Heidi Klum Shows Insane Prosthetics Transformation for Met Gala 2026 Look

Heidi Klum went all out for her 2026 Met Gala look.

Klum, 52, rocked prosthetics to transform into a living statue in honor of fashion's biggest night, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday, May 4. Following the gala, Klum took to Instagram on Tuesday, May 5, to show exactly how she got into her custom Mike Marino ensemble. In the clip, Klum arrived at a studio as her FX squad began the lengthy process on her look, representing the 1847 sculpture, the Veiled Vestal by Raffaele Monti.

"This year's Met Gala theme is ‘Costume Art,'" Klum explained in the video. "And here is my take on it." The camera then showed makeup artists gluing prosthetics onto her face, as well as a hidden zipper in the back of her costume.

Klum then showed herself in a bald cap while getting her hands painted. "I have to get my nails done. Chop, chop, chop. Normally, I don't have nails that short," she laughed.

Marino explained that in order to create the look, they first 3-D scanned Klum's "entire body."

"Based on that scan, we sculpt the design with all the folds and fabric and we got through a very lengthy technical process," he said, noting it was still nearly the same as how classical artists created their work. "[We're just] using more advanced materials."

Marino then hilariously fed Klum a burger as she continued to get painted. She then covered her body in a plastic wrap to help the mold slide on her body more easily. "I already look gorgeous," she gushed once she was in the costume. "Look at this! Holy smokes."

Her prosthetic face was then glued onto her skin with some final makeup touches to fill in the gaps.

"Not only are we doing one of the hardest designs ever created, our work has to move. It has to be flawless," Marino continued. Klum concluded the video by showing herself getting out of her sprinter van and posing on the red carpet.

"It all starts with a vision," Klum captioned the post. "The theme of this year's Met Gala was ‘Fashion is Art' and here is my take on it…a piece of fine art, reimagined in motion. There is nothing I love more than creative collaboration with true artists who worked tirelessly to turn this idea of transforming fabric into sculpture into what the world saw on the steps of the Met. Thank you from the bottom of my heart 🤍."

Copyright 2026 Us Weekly. All rights reserved

This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM.