The Met Gala is one of the most highly anticipated events in the fashion calendar. Each year, on the first Monday of May, invited guests assemble in New York for an evening to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Of course, all eyes are on the attendees outfits, with guests asked to adhere to that year’s dress code. And with the 2026 theme and dress code finally revealed, the internet is abuzz with talks of exactly which celebrities and industry insiders will take to the Met steps, and what incredible creations they will wear.
But did you know there’s a difference between the Met Gala theme and the Met Gala dress code? Allow us to explain.
What is the Met Gala theme?
The Met Gala theme sets the tone for the entire evening, and is derived from that year’s accompanying Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Most years, the Met Gala coincides with the opening of this exhibition.
In 2024, the theme was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” which, according to head curator Andrew Bolton, was all about exploring “nature as a metaphor for fashion and for its fragility and its ephemerality.” In keeping with this theme, the exhibition showcased around 250 pieces, many of which were too delicate to ever be worn again.
In 2025, the Met Gala honoured a new exhibition, titled “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” It took inspiration from Monica L Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which examines the figure of the Black dandy, from the 18th century until now.
This year, the Met Gala theme is centred upon the Costume Institute’s latest exhibition 'Costume Art', which also marks the opening of the new Condé M. Nast Galleries. Per the Met, the exhibition is dedicated to “the centrality of the dressed body”, as showcased across the museum's entire offering, from paintings to sculptures and objects from every curatorial deparment. The aim is to demonstrate that fashion has always been at the centre of art and, by extension, the Met.
What is the Met Gala dress code?
The dress code, on the other hand, is a way to interpret the theme of the exhibition more specifically. In 2024, for example, the theme was distilled into the dress code, ‘The Garden Of Time.’ While both were grounded in similar ideas of fleeting beauty, the dress code gave guests a more concrete means of visually interpreting this – giving rise to the likes of Zendaya’s melancholic flower look, and Tyla’s fleeting sand gown.
View this post on Instagram
This year, the Met Gala theme is 'Fashion is Art'. It makes the connection between fashion and art fairly explicit, and we're guessing will culminate in a variety of interpretations, from literal to perhaps more figurative. You can see how this year's guests interpret the dress code with our run down on the 2026 Met Gala red carpet.
