What is the 2026 Met Gala theme? "Costume Art" explained
Nearly 400 objects will be paired with garments as the Costume Institute aims to show fashion as an art form.
- On Monday, May 4, 2026, the Met Gala returned to New York City with the theme "Costume Art," hosting about 450 guests to view 400 pieces spanning 5,000 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Curator-in-Charge Andrew Bolton explained the exhibition will "juxtapose garments and works of art to illuminate new connections." The dress code "Fashion is Art" invites attendees to express their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form.
- Vogue will livestream the red carpet starting at 6 p.m. Eastern, while co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour lead the event. Tickets cost upwards of $100,000 to support the Costume Institute's annual fundraiser.
- Critics dubbed the fundraiser the "Amazon Prime Gala" or "Bezos Ball" due to concerns over honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who prompted boycott calls. Some celebrities reportedly plan to opt out as a result.
- The exhibition opens to the public on May 10 in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, marking a pivotal moment for the Costume Institute. It follows 2025's "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," the first show focused on menswear in over 20 years.
17 Articles
17 Articles
The Met Gala 2026 revolved this year around the theme "Costume Art", a proposal that reaffirms fashion as an art form and places the clothed body as the central axis of creative expression.
LIVE NOW: Met Gala 2026: Celebrity Departures From the Mark and Carlyle Hotels, Plus Red Carpet Fashion Cam
The 2026 Met Gala celebrates the opening of the Costume Institute’s “Costume Art” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, starting 4 p.m. on May 4. This event brings together the world’s leading figures in fashion, film, and music to showcase avant-garde attire inspired by the human body as a canvas. The evening begins with the highly anticipated departures from the Upper East Side’s most prestigious hotels, The Mark and T…
Met Gala Backlash Has Already Begun
If your invitation hasn't arrived, here's what you're missing: The 2026 Met Gala rolls out Monday night in New York, with about 450 guests and a theme tied to the Met's new exhibition "Costume Art," showcasing 400 pieces across 5,000 years. The dress code: "Fashion is art," which is...
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