\n<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best Met Gala<\/a> theme of all time? It\u2019s a fun litmus test for anyone who loves fashion, art, and celebrities (or all of the above!)\u2014and a tough question indeed. The theme of the annual fundraising event<\/a> aligns with the yearly spring exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art\u2019s Costume Institute, and it informs the dress code. For the Met Gala 2026, the theme is \u201cCostume Art,\u201d<\/a> and the dress code is \u201cFashion is Art.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n So what can we expect to see from this year\u2019s attendees? Will it be naked dressing<\/a> all the way? Trompe l\u2019oeil looks, like Jean Paul Gaultier<\/a>\u2019s signature graphic bodycon dresses? Statuesque gowns? Tune in to Vogue<\/em>\u2019s exclusive red carpet livestream<\/a>, hosted by Ashley Graham, La La Anthony, and Cara Delevingne, plus returning red carpet correspondent Emma Chamberlain<\/a>, on Monday, May 4, to find out.<\/p>\n In the meantime, below, check out each year\u2019s Met Gala theme dating back to 1995, the first year that Anna Wintour became a chair of the event.<\/p>\n Hosted by co-chairs Beyonc\u00e9, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, this year\u2019s Met Gala celebrates the Costume Institute\u2019s spring 2026 exhibition, \u201cCostume Art.\u201d<\/a> The event\u2014which is a fundraiser for the Costume Institute\u2014will also inaugurate the new Cond\u00e9 M. Nast Galleries,<\/a> a nearly 12,000-square-foot space on the first floor of the museum, which will serve as the permanent home of the Costume Institute. This spring\u2019s exhibition will consider depictions of the dressed body from across the museum\u2019s curatorial departments, pairing art objects with garments.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s Met Gala was a celebration of the Costume Institute\u2019s spring 2025 exhibition \u201cSuperfine: Tailoring Black Style.\u201d It was organized by head curator Andrew Bolton with guest curator Monica Miller, professor and chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College and Columbia University and author of the prizewinning 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic<\/em> Identity.<\/em> Bolton referred to the 2022 death of legendary Black dandy and longtime Vogue<\/em> editor Andr\u00e9 Leon Talley as \u201cthe catalyst for the show,\u201d and several guests paid tribute to Talley with looks that explored the finer points of suiting and tailoring (all too apropos, given that the exhibition was the first since 2003 to focus exclusively on menswear<\/a>).<\/p>\n2026: \u201cCostume Art\u201d<\/h2>\n
2025: \u201cSuperfine: Tailoring Black Style\u201d<\/h2>\n