Met Gala unveils 'Fashion Is Art' theme and names four co-chairs, including Anna Wintour, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams

The Met Gala is a fashion event, but the real object here is a museum show. That’s the part people often flatten. The 2026 exhibition is called “Costume Art.” The phrase “Fashion Is Art” is the dress code for the red carpet on Monday, May 4. And yes — the co-chairs are Anna Wintour, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams. ### So what actually got announced? The Metropolitan Museum of Art laid this out months ago, but it’s landing now because the gala is basically here. The Costume Institute benefit happens on Monday, May 4, 2026, and it marks the opening of the spring show. The museum also says the public exhibition itself runs May 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027. theme then? This is the part that’s getting muddled in a lot of coverage. The exhibition theme is “Costume Art.” The dress code is “Fashion Is Art.” Those are related, but they are not the same thing. Basically, one is the curatorial idea inside the museum, and the other is the prompt celebrities and designers use to build their looks for the carpet. ### What is “Costume Art” about? The show is built around the dressed body — how clothing and art talk to each other across the museum’s collection. The Met says it pairs garments from The Costume Institute with artworks from other departments to show the relationship between clothing, the body, and artistic representation. In plain English: not just “fashion inspired by art,” but fashion treated as part of a bigger visual history. ### Why do the co-chairs matter so much? Because the Met Gala is half fundraiser, half global image machine. Anna Wintour is the institutional constant. Beyoncé is the headline-grabber here — she hasn’t attended since 2016, so her return alone changes the temperature around the night. Nicole Kidman brings old-Hollywood prestige. Venus Williams brings sports-world stature and a real fashion presence of her own. ### Is this just a red carpet stunt? Not really — or at least not only that. The Met says the gala is the Costume Institute’s primary source of funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, and operations. So the celebrity spectacle is doing a very practical job. The wild outfits are the marketing layer on top of a serious museum fundraiser. The catch is that 2026 is also tied to a physical reset inside the museum. The spring exhibition program says “Costume Art” will inaugurate a new suite of galleries