Although this event is occasionally styled the British version of the Met Gala, it really is not, beyond the fact that the events are both galas that raise money for a museum – it's not nearly as big, for one thing, and for another, this year the theme was just "red." If you want the complete quote from the Museum itself:
Shaped by [Es Devlin, the Ball's Artistic Director] and inspired by the Museum's autumn exhibitions, this year's Ball celebrates three extraordinary global milestones:the once-in-a-millennium loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France, a special display marking the 250th anniversary of the United States and a landmark exhibition exploring 2,000 years of Korean creativity.
The theme and visual identity of the 2026 Ball will be red, the earliest pigment known to have been used by humans in artistic expression. Red is a unifying thread woven through all three of the Museum's upcoming displays, from the embroidered wool of the Tapestry, the stripes of the American flag to the rich hues found across centuries of Korean art.
Can you imagine Anna Wintour signing off on a dress code as absolutely simple as "red"? I also cannot imagine these paragraphs being about the Met Gala without someone showing up wearing an American flag dress – but someone DID wear the Bayeux Tapestry, so maybe we're not that different after all.
PS: There are some nipples within. Beware!