The Met Gala 2026: What's the Theme, Who Is Going and Where to Watch

On the first Monday in May, the marble steps of New York‘s Metropolitan Museum of Art transform into the most-scrutinized runway on Earth.

This year, on May 4, the world’s most-powerful names in fashion, film, music, and sport will once again ascend those storied stairs-this time, draped in the language of art itself, as the Met Gala 2026 invites its guests to interrogate where couture ends and canvas begins.

The 2026 Costume Institute Benefit, called by most nowadays the Met Gala, marks the inauguration of nearly 12,000 square feet of permanent gallery space at the Met, to be named the Condé M. Nast Galleries. The theme this year-”Costume Art”-asks designers and their celebrity collaborators to consider the dressed human body not merely as a bearer of garments, but as an artistic medium.

With Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams serving as co-chairs, and Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez as lead sponsors, the evening promises its usual spectacle.

Where and When Is the Met Gala?

The Met Gala is held annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Museum Mile stretch of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. It is organized by Voguemagazine.

The 2026 edition takes place on Monday, May 4.

The red carpet officially opens at 6 p.m. EST (3 p.m. PST), though early arrivals are expected from 4:30 p.m. EST (1:30 p.m. PST) onwards.

Each year, the evening’s dress code is guided by the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition theme. Attendees are encouraged to interpret that theme through their choice of designer, resulting in some of the most-elaborate and debated outfits in recent cultural memory.

Last year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” was curated by Andrew Bolton, alongside guest curator Dr. Monica L. Miller.

The Met Gala 2026 Theme

This year, Bolton returns with a theme of arresting ambition. The 2026 Met Gala theme is “Costume Art,” inspired, according to the curator, by “the centrality of the dressed body in the museum’s vast collection.”

The accompanying exhibition will feature paintings, sculptures, and objects spanning 5,000 years of art history, displayed alongside historical and contemporary garments from the Costume Institute’s own holdings.

The exhibition will inaugurate the Condé M. Nast Galleries, a permanent fashion-dedicated space adjacent to the Met’s Great Hall-a landmark development for an institution that has long championed dress as one of the great art forms.

The dress code issued to guests this year is “Fashion is Art,” with an invitation to consider “the many ways that designers use the body as their blank canvas.”

Met Gala 2026 Protests

In the days leading up to Monday’s event, anti-Bezos posters have appeared across New York City streets, targeting Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez in their capacities as lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs.

Some of the posters carry the slogan “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” and deploy imagery designed to jar against the glamour of the occasion. Activists have called for a boycott to protest both Amazon’s labor practices and its alleged association with U.S. immigration enforcement agencies.

That tension escalated when New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed that he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, would not be attending the 2026 Met Gala, breaking with a longstanding tradition of mayoral attendance. Speaking to Hell Gate, Mamdani made clear that his admiration for the institution itself remains intact but that his priorities lay elsewhere.

List of Celebrities Attending

This year’s co-chairs are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams, while Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz are leading the host committee.

Also attending as part of the host committee are Adut Akech, Angela Bassett, Sinéad Burke, Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Misty Copeland, Alex Consani, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, Rebecca Hall, LISA, Chloe Malle, Aimee Mullins, Amy Sherald, Tschabalala Self, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Anna Weyant, Lauren Wasser, A’ja Wilson, Chase Sui Wonders, and Yseult.

Working the red carpet as hosts will be Emma Chamberlain, Cara Delevingne, Ashley Graham, and La La Anthony.

Among those widely expected to attend are Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, perennial Met royalty who reliably deliver some of the evening’s most-discussed looks. Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, and Hailey Bieber are anticipated to arrive together, as in recent years. Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Dua Lipa, Chappell Roan, Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone, Bad Bunny, Jacob Elordi, Doechii, Jenna Ortega, Jennie, Mia Goth, Laura Harrier, Serena Williams, and Pharrell Williams are also on the rumored guest list.

Fashion watchers are additionally hoping to see Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams on the carpet; since the show’s debut in late 2025, the pair have become certified fashion darlings.

How To Watch

The official 2026 Met Gala livestream will be broadcast on Vogue.com and across Vogue’s social media channels, including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

E! will provide dedicated red-carpet coverage via Live From E!: Met Gala 2026, available on cable television or streamed through Peacock, Hulu Live, YouTube TV, FuboTV, or Sling TV.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 12:02 PM.