As the first Monday in May veers ever closer, the Met Gala has announced its official theme and dress code for 2026: “Fashion Is Art,” a concept that positions fashion where it truly belongs, not merely alongside art but as art itself. The reveal, shared on Instagram by Vogue and supported by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ties directly to the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition titled “Costume Art.”
At its core, the theme invites guests to rethink how clothing functions as a cultural and visual medium. Rather than asking whether fashion can be art, the theme assumes it already is and urges attendees to treat the dressed body as a central artistic subject. Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute, has described the exhibition as exploring “the centrality of the dressed body in the museum’s vast collection,” a connective thread that runs through galleries spanning thousands of years and countless media.
The open-ended dress code gives designers and celebrities broad latitude to interpret the theme, with early previews hinting at potential inspiration from painting, sculpture, art history movements, and conceptual approaches that blur the line between haute couture and fine art.
This edition of the Gala arrives as the Costume Institute prepares to open a significant new gallery space adjacent to the Great Hall, cementing fashion’s role as a permanent and central part of The Met’s narrative. Expect an especially visually rich red carpet, where garments become statements and the body itself becomes part of the artwork.
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