May 4 confirmed for Met Gala — 2026 theme set

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has set the 2026 Met Gala for Monday, May 4, with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour serving as co-chairs. (metmuseum.org) The gala will celebrate “Costume Art,” the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition at The Met Fifth Avenue. The show opens to the public on May 10, 2026, and runs through January 10, 2027. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) The dress code is “Fashion Is Art,” a line that matches the exhibition’s premise: pairing garments from the Costume Institute with artworks from across the museum’s collection. Curator Andrew Bolton said the show examines the connection between fashion, the body and artistic representation. (nbcnewyork.com) (metmuseum.org) The exhibition focuses primarily on Western art from prehistory to the present and sets fashion objects beside paintings, sculpture and other works from The Met’s holdings. The museum says those pairings range from formal and aesthetic links to political and symbolic ones. (metmuseum.org) The Met Gala is not just a red carpet; it is the Costume Institute Benefit, the department’s main annual fundraiser. The museum says the event provides the Costume Institute’s primary funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions and operations. (metmuseum.org) That structure helps explain why the gala is fixed to the museum calendar. The Costume Institute says the benefit is held annually on the first Monday in May to mark the opening of its spring exhibition. (metmuseum.org) For viewers, the arrivals stream will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern on Vogue’s digital platforms, including its website, YouTube and TikTok accounts. E! is also scheduled to carry live coverage from 6 to 9 p.m. Eastern. (nbcnewyork.com) NBC 4 New York said “New York Live” will air a special edition from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern on television, its streaming channel and its app. The Met’s main Fifth Avenue building will be closed on May 4, the day of the event. (nbcnewyork.com) (metmuseum.org) By May 4, the gala will again do what it does every year: turn a museum fundraiser into the opening act for a major fashion exhibition. In 2026, that exhibition is built around one idea The Met is making explicit in both its title and its dress code — costume as art. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2)