What Is Going On With 2026's Met Gala Theme?

Monday, May 4, is the Met Gala, which means there’s not much time left to nail your understanding of this year’s theme so we can all be informed fashion critics while we scroll through red carpet photos from our couches.

The theme of the 2026 Met Gala is “Costume Art,” and celebrities attending the prestigious event will be following the dress code “fashion is art.” But what does any of this mean?

“Costume Art” is the title of the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition, which will be on show in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s soon-to-be-opened Condé M. Nast Galleries. The “Costume Art” exhibit will “examine the centrality of the dressed body,” according to a press release from the museum, by interspersing garments and artwork “to create pairings that not only illuminate the indivisible connection between clothing and the body but also the complex interplay between artistic representations of the body and fashion as an embodied art form.”

Thanks to the “fashion is art” dress code, Met Gala guests will have a chance to show off a variety of interpretations that examine fashion’s relationship with art. We’re hoping this leads to some outside-the-box interpretations of the theme.

As for who will be tackling this theme and dress code, the Met Gala guest list is a closely guarded secret, but we do know a couple of attendees.

The co-chairs for the 2026 Met Gala are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. The Gala Host Committee is co-chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz and includes 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.

Also on the host committee are Adut Akech, Angela Bassett, Sinéad Burke, Rebecca Hall, Aimee Mullins, Tschabalala Self, Amy Sherald, and Chase Sui Wonders. This year’s lead sponsors for the gala and exhibition, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, will also serve as honorary chairs.