Everything we know so far about the Met Gala 2026

Fashion’s most-watched night is almost here, with the 2026 Met Gala set to return on Monday (May 4) at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Held annually on the first Monday in May, the event serves as a fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, while doubling as one of the most scrutinised celebrity red carpets in the world.

This year’s gala will celebrate the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Costume Art,” with the official dress code titled “Fashion Is Art.”

The broad brief has already sparked debate online, with some fashion fans praising its limitless creative possibilities and others criticising it as too vague for an event known for sharp thematic storytelling.

As always, Anna Wintour will oversee the evening, joined by co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams.

The accompanying exhibition will open in the Met’s newly expanded Condé Nast Galleries and feature more than 400 garments, paintings and sculptures exploring the “dressed body” across centuries of art history.

Tickets are reportedly priced at around $75,000 per guest, though most seats are purchased by luxury fashion houses that invite celebrities to represent their brands on the carpet.

While the guest list remains secret, anticipation is already building over which stars will deliver the night’s standout interpretations — and which will ignore the theme entirely.