‘Fashion is Art’ will be the theme of the 2026 MET Gala

The first Monday in May now has an official “uniform” — although at the Met, uniforms are always relative — and the 2026 Met Gala arrives with a dress code that leaves no room for half measures: “Fashion is Art”. In practice, this means that the red carpet becomes another room in the museum and that anyone climbing the steps of the Met cannot simply pose, but must show off with intention. It is not enough to look spectacular; you have to convey that the look could be perfectly integrated into the museum’s collection.

All this is happening as part of the opening of “Costume Art”, the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition analyses how clothing has been key to the representation of the body throughout history and brings together some 400 pieces that connect fashion, painting and sculpture in a journey spanning approximately 5,000 years. More than a succession of pieces, it proposes to understand how all these disciplines intersect.

This idea ties in directly with what Andrew Bolton, chief curator of the Costume Institute, advocates when he talks about the clothed body as the common thread linking the museum’s collections. If clothing is the common ground between eras and disciplines, it makes sense for the red carpet to function as an extension of the exhibition. Each guest will have to interpret their relationship with fashion and turn it into something visible and coherent, not just eye-catching.

As for the names, the gala will feature Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour as co-hosts, and an organising committee co-chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz. This combination promises an evening of solid proposals, measured risk-taking and, surely, more than one moment destined to generate conversation.

At its core, the proposal is simple to understand. The body is presented as a creative starting point and not just as a support for clothing. Designers work on the silhouette almost as if they were constructing a sculpture or a painting, integrating fashion into the same artistic language. In this context, the question is no longer who will be best dressed, but who will manage to become a work of art for one night. Because if there is one thing that defines this edition, it is that it is not just about standing out, but about understanding the theme and exhibiting it with meaning.