The 2026 Met Gala is taking shape. We've been alerted to the hotly anticipated theme, and we know who will walk the Met steps, with the year's co-chairs and host committee revealed. But now, arguably the most important detail is here: the dress code.
Accompanying the theme 'Costume Art', the dress code has been announced as 'Fashion is Art', and will dictate exactly what A-listers wear on fashion's night of nights. Wondering exactly what this all means? Below, everything we know so far about the 2026 Met Gala.
What does the 2026 Met Gala dress code mean?
The dress code for the 2026 Met Gala has now been announced as 'Fashion is Art', and according to Andrew Bolton, curator of the Met's Costume Institute, it's loaded with intention.
"Hopefully, it will put an end to the rather obsolete 'Is Fashion Art?' debate once and for all," Bolton said.
Given the nature of the accompanying Met exhibition, we can expect celebrities and designers to come up with pieces that challenge the long-held hierarchy between art and fashion. In other words, expect some stellar looks.
What exactly is the 2026 Met Gala theme?
This 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.
Thematically, 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.
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?
Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams will serve as co-chairs for the 2026 Met Gala. Fans will know this will mark the first time in 10 years that Beyoncé has attended the Met Gala, while Kidman and Williams have been more regular fixtures in recent years.
Joining them, Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravtiz will co-chair the 2026 Met Gala Host Committee, with other members including Sabrina Carpenter, Misty Copeland, Paloma Elsesser, and LISA. We'll see more celebrities added to this list early next year.
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.
