Met Gala set for May 4, Costume Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will stage the 2026 Met Gala on Monday, May 4, as the opening-night benefit for its spring Costume Institute exhibition, “Costume Art.” (metmuseum.org) The Met says the exhibition itself opens to the public on May 10, 2026, and will inaugurate the museum’s nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries beside the Great Hall. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) “Costume Art” pairs garments from the Costume Institute with objects from across the museum to show how clothing and the body have been depicted in art from prehistory to the present. The Met says the show focuses primarily on Western art. (metmuseum.org) NBC New York reported the 2026 gala’s dress code as “Fashion Is Art,” with arrivals expected on the museum steps before the dinner and exhibition preview inside. (nbcnewyork.com) The exhibition will include about 200 garments and about 200 art objects, according to NBC New York’s preview of the show. That format turns the gala’s usual red-carpet spectacle into a direct advertisement for a museum exhibition with a fixed opening date and ticketed member previews. (nbcnewyork.com) (metmuseum.org) The Met says the Costume Institute Benefit is the department’s primary source of funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, and operations. That makes the gala both a fundraiser and the public launch of the institute’s most visible annual show. (metmuseum.org) The museum has also posted member preview access beginning May 5, with timed tickets released on April 27 at noon Eastern time. The Met Fifth Avenue says it will be closed on Monday, May 4, the day of the gala. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) (metmuseum.org 3) The first Monday in May is now fixed enough that the Met describes the gala as an annual tradition, but the 2026 edition adds a new gallery suite and a show built around fashion’s relationship to the rest of the museum’s collection. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) So the May 4 gala is not just a celebrity guest list. It is the opening move for a May 10 exhibition that gives fashion a larger permanent footprint inside the Met. (metmuseum.org)