Fashion’s glitziest night finally has its next muse! The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the 2026 Met Gala theme, and it’s going delightfully introspective. Mark 4 May in your calendar because “Costume Art” is the chosen theme, celebrating the blurred line between what we wear and what we call art.
The name might sound a bit self-referential (fashion examining fashion? Groundbreaking), but it’s a major moment for the Met. This year’s gala coincides with the unveiling of the museum’s brand new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries — the Costume Institute’s shiny permanent home. It’s like fashion finally got the keys to the big house.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala, officially the Costume Institute Benefit, is fashion’s equivalent to the Olympics, if the Olympics were run by Anna Wintour and every event ended up on Instagram.
Held every year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it raises serious cash for the Costume Institute and opens its annual exhibition. Singles tickets can reportedly fetch US$75,000 and a table sets you back a cool $350,000. Designers and brands buy these spots, inviting their muses to wear outfits that reinterpret (or sometimes completely ignore) the night’s theme.
Met Gala theme vs dress code: what’s the difference?
For anyone still confused: the Met Gala theme inspires the exhibition inside the museum — this year it’s “Costume Art” — but the dress code is a more specific prompt for what people actually wear. As Andrew Bolton puts it in the Vogue announcement, the theme “addresses the centrality of the dressed body in the museum’s vast collection”, focussing on how fashion and art intersect in the most literal way: they both need bodies to exist.
The dress code, which usually drops after the theme, gives all those A-listers a more pointed instruction for their red carpet looks. Think of the theme as the theory, and the dress code as the practice. The curators come up with the concept; the celebs come up with, well, content.
What is the 2026 Met Gala theme?
So, what exactly does “Costume Art” mean? According to Bolton, it is “what connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body”.
“It’s the common thread throughout the whole museum, which is really what the initial idea for the exhibition was, this epiphany… the dressed body is front and centre in every gallery you come across,” he continued.
And get ready for a bit of a mind-bender on the exhibition floor: “I’ve always wanted to try to bridge the gap between the viewer and the mannequin,” Bolton explained, describing the mirrored faces on mannequins designed for the showcase. This creative decision is meant to “facilitate empathy and compassion”. So if you end up feeling seen by a mannequin, blame Bolton.
At a press conference, he went further: “’Costume Art’ is a celebration of the body in all of its strengths and weaknesses; its resiliencies and continuities; its perfections, its imperfections, its idiosyncrasies and commonalities; and, above all, its sublime beauty, its wondrous complexity and its glorious and miraculous diversity.”
What will the 2026 Met Gala dress code look like?
As of now, the official 2026 dress code is TBA. Bolton hints that the exhibition’s theme — centred on the “indivisible connection between our bodies and the clothes we wear” — might mean that fashion’s relationship to the body itself will take centre stage. Expect guests to interpret that through sculptural looks, sheer layers, and creative constructions.
Considering the theme, don’t be surprised if mirrored or anatomical designs make a red carpet splash, or if some attendees lean into historical or surreal references for maximum editorial effect.
Who will host the 2026 Met Gala?
Hosts for the 2026 Met Gala are still under wraps. Historically, the event taps those who can straddle the line between high fashion and high art — think actors, designers or artists with a flair for mind-bending looks or powerful statements.
With “Costume Art” as the guiding brief, there’s a good chance the chosen hosts will know a thing or two about using clothes as a canvas.
So there you have it: the 2026 Met Gala is set to deliver high-concept looks and I’m sure some high drama, and classic carpet chaos — just the way we like it.
Lead image: Getty images
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