It’s never too soon to start looking ahead to the Met Gala! With 2026’s event about five months away, read on for everything you need to know about fashion’s biggest night—from the theme to the co-chairs, (possible) guest list, and more.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala is a charity event and fundraiser for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. It has traditionally been timed to mark the opening of the department’s spring fashion exhibition. Year after year, the event raises eight-figure sums, but in 2025, museum officials reported the biggest gross in the starry, storied event’s 77-year history: some $31 million.
When will the Met Gala 2026 take place?
The 2026 Met Gala is set for Monday, May 4. (In the interim, you can still revisit any moments you might have missed from the 2025 Met Gala red carpet on the live blog.)
What is the Met Gala 2026 theme?
On Monday, November 17, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art.” The show—set to inaugurate the Met’s new, nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries—will consider “depictions of the dressed body across The Met’s vast collection, pairing garments with artworks to reveal the inherent relationship between clothing and the body.”
The exhibition will be divided into a “series of thematic body types,” ranging from the “Naked Body” and the “Classical Body”—both of which are well represented within the museum’s collection—to those, like the “Pregnant Body” and the “Aging Body,” that have more often been overlooked.
Who is hosting the Met Gala 2026?
Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour will co-chair the 2026 Met Gala.
Continuing a tradition from years past, the 2026 Met Gala will also have a host committee. That group will include committee co-chairs Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, along with members 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. Additional names will be released at a later date.
What is the dress code?
The dress code for the 2026 Met Gala has not yet been announced. Watch this space!
What happens at the Met Gala?
That’s kept largely under wraps; guests must abide by a no-phone (and, therefore, no social media) policy once they’ve entered the museum. But the run-of-show involves cocktails, dinner, and a high-profile performer (or two). Attendees always have a moment to explore the exhibition, too.
Decor is, of course, always taken seriously. When guests entered the Met in 2025, they were stunned by a climbing tower of narcissus flowers by artist Cy Gavin. His captivating painting Untitled (Sky) was also projected onto the ceiling of the Temple of Dendur during dinner.
James Beard Award-winning chef Onwuachi was tasked with creating the 2025 menu. As he told Vogue, “I was inspired by Black dandyism and the Black experience in fashion—it’s pulled from so many different avenues and routes of the diaspora. I wanted to encapsulate all of that, from the hors d’oeuvres to plated dinner at the gala.” For the cocktail hour, guests were served hoecakes with crispy chicken, mini chopped cheeses, cornbread topped with caviar, and curry chicken patties. For the main event—dinner—the menu consisted of papaya piri piri salad, creole roasted chicken with lemon emulsion, rice and peas, and a fresh hot sauce, and a “Bodega Special Cosmic Brownie.”
See exclusive photos from inside the 2025 Met Gala here.
Where is the Met Gala held?
The Met Gala takes place at The Metropolitan Museum of Art each year. Guests from out of town (and even some based in the city) typically stay at hotels nearby, congregating at a few celebrity-favorite spots. The Mark Hotel is always a prime location for star-spotting; see our photos from inside its halls in 2023. This year, the likes of Cynthia Erivo, Lisa, and Doechii could all be spotted emerging from the Mark. Colman Domingo, Emma Chamberlain, Hunter Schafer, and Anne Hathaway, meanwhile, made quick exits from The Carlyle.
Who is invited to the Met Gala?
The event usually hosts about 450 attendees, welcoming stars, young creatives, and paragons from the worlds of fashion, the arts, sports, and politics. Here, revisit some of the best looks from frequent attendees Blake Lively, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna—and even more of the most memorable Met Gala fashions of all time. Also check out everything that goes into the Met Gala seating chart.
What if I want more…?
There’s always more. Revisit the best looks from the last decade of Met Galas..
See All of the Celebrity Looks From the Met Gala 2025 Red Carpet:
Met Gala 2025: See Every Celebrity Arrival, Read the Latest Stories, and Get Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Access Here
