The Met Gala 2026 has unveiled its dress code “Fashion Is Art,” urging celebrities to transform fashion into wearable masterpieces as Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams lead the iconic event.
The Met Gala has officially revealed its much-anticipated 2026 dress code, announcing “Fashion Is Art” as the creative directive for this year’s global fashion spectacle.
Hosted once again by Vogue’s legendary editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, the annual fundraising gala — scheduled for the first Monday of May at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art — will revolve around the broader exhibition theme “Costume Art.”
According to Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, the concept aims to blur the boundaries between fashion design and fine art, encouraging celebrities and designers to treat the human body as a living canvas.
“The dressed body connects every gallery in the museum,” Bolton said, explaining that fashion serves as a universal artistic language across cultures and disciplines.
Star-studded leadership returns
The 2026 gala will feature an influential lineup of co-chairs, including global music icon Beyoncé, Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman and tennis legend Venus Williams — marking Beyoncé’s return to the Met Gala leadership after a decade.
The host committee will also include major fashion and entertainment names such as Zoë Kravitz, Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter and Teyana Taylor, among others.
Vogue’s next-generation leadership will also step forward, with editor Chloe Malle joining official hosting duties alongside Wintour.
Creativity over predictability
Despite strict thematic guidelines, Anna Wintour has previously revealed that organizers rarely know what attendees will actually wear until celebrities step onto the famous Met steps.
The new dress code invites designers to push boundaries — transforming garments into sculptural, conceptual and performance-driven art pieces rather than traditional red-carpet fashion.
Over the years, the Met Gala has produced unforgettable moments, from Kim Kardashian’s faceless Balenciaga look to dramatic appearances by Rihanna and theatrical transformations by Lady Gaga.
Fashion world prepares for May spectacle
With “Fashion Is Art” now confirmed, anticipation is building across the global fashion industry, where designers, stylists and celebrities are expected to reinterpret couture as museum-worthy expression.
As always, the Met Gala remains more than a red carpet — it is fashion’s most powerful intersection of celebrity, culture and artistic storytelling.
