The Stars Brought a Parade of Fashion to the 2026 Time100 Gala

Reported by Harper's Bazaar.

The 2026 Time100 Gala proved that high fashion still knows how to command a room. A-listers arrived in a carefully curated lineup of designer moments that felt less like a red carpet, more like a masterclass in what happens when unlimited resources meet actual taste. The night showcased a refreshing mix of established houses and emerging names—a reminder that in fashion's current climate, prestige isn't measured by logo size.

Zoe Saldaña leaned into architectural elegance in Givenchy under creative director Sarah Burton, whose sculptural approach has become synonymous with understated power dressing for the set-and-forget crowd. Meanwhile, Jennie and Natasha Lyonne both chose Schiaparelli, the Italian house that's been quietly becoming the uniform of people who understand that weird can be wearable. Dakota Johnson stuck with her unofficial designer residence: Valentino, a pairing so natural it barely registers as a choice anymore. Kate Hudson went for the quiet luxury coded in Khaite, while Hailey Bieber—still operating as Calvin Klein's unofficial ambassador—reinforced the designer's grip on celebrity minimalism.

The Depth Below the Names

What made this gala different from the usual celebrity fashion parade wasn't just who wore what, but the breadth of the selections. Keke Palmer in Wiederhoeft and Nikki Glaser in Andrew Kwon proved that designers operating outside the mega-house ecosystem can still land moments at culture's most exclusive gatherings. It's a small shift, but it matters—a signal that fashion gatekeepers are finally opening the velvet ropes to talent that doesn't come with a 70-year heritage narrative. Chloe Kim's appearance in Tiffany & Co. jewelry and Hilary Duff's turn in Anna October rounded out a night that felt thoughtfully assembled rather than randomly thrown together, according to Harper's Bazaar.

The real story here isn't about individual standouts—it's about the fashion system quietly recalibrating. The Time100 Gala, a night ostensibly about celebrating influential people, has become a space where designers themselves get evaluated. And this year, the message was clear: heritage matters, but so does perspective, craftsmanship, and the willingness to take a risk. The best-dressed list isn't about who wore the biggest name anymore; it's about who wore it with conviction.

Read the original at Harper's Bazaar.