list comes with a little more flexibility. The same logic applied to Kidman, who was serving as Met co-chair for the third time. An exception was seemingly made for both girls given their mothers’ roles — and judging by the reaction on the carpet, no one was raising any objections.

Blue Ivy Made Her Entrance — and She Was Ready

Blue Ivy did not ease into this moment. She arrived in a cream strapless Balenciaga gown, gold heels, diamonds, and a cropped bomber jacket draped off her shoulders with the kind of effortless cool that takes most people decades to develop. She’s 14.

Beyoncé, resplendent in a skeletal-inspired gown while Jay-Z kept it sharp in a classic black suit, could barely contain herself on the carpet. “She looks so beautiful,” she told Vogue. “It’s incredible to be able to share it with her.” Then, in case anyone had doubts: “She was ready! She is ready.”

It’s been quite a run for Blue Ivy. Last year she stole the show on the Cowboy Carter world tour, and before that she joined her mom on stage at the Grammys when Beyoncé finally took home Album of the Year. The Met Gala feels like the next logical chapter.

Sunday Rose Bloomed at Her First Met

Sunday Rose had her own story to tell on the steps. The 17-year-old — who only made her modeling debut last year and recently walked the Dior show in Paris — arrived in a pink beaded strapless Dior gown with an airy column skirt covered in floral embellishments. Statement floral earrings, pink eyeshadow, hair worn down and straightened. She looked like spring personified.

On the carpet, she opened up about why the look meant something to her. “Mine is really special to me because I kinda wanted to symbolize something blooming — it’s my first Met,” she told Vogue. “Blooming into something.”

Kidman was glowing beside her, dressed in a showstopping red sequined Chanel gown with feathered sleeves — a look she said she chose because red represents “passion, love, vitality, power, and motherhood.” The two held hands walking up the steps, and at one point Kidman gestured to her daughter, bowed down, and kissed her hand. As moments go, it was a lot.

“I have a springtime, blossoming girl right here!” Kidman gushed. Then, with the dry wit only a mother can deliver: “She has to be in school tomorrow morning. She’ll be in school by 8 a.m.”

Kidman had been looking forward to this for a while. Back in March, she told Las Culturistas, “This is, I think it’s the third time I’ve co-chaired, but to do it now? I’m so, so happy, and my daughter Sunday will be coming. And she loves fashion. She’s actually just walked the Dior show. Yeah, she’s flying back from Paris now.”

Sunday, for her part, has spoken candidly about her mother’s influence on her path. “My mum is someone who has always been so creative and my biggest inspiration in life,” she told Elle Australia after her modeling debut. “She’s a key part of everything I do.” The most practical piece of advice Kidman passed along? Always be on time. “It shows that you’re prepared and grateful to be there,” Sunday said.

The Rule That Usually Keeps Teens Out

The 18-and-over policy at the Met Gala isn’t new — it’s been in place since 2018, and it has real teeth. When the restriction first kicked in, then-15-year-old Dance Moms alum Maddie Ziegler told The Hollywood Reporter plainly: “I can’t go, because I’m not old enough.” An event organizer confirmed at the time, “It’s not an appropriate event for people under 18.”

Before the rule went into effect, some of the youngest guests in Met history included Jaden and Willow Smith, who attended in 2016 at 17 and 15 respectively, and Hailee Steinfeld, who first climbed those steps in 2011 at just 15 years old.

The co-chair connection clearly carries weight. When your mother is literally one of the people running the evening — alongside Anna Wintour, no less — the velvet rope moves a little.

And honestly? Both girls more than held their own. Blue Ivy in Balenciaga. Sunday Rose in Dior. Fashion is art, the theme declared. These two took that seriously.

The post How Blue Ivy and Sunday Rose Got Into the Met Gala appeared first on Cream.