The Met Gala returns Monday May 4 with the theme Costume Art and a dress code described by the Costume Institute as Fashion Is Art. The 2026 exhibition pairs 200 fashion garments with 200 art objects from the Met's collection, drawing direct lines between specific paintings, sculptures, and the garments they inspired or echoed. The show opens to the public May 10 and runs through January 10 of next year. Tickets to the gala start at 75,000 dollars per individual seat with full tables priced at 350,000.
Anna Wintour returns as chair for what will be her thirty-second year hosting the event. The four named co-chairs for 2026 are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and the actor Riz Ahmed, though Vogue confirmed Monday that the official co-chair list will include two additional names announced Tuesday. The lineup leans more global than recent editions, with several international figures expected to appear on the Met steps as featured arrivals. Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are expected to attend, fresh off their Hamptons wedding last summer.
The dress code is the most flexible the Met has issued in five years. Past dress codes like Garden of Time and Sleeping Beauties pushed designers into specific aesthetic boxes. Fashion Is Art lets designers and their celebrity guests choose any art movement as inspiration, which means the carpet will likely include Renaissance, art deco, surrealism, Afro-futurism, abstract expressionism, and contemporary collaborations all in the same evening. Stylists I have spoken to over the past two weeks say the freedom is both a gift and a stress because there is no single safe lane.
The exhibition itself is built on a clean curatorial idea. Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's curator-in-charge, told The New York Times last week that the show traces specific lines of influence. A Yves Saint Laurent Mondrian dress sits next to the Mondrian painting that inspired it. A Schiaparelli gown collaborated on with Salvador Dali sits next to Dali's drawings. The Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama collaboration will get its own gallery. The format pushes back on the older idea that fashion is downstream of art and instead presents the two as in conversation.
The list of confirmed designers dressing celebrities Monday night is substantial. Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli is dressing four high-profile guests. Pieter Mulier at Alaia has at least three on his list. Nicolas Ghesquiere at Louis Vuitton is dressing two of the co-chairs. Matthieu Blazy at Chanel will make his debut at the Gala in his new role after taking over from Virginie Viard last year. Telfar Clemens has confirmed two looks for guests on the carpet, his second appearance in the Gala's celebrity rotation.
The Black designers on the schedule are worth tracking specifically. Olivier Rousteing at Balmain has historically dressed several major celebrities for the Gala and the early reporting from WWD suggests he will dress at least one Costume Institute trustee this year. Sergio Hudson is dressing two American actresses. LaQuan Smith is reportedly dressing one of the co-chairs. Christopher John Rogers is back on the carpet after a three-year stretch focused on his ready-to-wear business. The Black designer presence on the steps has grown steadily since 2018.
Nashville does not have a long history at the Gala but the country music presence has crept up. Lainey Wilson has been invited for the first time. Chris Stapleton has reportedly turned down an invitation to attend this year due to a tour conflict. Kacey Musgraves has been a regular guest since 2018. The expansion of country into mainstream pop culture has translated into more crossover invitations. Nashville-based designer Manuel, who has dressed Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton across his sixty-year career, is contributing a single suit to the exhibition.
For the audience watching from home, Vogue's livestream begins at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on May 4 with co-hosts Emma Chamberlain, Gwendoline Christie, and La La Anthony. The full carpet runs roughly two and a half hours. The first arrivals typically come at 5:30 with the major names hitting the carpet between 6:30 and 7:30 to maximize fashion press attention. Doors close at 8 p.m. when the dinner begins inside. The exhibition opens to public ticketing May 10 with timed entry beginning at 10 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends.