Tonight, 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 readymade 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 tonight, Liu wore a custom Louis Vuitton gown: a strapless. full-skirted design - rendered in a deep red hue - was made of satin and tulle. Liu’s stylist Katie Qian said the origin of the design began by closely considering this year’s theme and dress code (dubbed “fashion is art”). “When we first started ideating around the look, we considered the dress code and theme of the Met exhibition, which is the human body addressed throughout history,” says Qian. “We thought these themes were perfect because Alysa represents the intersection of both. 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,” says Qian. “It also happens to emulate the ways in which 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.”
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For Liu, her favourite details of the final look were both the colour and bold silhouette. “I like how the skirt is so voluminous,” says Liu. “The shape is so unique, and I like how it is shorter in front and then longer in the back. I also love the colour, since I like wearing dark reds a lot. It’s so Chinese - it’s a lucky colour!”
While navigating one’s first Met can be, well, stressful to say the least, Liu’s favourite part of the fittings process was seeing just how much work and detail go into crafting such a grand red carpet moment. “One of my favourite things to do is witness the tailors at work: It’s truly an art in itself,” says Liu of the Vuitton atelier. “Even when I collaborate with Lisa McKinnon on my custom skating dresses for each season, it is to watch her strategically pin the fabric, watching how and where the fabric is draped, even down to the details of where each bead or rhinestone is placed. I find it so mesmerizing.”
This evening may have marked Liu’s very first Met - but something tells us she will be a regular on the Met steps going forward. Clearly, she has proven that she can seamlessly blend into the high fashion and red carpet world. “I’m really excited just thinking about all of the incredible people I’m going to meet from all different industries,” says Liu of her Met night tonight. “To share the evening with them at the Met feels really special to me.” Her after-party plans? “Dance,” says Liu. “I can't wait to end the night by spending time with a childhood friend and one of my closest teammates.”
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This article was originally published on Vogue US.
