The 2026 Met Gala has officially announced its dress code: “Fashion Is Art.”
Taking place on Monday 4th May, the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute will celebrate the spring exhibition, “Costume Art.” The theme, curated by Andrew Bolton, explores “the centrality of the dressed body in the museum’s vast collection,” placing the corporeal form at the heart of fashion’s dialogue with art history.
While the exhibition focuses on the body as subject and canvas, the evening’s dress code invites broader interpretation. “Fashion Is Art” encourages guests to approach dressing as creative expression, blurring the boundaries between garment and artwork, and transforming the red carpet into a living gallery.
This year’s co-chairs include Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. The Gala Host Committee, co-chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, features a cross-industry lineup including Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, LISA, Chloe Malle, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Lauren Wasser, Anna Weyant, A’ja Wilson, and Yseult.
With designers historically translating paintings, sculpture, performance and installation into wearable statements, the 2026 red carpet is poised to become a dynamic extension of the gallery itself, where fashion does not simply reference art, but embodies it. What are your interpretations on the theme?
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Vogue Magazine
