The 2026 Met Gala dress code has just been revealed, and it invites a lot of imagination.
On Monday, May 4, attendees will celebrate “Costume Art,” the spring exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. But what will they wear? We have at least a direction: the dress code for this year is “Fashion is Art.”
This directive neatly captures the spirit of Costume Art, which examines the central role of the dressed body by exploring how the human form is depicted and interpreted across the Met’s vast collection. The exhibition, featuring nearly 400 objects, will be staged in the Met’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries beside the Great Hall. It pairs garments from the Costume Institute with paintings, sculptures, and other works spanning roughly 5,000 years of art history, encouraging guests to ponder the many ways designers use the body as a blank canvas.
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“What ties every curatorial department together—and what connects every gallery in the museum—is fashion, or the dressed body,” said Andrew Bolton, the head curator of the Costume Institute. “That’s the common thread running through the entire museum, and it was the original concept behind the exhibition.”
Image credit: (L) Paul Westlake, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Suit by Glenn Martens (Belgian, b. 1983) for Y/Project (French label founded 2010), fall/winter 2022–23; Gift of Y/PROJECT ARCHIVES, 2025 (2025.854.10a–c, f–g). (R) Paul Westlake, marble statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a fillet around his head), Roman, 1st–2nd century CE; Gift of Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson, 1903 (03.12.8a).
So who might turn up in their most artful form at the Met? While the full guest list is kept tightly under wraps until the first Monday in May, a number of high-profile names are known to be in the mix.
As previously announced, the 2026 Met Gala co-chairs are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. The Gala Host Committee is co-chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, and includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, LISA, Chloe Malle, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Lauren Wasser, Anna Weyant, A’ja Wilson, and Yseult.
Joining the host committee are Adut Akech, Angela Bassett, Sinéad Burke, Rebecca Hall, Aimee Mullins, Tschabalala Self, Amy Sherald, and Chase Sui Wonders. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos will serve as honorary chairs as lead sponsors for the gala and exhibition.
If any attendee could use a head start, we’ve already gathered some dress-code‑friendly ideas for Met Gala Monday. In the meantime, we’re excited to see how guests interpret the theme with their ensembles.
This story originally appeared on Vogue.com
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