Suki Waterhouse is, in true celebrity style, on a salon bed when we talk, getting a pre-2026 Met Gala treatment at Joanna Czech and addressing how to scrub off “a really bad spray tan from two weeks ago”. Fresh from Los Angeles, she is, by her own admission, “a bit delusional after a flight with a two-year-old who refused to nap.” Still, the singer and actress seems unfazed ahead of what will be her fourth Met. “I do all the usual things to prep,” she says, including “make sure my skin is as good as it can be.” In her case, that involves spending an evening “under the red light listening to Lena Dunham’s new book.”

Following a busy schedule of lymphatic drainage and last-minute fittings, Suki is mostly looking forward to letting her hair down, she says, adding that once the red carpet is out of the way, the Met Gala is “a pretty intimate experience that feels out of this world… It’s one of those rare moments where nobody’s got an entourage. If Rihanna turns up, it’s like Marilyn Monroe has arrived. I remember last year dancing to Stevie Wonder with Colman Domingo. Everyone was up. Nobody had a phone out.”

Waterhouse collaborated with Michael Kors on her look to fit the 2026 Fashion Is Art dress code, considering everything from “Vivienne Westwood to the Wallace Collection to Calvin Klein’s Andy Warhol-inspired spring/summer 2018 collection,” before they ultimately landed on a terracotta nod to classical sculptures. “Michael was interested in Greek statue draping, and the figures you would find in the Met. He’s the ultimate storyteller. He can walk into a room of hundreds of people and understand why everyone’s there, pull something from the past and bring it into the present. I always think if his biography had a title, it would be Next,” she says. As for Suki herself? “I always want to go a little bit extra.”

The end result is a low-cut, body-skimming silhouette with elongated panels trailing behind the dress. “It’s incredibly low cut down the belly, you’ll definitely notice that,” Suki laughs. “I put it on and I feel soft and very powerful. It’s done good things for my butt. Uncharacteristically good.”

It’s a far cry from her first Met Gala look–a blush pink tulle creation from Burberry–but Suki still has a soft spot for her red carpet looks of yore–particularly the aforementioned tulle number, which was styled, in true 2013 fashion, “with a pair of these big Kurt Geiger boots from Oxford Street”. “Clothes are like witnesses to your life,” she says. They’ve seen everything. I keep everything, my clothes, journals, letters, photo albums. I like to keep logs of times.”

The sentimental star explains that her treasured collection of “incredible” vintage coats is largely a hangover from a “big mod phase” in her twenties. Among them, a coat previously owned by Audrey Hepburn. “It’s this little blue coat with a fur trimming. I bought it at an auction. I used to just wander into auctions, get completely carried away and then have no money afterwards,” she says, laughing.

Suki’s hunt for Holly Golightly’s nightdress (“the one that she wears when she’s going around at home with her really glamorous eye mask on”) is ongoing, and she always has her eyes peeled for anything that feels remotely Barbarella. Currently, there’s one look topping her wishlist: “Metallic bodysuits and all the go-go boots. If I could have a whole Paco Rabanne collection for tour, I think I would die happy,” she says. “Now I’m thinking a space-themed Met would be kind of fun…”

Met Gala 2026: See Every Celebrity Arrival, Read the Latest Stories, and Get Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Access Here