Met Gala buzz: Zendaya and sponsors
Early Met Gala 2026 chatter says the theme is being discussed as ‘Fashion Is Art’ with Zendaya expected to be a central focus on the carpet, and reports name Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos as lead sponsors and honorary chairs for the event. (cheatsheet.com) (shefinds.com)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has set the 2026 Met Gala for Monday, May 4, with a dress code of “Fashion is Art” and Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos as lead sponsors and honorary chairs. (metmuseum.org) The official exhibition is called “Costume Art,” and it opens May 10, 2026, at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York. The museum said the show will feature nearly 400 objects and pair garments with artworks to examine “the dressed body” across art history. (metmuseum.org) The gala itself will be co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz listed as co-chairs of the host committee. The committee also includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Lisa, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, A’ja Wilson, and other figures from fashion, music, film, and sports. (metmuseum.org) The museum described “Fashion is Art” as an invitation for guests to show their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form. On the exhibition side, The Met said the show will connect clothing to paintings, sculpture, and other objects from its collection, mostly through Western art from prehistory to the present. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) Bezos and Sánchez Bezos are not just attached to the party. The Met said their support also makes the “Costume Art” exhibition possible, and the show will inaugurate the museum’s new nearly 12,000-square-foot galleries next to the Great Hall. (metmuseum.org 1) (metmuseum.org 2) That sponsor arrangement marks a visible change from 2025, when Louis Vuitton was named as the exhibition and benefit sponsor for “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” In 2026, the lead-sponsor role is tied instead to Bezos and Sánchez Bezos, with Condé Nast and Saint Laurent also named in coverage of the event. (metmuseum.org) (wmagazine.com) Zendaya has not been formally announced by The Met as a 2026 chair or host-committee member, but her name is circulating because she has become one of the gala’s biggest red-carpet draws. W Magazine noted that her 2024 return as a co-chair “nearly shut down the red carpet,” and it also tracked her 2025 appearance in a white Louis Vuitton look for “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” (wmagazine.com) So the confirmed 2026 picture is narrower than some of the chatter: the exhibition is “Costume Art,” the dress code is “Fashion is Art,” the date is May 4, and Bezos and Sánchez Bezos are official honorary chairs and lead sponsors. The rest of the buzz, including who dominates the carpet, will be settled on the museum steps. (metmuseum.org)
