Met Gala set for May 4

The 2026 Met Gala is scheduled for Monday, May 4, with a show built around “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (metmuseum.org) The museum said the gala will open the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition, which runs from May 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027. The Met also said the gala’s dress code is “Fashion is Art.” (metmuseum.org) Vogue Scandinavia reported that Beyoncé and Nicole Kidman will serve as co-chairs alongside Anna Wintour. The Met’s February announcement detailed the date, exhibition and dress code, but the co-chair names in the user’s prompt come from Vogue Scandinavia’s preview coverage. (voguescandinavia.com) (metmuseum.org) “Costume Art” pairs garments with paintings, sculpture and other objects from across The Met’s holdings to show how the dressed body appears in art. The Met said the exhibition will include nearly 400 objects from its collection. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) The show also marks the opening of the museum’s nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries, a new permanent home for Costume Institute exhibitions near the Great Hall. Curator Andrew Bolton told Vogue Scandinavia the move gives fashion a more central place inside the museum. (metmuseum.org) (voguescandinavia.com) That setting matters to the gala because the fundraiser underwrites the Costume Institute’s work. The Met says the benefit is the department’s primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations and capital improvements. (metmuseum.org) The Costume Institute is one of the museum’s largest fashion collections, with more than 33,000 objects spanning seven centuries. The department began as the Museum of Costume Art in 1937 before merging with The Met in 1946. (metmuseum.org) The gala itself follows a fixed rhythm: The Met says it is held each year on the first Monday in May to mark the opening of the spring Costume Institute show. In 2026, that first Monday falls on May 4. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) So the next big checkpoint is May 4, when the red carpet will preview how guests interpret “Fashion is Art” before “Costume Art” opens to the public six days later. (metmuseum.org) (voguescandinavia.com)