Everything was golden at the 2026 Met Gala, the perfect debut for singer and actress Ejae. For the evening, however, the woman behind the Academy Award-winning song “Golden” from the hit animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters opted for a metallic shade other than gold: a glittering silver column gown from Swarovski that left her luminous and glowing on the red carpet.

Through K-Pop Demon Hunters’ meteoric year, the creative team has continued to smash records. In 2025, the movie became Netflix’s most-watched film, and the song “Golden” reached a number eight slot on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-ranking soundtrack to reach the charts since 2022. Tonight, Ejae wanted to continue to break charts and make headlines in other ways, using this opportunity in the spotlight to highlight her Korean culture even more. “I wanted to represent elements of Korean culture on fashion’s biggest night,” said Ejae in an exclusive interview. “When Swarovski first came to my creative team and me, they brought the idea of the sculpture of Venus, and that felt right for the theme. Jeffrey and Theo, my creative directors, wanted to bring something Korean into it, not as a visual reference but as something deeper.”

That reference ended up being the “기녀” which in English translates to the female courtesans of the Joseon dynasty. “These women were artists, the most culturally refined figures of their time, in music, poetry, and conversation. So the conversation with Swarovski became, what happens when the Venus meets the 기녀?” Ejae said. “Two archetypes of femininity, one Western, one Eastern, and the look quickly came together from there.”

Sparkles were a must for Ejae, and, lucky for her, being dressed by the Swarovski team meant crystals were available in unlimited qualities. The evening’s look used thousands of crystals so that the star could “keep shining like she was born to be,” as she sings in the song “Golden.”

Ejae continued to further showcase her bicultural heritage through her makeup and hair choice, opting for an updo held together with Korean hairpins called “binyeos.” These traditional hairpins have been worn by Korean women for centuries, and tonight, at the 2026 Met Gala, they only continue to have relevance in Korean culture thanks to Ejae.

Sketch Courtesy of Swarovski