Met Gala 2026 Theme 'Costume Art' Explained

The fashion world woke up buzzing, because it’s that moment of the year when the Costume Institute finally lifts the curtain on the next Met Gala theme. After the blockbuster success of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” — a night that saw Zendaya, Rihanna, Lauryn Hill, and Teyana Taylor dominate the steps — expectations for 2026 couldn’t be higher. And now the suspense is over.

The Met Gala 2026 theme is 'Costume Art'

Unveiled by Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton and Anna Wintour, the theme, “Costume Art”, marks a major milestone for the museum with the inauguration of the Condé M. Nast Galleries, a vast 12,000-square-foot permanent space adjoining The Met’s Great Hall. The accompanying exhibition aims to celebrate fashion not just as clothing, but as an artistic dialogue with the human body itself.

What does 'Costume Art' mean?

While previous Met Gala themes have often been accompanied by lengthy subtitles or conceptual sub-themes, Bolton is stripping things down this year. Quite literally, the name stands boldly on its own.

In conversation with Vogue, Bolton explained that Costume Art examines "the centrality of the dressed body in the museum's vast collection." Visitors will see garments, both historic and contemporary, placed alongside sculptures, paintings, and artefacts spanning 5,000 years.

He further noted, "What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body… Even the nude is never naked. It's always inscribed with cultural values and ideas."

The exhibition will explore how our bodies shape the meaning of what we wear and how clothing, in turn, transforms the body. Bolton describes this relationship as inseparable, adding that fashion holds "an edge on art because it is about one’s lived, embodied experience."

When is the 2026 Met Gala?

As always, fashion's biggest night takes place on the first Monday of May — which falls on May 4, 2026. By then, the Met will have transformed once again under a massive tent as celebrities, designers, and cultural icons ascend the famed staircase.

What to expect

If the theme is anything to go by, we can expect to see body-focused silhouettes, couture pieces that blur the line between fashion and sculpture, and avant-garde interpretations of the human form. While the Met Gala 2026 dress code is still under wraps, designers are set to push boundaries, creating works that exist somewhere between wearable art and museum-worthy objects.

With Costume Art, the 2026 Met Gala promises a night where fashion meets fine art and where every attendee becomes a living exhibit.