April 30, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET
Wondering what the stars will wear to the 2026 Met Gala? Look no further than the ritzy event’s theme and dress code.
Perhaps unbeknownst to the casual observer of the annual parade of head-turning red carpet looks, the Met Gala typically has two separate principles guiding the evening’s festivities: a theme, which draws from the exhibition’s title, and a dress code that provides further direction for attendees and their stylists.
The New York City event’s 2026 theme is “Costume Art,” and the dress code is “fashion is art.” While it remains to be seen how these will be interpreted on the grand steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art this year – or if invitees will even heed the suggestions – what we do know is how museum leaders have described the arguably vague concepts.
Here’s what the 2026 Met Gala’s theme and dress code mean.
Met Gala 2026 theme tied to new exhibition exploring ‘the dressed body’
This year’s Met Gala, which raises money to fund the Met’s Costume Institute and other museum activities, celebrates the 2026 exhibition “Costume Art.” The show also ushers in a new era for the Upper East Side museum, which is opening a new area next to the Great Hall, where the annual spring exhibition will be displayed: the Condé M. Nast Galleries.
“Costume Art” will “examine the centrality of the dressed body” 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 artform.”
The exhibition will “highlight The Met’s unique ability to position fashion within the context of more than 5,000 years of art represented in its collection,” Max Hollein, the Met’s director and CEO, explained in a press release.
The exhibition will be on view from May 10, 2026, through Jan. 10, 2027.
Met Gala 2026 dress code encourages attendees to draw from art history
The Met Gala’s dress code, “fashion is art,” provides hardly more information than the theme. According to the museum, the code invites guests “to express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form and celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history.”
When is the 2026 Met Gala?
The benefit takes place the first Monday in May each year. In 2026, the Met Gala falls on Monday, May 4.