Met Gala May 4 theme revealed

The 2026 Met Gala will be held on Monday, May 4, and its official exhibition theme is “Costume Art.” (metmuseum.org) The Metropolitan Museum of Art said the gala will celebrate the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 show, which opens to the public on May 10. The dress code for guests is “Fashion Is Art.” (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) The exhibition will pair historical and contemporary garments with artworks from across The Met’s collection to show how clothing shapes the way the body is seen. The museum said the show spans material from prehistory to the present. (metmuseum.org) The show will be the first Costume Institute exhibition installed in The Met’s new nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé Nast Galleries, adjacent to the Great Hall. Member preview days begin May 5. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) The Met says “Costume Art” focuses primarily on Western art and presents garments alongside paintings, sculpture, photographs, and decorative objects from other departments. The pairings are meant to range from formal and aesthetic links to political and symbolic ones. (metmuseum.org) The museum announced the gala’s co-chairs as Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with artist Jordan Casteel, actor Colman Domingo, and filmmaker Sofia Coppola joining the host committee. (metmuseum.org) The Met Gala is the Costume Institute’s annual benefit, and the museum closes its Fifth Avenue building to the public on gala day. On The Met’s visitor page, the museum lists The Met Fifth Avenue as closed on Monday, May 4. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) This year’s framing is broader than a single designer or period show: it treats fashion as part of the museum’s wider art collection, not just a separate fashion-history event. On May 4, that museum argument becomes the red carpet brief. (metmuseum.org) (metmuseum.org)