Met Gala mannequins

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will open its spring Costume Institute show, “Costume Art,” on May 10 with 25 new mannequins added to its permanent collection. (metmuseum.org) (aol.co.uk) The Met said the exhibition will feature nearly 400 objects and inaugurate the museum’s nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries. The annual Met Gala that funds the Costume Institute is scheduled for Monday, May 4, six days before the public opening. (metmuseum.org) (nytimes.com) Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator in charge, said the new mannequins were modeled on a wider range of real bodies instead of the size-2 forms long standard in fashion displays. CBS News reported the group includes figures based on pregnant, plus-size and short-stature bodies. (aol.co.uk) (cbsnews.com) That shift matches the exhibition’s premise: garments will be shown alongside artworks from across the museum to examine how fashion has represented the body over time. The Met said the show will focus primarily on Western art from prehistory to the present. (metmuseum.org) (artnews.com) The gala’s dress code is “Fashion Is Art,” a line the museum announced in February as part of the exhibition rollout. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams are listed as co-chairs for the 2026 event. (metmuseum.org) (vanityfair.com) The official livestream is set to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern on May 4. Vogue said Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne will host, with Emma Chamberlain returning as red-carpet correspondent. (vogue.com.au) (vogue.sg) The Met Gala is a fundraiser first and a red carpet second: the party underwrites the Costume Institute and serves as the exhibition’s opening-night launch. This year, the museum is using that spotlight to introduce new display forms that will remain in the collection after the show closes. (metmuseum.org) (aol.co.uk) When the doors open on May 10, the clothes will not just be new to visitors; the bodies wearing them will be new to the Met, too. (metmuseum.org) (aol.co.uk)