Hudson Williams has arrived at the Met Gala in a jaw-dropping ensemble.
The Heated Rivalry star arrived in an elaborate black and pale blue look that’s custom vintage Balenciaga, inspired by Cristóbal Balenciaga, complete with a train. He decided to leave the jacket and undershirt open.
The actor decided to fully commit, sporting a full face of makeup, including gray and red chrome eyeshadow and thick black wings. Williams told Vogue that the look, which he worked on with his groomer, Aika Flores, was inspired by the film Black Swan to bring a film element to the look.
The night’s theme is “Costume Art” and the dress code is “fashion is art,” which is inspired by the Costume Institute exhibition on fashion as an art form throughout history.
Williams was spotted leaving The Mark hotel on his way to the gala. Instead of giving fans a peek at the outfit, he wore a Frette unito shawl collar bathrobe as he walked to his ride. His jewels, Bvlgari, much like his other red carpet appearances, were on display with the bathrobe.
The 25-year-old actor was named Friend of the House for Balenciaga earlier this year, starring in a campaign for the luxury fashion house. He wore Balenciaga to the Oscars, so it’s no surprise that he wore the designer to fashion’s biggest night. Williams’ stylist, Anastasia Walker, was recently featured on The Hollywood Reporter’s 2026 Power Stylists list as a next gen stylist for their work together.
Both the actor and stylist have spoken about Williams’ affinity for style. “He really likes to have fun with fashion,” Walker told THR ahead of the Oscars.
Williams has become a frequent player in the fashion space over the last six months following his breakout role in the queer hockey romance drama, Heated Rivalry. He made his runway debut at Milan Fashion Week in January by walking in Dsquared2’s show. He’s also become a red carpet darling, generating plenty of buzz online; he topped THR’s and Launchmetrics red carpet power ranking for the Golden Globes and landed in the second spot for the Oscars.
The actor had been spotted throughout New York over the weekend, sparking speculation that he and his Heated Rivalry co-star Connor Storrie would attend the gala. Storrie arrived earlier in the night, wearing an all-black Saint Laurent ensemble and Tiffany & Co. jewels.
Heated Rivalry has made certified stars out of both Williams and Storrie. Hailing from Canadian streamer Crave and airing on HBO Max in the U.S., the series is based on popular romance novels by Rachel Reid. Letterkenny alum Jacob Tierney created, wrote and directed the series, which centers around two rival professional players — Canada-born Shane Hollander (Williams) and Russia-born Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) — as they navigate a near-decade-long secret affair.
Crave renewed Heated Rivalry for a second season early into the show’s first season run. HBO Max has confirmed it will continue to air the series. The show is slated to shoot the second season this summer and is aiming for a spring 2027 release. The upcoming season will be based on the next installment of Shane and Ilya’s story in Reid’s novels, The Long Game, along with the fifth book in the series, Role Model.
The Met Gala is just the latest in a string of high-profile appearances for the Vancouver actor. In the months since the show premiered, he and Storrie have been Hollywood’s new favorite IT boys, presenting at the Golden Globes and serving as torchbearers in the 2026 Olympic Torch Relay.
Next up, Williams can be found starring alongside Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid and Clark Backo in the half-hour Canadian drama Yaga. The series is based on the play by Kat Sandler, who serves as the show’s writer and showrunner, and is a contemporary reimagining of the myth of Baba Yaga set in a coastal town.
Reteaming with Heated Rivalry’s streaming home Crave for the project, Williams is set to play Henry Park, the young heir to a powerful fishery, whose disappearance is at the center of the story. Last week, Bell Media announced that AMC+ had acquired exclusive streaming rights to the series in the U.S. It’s slated to debut later this year.
The 2026 Met Gala is being co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, are honorary chairs, which has caused a stir of controversy leading up to fashion’s biggest night.
This year’s host committee includes Anthony Vaccarello, Zoë Kravitz, Adut Akech, Angela Bassett, Sinéad Burke, Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Misty Copeland, Alex Consani, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, Rebecca Hall, Blackpink’s Lisa, Chloe Malle, Aimee Mullins, Amy Sherald, Tschabalala Self, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Anna Weyant, Lauren Wasser, A’ja Wilson, Chase Sui Wonders and Yseult.
The 2026 Met Gala was held on Monday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. See what all the stars wore here, and catch up on all of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Met Gala coverage here.
