The 2026 Met Gala theme has officially been revealed, and this year’s concept signals a shift in how fashion is positioned within The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Titled 'Costume Art', the theme accompanies the Costume Institute’s landmark exhibition of the same name — one that will place fashion at the physical and philosophical centre of The Met for the first time. Rather than focusing solely on garments, Costume Art turns its attention to the dressed body itself, reframing fashion as a fully fledged artistic practice.
Below, everything we know so far about the 2026 Met Gala.
What exactly is the 2026 Met Gala theme?
Next year’s Gala will honour the Costume Institute’s forthcoming exhibition 'Costume Art', which will inaugurate the new Condé M. Nast Galleries — nearly 12,000 square feet of dedicated space adjacent to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall.
Curated by Andrew Bolton, 'Costume Art' is a sweeping investigation into “the centrality of the dressed body” across the museum’s 5,000 years of art. Paintings, sculptures, and objects from every curatorial department will be paired with both historical and contemporary garments, demonstrating something that Bolton argues has been true all along: fashion has always been at the centre of the museum.
“What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body,” Bolton says. The exhibition asserts that even the so-called nude body in art is never truly naked — it is always inscribed with cultural meaning.
What about the 2026 Met Gala dress code? And when will it be announced?
The dress code for the 2026 Met Gala has not yet been announced. As always, guests — and their ateliers — will need to wait for Vogue to release the official guidance. But given the nature of the exhibition, we can expect a dress code that encourages guests to grapple with the relationship between the body and the garment, or even challenge the long-held hierarchy between art and fashion. In other words, expect some stellar looks.
Why is this particular Met Gala theme so significant?
In many ways, Costume Art marks a turning point for the Costume Institute. The opening of the Condé M. Nast Galleries signals a monumental shift, in which fashion is no longer a department relegated to the museum’s basement, but is being placed at the heart of The Met.
Bolton describes the exhibition as transformative not only for his department, but for fashion more generally, re-centering the dressed body as an artistic subject. Ultimately, the significance of the 2026 theme lies in this reframing: Costume Art doesn’t elevate fashion by stripping it of the body, but by returning the body to the centre of the conversation. It challenges the long-standing hierarchy that separates fashion from fine art, arguing for an equivalency rooted in lived experience rather than detached aesthetics.
Who is hosting the 2026 Met Gala?
Co-chairs and the full host committee for the 2026 Met Gala have not yet been announced. Traditionally, Anna Wintour will assemble a roster of celebrities and cultural leaders to serve as hosts, but we’ll have to wait for the official reveal.
When is the 2026 Met Gala?
As always, the Met Gala will be held on the first Monday in May — in 2026, that falls on May 4. The Costume Art exhibition opens to the public on May 10, 2026, and will run through January 10, 2027.
