Cleveland Designer Megan Piccione’s Jewelry Shines on Met Gala Red Carpet

Cleveland made its presence felt on fashion’s most watched carpet through a jewel box of layered diamonds, led by a fancy yellow center stone that gave Megan Piccione’s Met Gala debut instant structure and brightness. The Cleveland, Ohio-based owner and president of Megan Piccione High Jewelry dressed Lauren Wasser in a sequence of diamond pieces that read less like accessories than a composed necklace story, the kind of styling that turns a single look into a study in balance, contrast and scale.

The setting mattered. The 2026 Met Gala was tied to the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, Costume Art, which opens May 10, 2026 and runs through January 10, 2027. The exhibition pairs garments from The Met’s collection with artworks to explore the relationship between clothing and the body, a theme that made Piccione’s handcrafted work feel especially apt. Wasser, attending her first Met Gala and serving on the event committee, brought more than glamour to the carpet. The model and activist is known for surviving toxic shock syndrome; in 2012, at 24, she suffered organ failure and two heart attacks and later lost both legs, becoming an advocate for safer feminine hygiene products and menstrual-equity awareness.

The jewelry itself offered a blueprint for how red-carpet diamonds can be staged with precision. One necklace centered an 8.09-carat fancy yellow diamond framed by a 2.20-carat diamond halo. Another was built in 18-karat yellow gold around a 12.72-carat step-cut marquise diamond. A third necklace brought 31 carats of fancy yellow and white diamonds into the mix, while the Twist ring in 18-karat yellow gold held a 4.02-carat emerald-cut diamond. An 18-karat white and rose gold ring set with pavé diamonds added another layer of texture. Together, the pieces showed how a colored focal stone can anchor a stack, while mixed cuts and metal tones keep the composition moving.

That is the design lesson hidden inside the spectacle. The same approach can inform birthstone stacking, custom redesigns and statement-necklace styling: one strong center stone, then smaller elements that echo it rather than compete with it. Piccione, who was named one of Jewelers of America’s 20 Under 40 in Jewelry Retail in 2024, called the moment “years of quiet work,” a fitting description for a house that builds everything by hand in-house. Against Tiffany & Co., Bulgari and Chopard, the independent atelier’s arrival felt like a reminder that new red-carpet language is still being written, one stone at a time.