The Met Gala returns Monday night to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, bringing together celebrities, designers and major donors for the annual Costume Institute fundraiser and one of fashion’s most watched red carpets.
This year’s gala centers on the museum’s spring 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art,” with a dress code titled “Fashion is Art.” The theme gives guests broad room to interpret clothing as an art form, while tying the evening to an exhibition that pairs garments with art objects and depictions of the dressed body across art history.
Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour are co-chairing the gala, according to previews of the event. Zoë Kravitz and Anthony Vaccarello are co-chairing the host committee, which also includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Misty Copeland, Teyana Taylor, Gwendoline Christie, Sam Smith and Angela Bassett.
A fundraiser wrapped in spectacle
The Met Gala is held on the first Monday in May and supports the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Its influence reaches well beyond the museum: the event functions as an invite-only fundraiser, a celebrity gathering and a live fashion showcase watched closely by fans, brands and the entertainment industry.
Last year’s gala raised a record $31 million before the associated exhibition opened, NPR reported. The fundraising figure underscores why the gala matters to the museum even as much of the public attention focuses on arrivals, styling and how closely guests follow the dress code.
The 2026 exhibition will open to gala attendees Monday night and to the public on May 10. NPR reported that “Costume Art” will be the first exhibition in the Met’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries, which will house the Costume Institute’s annual spring shows as well as exhibitions from other departments.
What the theme asks of guests
The museum says the “Fashion is Art” dress code invites guests to express their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form and to celebrate representations of the dressed body through art history. The exhibition includes about 400 garments, accessories and artworks and is organized around categories of body type, including “the pregnant body,” according to the Met account cited in NPR’s preview.
As with every Met Gala, the dress code is a prompt rather than a uniform. This year’s wording appears especially open-ended, with no single period, color palette or narrow aesthetic built into the phrase. That leaves designers and guests to decide whether to respond through references to painting, sculpture, museum practice, the body, fashion history or more personal interpretations.
How to watch
Vogue is scheduled to carry the official 2026 Met Gala livestream starting at 6 p.m. Eastern, or 3 p.m. Pacific, on vogue.com and its digital platforms, including YouTube and TikTok. Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne are set to host the red-carpet livestream, with Emma Chamberlain returning as special red-carpet correspondent.
The guest list is never fully revealed in advance, but the gala’s co-chairs and host committee point to another celebrity-heavy evening. CBS described the event as fashion’s “Super Bowl,” with Hollywood stars expected at the museum Monday night.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are honorary chairs and lead sponsors of the gala, a role that NPR reported has prompted an activist group to call for a boycott. The extent of any protest or disruption remained unclear in the available previews, leaving the red carpet, the exhibition debut and the public response as the main points to watch as the night unfolds.
نظرات (0)