The Tamesis
When John Singer Sargent’s Scandalous Works Portrait of Ms. Unveiled in Paris in 1884, the painting shows the bejeweled straps of socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau’s black satin gown slipping from her shoulders. The reaction was so extreme that the artist was forced to repaint the portrait, placing both straps firmly back on the frame painted in lavender pink. He even had to move to England for a year so French society could calm down. The Met acquired the painting a century ago, and it happens to be one of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s favorite works of art. “I’ve always found it very striking,” Rosie explained during a phone call the weekend before the 2026 Met Gala.
Working with Burberry chief creative officer Daniel Lee, Huntington-Whiteley was keen to capture the painting’s “quiet confidence and sensual feel”. After a “focused” and collaborative design process – aimed at “refining, editing and stripping things down”, they created a burnt brown gown with a crystal and beaded heart-shaped bodice and draped silk tulle skirt. “There’s a modernity and strength, but there’s also a softness to it,” she explains of the look. “I want to feel confident and composed—a higher version of myself.”
It’s hard to imagine the supermodel, business mogul and mother of two ever needing a boost, but she also swears by a “really good facial or lymphatic massage” before red carpet events. In New York, Cynthia Rivas is her “go-to skin specialist.” Huntington-Whiteley has been traveling back and forth to Manhattan in recent weeks and attended the Tiffany Blue Book Gala at the Park Avenue Armory, so naturally, I was interested in her long-distance beauty secrets. “I like to stay hydrated — no food, no alcohol,” she said. “I do a skincare routine before I go to the airport to avoid contact with my skin on the plane, and then when I land I shower, stretch, and rest outside during the day.”
