New York — Fashion lovers have already known this: “Fashion is art.” But how will Met Gala guests interpret this dress code at this year’s extravaganza?
Last year’s theme, ‘Designed for You’, brought out a lot of great suits; This year promises to produce some truly glamorous outfits as guests climb the famous carpeted steps on May 4th. As always, the dress code is inspired by the spring exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The Art of Fashion will bring together approximately 200 pieces of art and 200 clothing items to highlight the relationship between fashion and art over the centuries.
Here are some key things to know as fashion’s biggest night approaches:
When is the Met Gala?
As always, the first Monday in May. (May 4, 2026)
What exactly is the Met Gala?
It’s a fundraiser for the Costume Institute, the Met’s only self-funding department — and it’s a huge campaign. Last year’s evening grossed a record amount of more than $31 million.
What is the theme of the Met Gala 2026?
The theme of the 2026 Met Gala and the museum’s concurrent spring 2026 exhibition is “The Art of Fashion,” a theme intended to “celebrate fashion as an art form” according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Met Costume Institute.
“Focusing primarily on Western art from prehistory to the present, the art of fashion will be organized into a series of thematic object types that reflect its ubiquity and endurance across time and space,” the Metropolitan Museum said in a Nov. 17 press release about the exhibition.
The statement continued: “These comparisons will shed light on the inextricable relationship between clothes and the body, and reveal that the artistic representation of the body is shaped by the clothes it wears, and that clothes, in turn, are shaped by the bodies they cover.”
Who is hosting?
None other than familiar party guest Beyoncé is the co-chair, and she’s joined by Nicole Kidman, tennis champion Venus Williams, and the person who runs it all, Vogue’s Anna Wintour. There’s also a “host panel” headed up by designer Anthony Vaccarello and director Zoë Kravitz, and featuring names from Sabrina Carpenter and Teyana Taylor to Lena Dunham and Misty Copeland.
But the names that sparked the most discussion are…
“The exhibition and benefit are made possible thanks to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos,” a February Metro Museum press release said. We tried, but the museum doesn’t say how much the Amazon founder and his wife, as major sponsors and honorary chairs, contributed. The protest against their participation came from an activist group called Everybody Hates Elon, which posted a video on Instagram of members hacking subway display windows to spread anti-billionaire messages.
Who wouldn’t be there?
New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani, who took office on a platform of affordability, told local news outlet Hillgate that he would not attend. Former New York mayors attending the conference included Eric Adams, who wore a tuxedo with the phrase “End Gun Violence” written on the back in 2022.
Is there anything new this year?
Yes, new digs The Art of Fashion will open the Conde M. Nast Gallery, created from what was formerly the museum’s retail store and occupying approximately 12,000 square feet (1,115 square meters) off the museum’s Great Hall.
Aside from giving the costumes more display space, this means that party guests can now easily wander between the show and dinner in the Temple of Dendur. In a more sustainable way, this will prevent squiggly lines elsewhere in the museum once the display opens to the public on May 10.
Even the models are new
Fashion models on display in a room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala’s “The Art of Fashion” exhibition (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Despite the importance of classical body shapes throughout art history, curator Andrew Bolton has made sure there is an element of body positivity in his exhibition, with sections on body types that have long been ignored in art: the fat body, for example, and the disabled body. It has added 25 new models that reflect these body types. Nine real people – including disability activist Sinead Burke and musician Ysol – allowed their bodies to be digitally scanned for the mannequins, which will also hold mirror-like polished steel surfaces so viewers can see themselves.
How long has this been happening?
The Met Gala began in 1948 as a midnight dinner party for Manhattan society — held at venues as diverse as the Waldorf Astoria and the Rainbow Ballroom. It took many years before it turned into a global event and one of the most starry nights of the year.
Can anyone buy a ticket to the Met Gala?
No, you have to be rich, famous or powerful enough to be invited.
If I had one, how much would it cost?
Individual tickets are priced at $100,000, and prices for a table of 10 start at $350,000. There will be approximately 400 guests in total.
How do the guests spend the evening?
After the carpet, guests enter the museum, check in (and stick stickers on their phone cameras!) and walk past a huge flower arrangement in the museum lobby. Often there is an orchestra playing.
Met Gala 2025: Stars hit the blue carpet
Joelle Gargiulo spoke with attendees as they headed to the concert in New York City.
After arriving at the receiving line, everyone heads to either the cocktail party or the expo. Then to dinner. By the main course, most of the late guests had made it through, but not all of them. Some even wait for dessert.
Then again, sometimes, you’ll see a guest or two leaving before dinner even starts. They must have a really cool party to attend.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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