The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled the dress code for the 2026 Met Gala, and it is as bold as it is simple: "Fashion is Art."
Beyonce will co-chair the event alongside Nicole Kidman, tennis champion Venus Williams and Vogue's Anna Wintour. The host committee, chaired by designer Anthony Vaccarello and filmmaker Zoe Kravitz, features names from Sabrina Carpenter and Teyana Taylor to Angela Bassett and Misty Copeland. It is a lineup that spans music, film, sport and dance, a deliberate signal that this year's gala will blur every boundary between disciplines.
Andrew Bolton, curator of the Met's Costume Institute, says the accompanying exhibition, titled "Costume Art," will be the largest the institute has ever mounted. Nearly 400 objects will be on display, pairing 200 garments with 200 artworks drawn from across the museum's collection. "It's reversing what we've done before," Bolton explained. "Now we're looking at art through the lens of fashion."
The dress code has been chosen for maximum flexibility, giving attendees room to interpret the theme however they see fit. For Beyonce, making her eighth gala appearance, the stakes have never been higher. Every eye will be on the steps of the Met on May 4th.
What to Expect on the Red Carpet
If last year's gala is anything to go by, expect the unexpected. The 2025 event delivered some of the most memorable fashion moments in Met Gala history, from architectural haute couture to stripped-back minimalism that made just as much of a statement.
The exhibition will trace the dressed body across centuries, presenting fashion not just as decoration but as a fundamental form of artistic expression woven through human history. With "Fashion is Art" as the brief, May 4th is set to be the most creatively ambitious red carpet the Met has ever seen.