Met Gala preview

The Met Gala returns on Monday, May 4, with an exhibition built around the idea that fashion belongs in the same conversation as art. (metmuseum.org) The Metropolitan Museum of Art says the 2026 Costume Institute show is titled “Costume Art,” while the gala dress code is “Fashion Is Art.” The museum lists Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams as celebrity co-chairs alongside honorary chair Jeff Bezos and co-host Lauren Sánchez Bezos. (metmuseum.org) The fundraiser takes place at the Met on May 4, and the exhibition opens to the public on May 10 before running through January 10, 2027. The museum said the show will pair garments with works from across its collection to examine “the centrality of the dressed body.” (metmuseum.org) This year’s setup also marks the debut of the Costume Institute’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a nearly 12,000-square-foot permanent space inside the museum. ArtNet reported the 2026 show is the first exhibition to open in those new galleries. (metmuseum.org) (artnet.com) The framing is broader than a red-carpet theme. Curator Andrew Bolton said the exhibition is organized around body types and uses art-and-fashion pairings to show how clothing and the body have been represented across time. (metmuseum.org) (artnet.com) That idea shows up in the mannequins too. Associated Press reporting published by ABC News said the exhibition will use 25 new mannequins modeled on real people and more varied body shapes, instead of relying on the size-2 forms common in fashion displays. (abcnews.com) The red carpet will also be built for a much larger audience than the guests inside. Vogue’s official livestream starts at 6 p.m. Eastern on May 4, with Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne hosting and Emma Chamberlain returning as red-carpet correspondent. (vogue.com.au) (abcnews.com) The event remains one of fashion’s most exclusive fundraisers. Indulge Express reported individual tickets are priced at about $100,000, a figure that underscores how much of the night’s reach now comes from the livestream and the exhibition that follows. (indulgexpress.com) By the time guests climb the Met steps on May 4, the preview is already clear: the museum is using its biggest fashion night to open a new gallery, widen the bodies seen in its displays, and argue that clothes belong on the museum wall as much as on the carpet. (metmuseum.org) (abcnews.com)