The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has just announced the dress code for its next Met Gala, tying in with the theme for its upcoming exhibition, "Costume Art".
While the exhibition will explore the close relationship between fashion and fine art, guests - including co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams - will be dressing to a similarly inspirational dress code.
The Met Gala dress code for this year is "Fashion is Art", which links directly with the theme and the thesis statement that "What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body", as Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the exhibition, said to Vogue.
Opening to the public on 10 May 2026 and running until 10 January 2027, the exhibition will draw parallels between the two worlds of art and fashion by showcasing almost 200 artworks and pairing them with around 200 garments and accessories.
Bolton added: "It's the common thread throughout the whole museum, which is really what the initial idea for the exhibition was, this epiphany: I know that we've often been seen as the stepchild, but, in fact, the dressed body is front and center in every gallery you come across. Even the nude is never naked. It’s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas."
Bolton's vision for the exhibition revolves around the concept of body types, divided into three categories: bodies that are present in art, such as the nude body; bodies that are more typically overlooked, such as elderly bodies and pregnant bodies; and the 'universal' body like the anatomical body.
So who can we expect to see (hopefully) paying homage to this dress code?
The organisation has announced the first few figures on its Host Committee, with Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz co-chairing it, with additional members including Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, LISA, Chloe Malle, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Lauren Wasser, Anna Weyant, A'ja Wilson, and Yseult.
More members will be announced in the run up to the event.
