Met Gala 2026 creates stir with bold theme reveal

The countdown to fashion’s biggest night is officially on as the Met Gala 2026 theme has been revealed.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Costume Institute have exposed the theme for the upcoming Met Gala and the title of its annual exhibit is Costume Art.

The theme highlights a historic collaboration between the two museum divisions.

The 2026 exhibit will also celebrate the opening of the Met’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a nearly 12,000 square foot wing.

Inside, major artworks from different eras will be displayed alongside both historical and contemporary pieces from the costume Institute.

On November 17, Curator Andrew Bolton told Vogue, “It’s a huge moment for the Costume Institute.” 

He continued, “It will be transformative for our department, but I also think it’s going to be transformative to fashion more generally the fact that an art museum like The Met is actually giving a central location to fashion.”

Bolton explained that the exhibit will focus on the idea of the dressed body. As he put it, “what connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion.”

He added, “It’s the common thread throughout the whole museum,” noting that this realization sparked the entire concept. “Even the nude is never naked. It’s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas.”

As per the curator that the Costume Art exhibit explores how our bodies and clothes are connected, aiming to bring the body back into conversations about art and fashion, celebrating it as a key part of fashion rather than ignoring it to make fashion seem more high-end.

The dress code for the event, which will held on the first Monday in May, is still a secret but it will probably be different from 2025’s Tailored for You theme which focused on black style tailoring.