On Nov. 17, 2025, the theme for the 2026 Met Gala and the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition was announced by The Met: Costume Art. According to an article from The Met on the subject of this theme, it will feature “the centrality of the dressed body, juxtaposing objects from across the Museum’s vast collection with historical and contemporary garments,” though the star-studded gala is what will have the most public attention, and the art itself may yet again be pushed to the wayside.
Hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Costume Institute Benefit, better known as The Met Gala was established in 1948 and has been held on the first Monday in May 74 times since then—with a few cancellations for various reasons throughout the years, the most recent being the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Many will tune in to the red carpet broadcast throughout that Monday afternoon and into the night, or stalk social media to see their favorite celebrity attendees decked in glitz and glamour. The iconic Anna Wintour is the one responsible for the famous faces to which invitations are sent. In 1995, Wintour became chair of the gala, and the guest list shifted from New York’s elite socialites and heads of the fashion industry to pop culture’s favorite artists and actors. It wasn’t until 2006 that viewers at home saw a rise in the “celebrity stylist:” a way for brands and the stylists to market themselves to the public. The now-controversial actress Blake Lively’s Statue of Liberty inspired look topped any other brand in social media traction relating to the Met Gala, and Versace’s revenue surpassed $1 billion by the end of the year 2022.
While it is instrumental to the self-success of brands to be present, the Met Gala’s true purpose is to serve as a fundraiser for the museum. The gala recently surpassed its previous fundraising total of $26 million in 2024, raising a total of $31 million in 2025 for the Met Costume Institute. But how do they raise this money? It comes from various places, including brand names, tickets bought by individuals who wish to attend, and individual sponsors. This coming year’s top sponsors are Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos— a couple that sparked controversy within the fashion world. Public contention comes from the strong capitalist views and values exhibited by both sponsors, as art and artists themselves are not subject to thrive in a capitalistic society. Bezos has previously served as an honorary chair of the Met Gala, however, when Amazon was a sponsor in 2012. In an interview with CNN, Wintour commented on the debate, speaking of Sánchez Bezos when Wintour thanked her, saying she is “very grateful for her incredible generosity… so we’re thrilled she’s part of the night.”
As for The Met Gala itself, a theme this broad will surely showcase the expansive creativity of stylists and designers. Saint Laurent is the largest fashion sponsor for the 2026 gala, a brand that is known for a specific tailoring to women that reflects an appreciation for them as individuals, rather than an appreciation for the clothes they are to be dressed in. As co-founder and business partner of Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé, stated, “Chanel gave women freedom. Yves Saint Laurent empowered them.” For a brand to show this kind of admiration for women in the fashion industry—an industry in which women are consistently degraded for their bodies, in which the maintained illusion of “perfection” of the body is the only way in which they are employed—their diverse and inclusive runways were revolutionary. It only feels appropriate that the top sponsor for an artistic theme dedicated to the celebration of bodily individuality and naturality be one that has translated this idea into tangible works of art through fashion for years.
The 2026 Costume Institute theme will be inaugural for the newly built gallery space at The Met in honor of Condé M. Nast, a publisher from New York and the founder of the mass media company Condé Nast—the company that The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Wired, Glamour, and more are currently owned by. According to The Met, the theme for the exhibit itself “will be organized into a series of thematic body types that reflect their ubiquity and endurance through time and space.” It will elucidate the inseparable and artful coalition between the body and that in which it is clothed; how clothes are, of course, shaped by the unique body of an individual and how, in turn, the body is shaped by the allusions made with clothing and accessories. The art gallery will be categorized by body type, but not in the same way social media has recently portrayed the perception of that phrase. The categories include the “Classical Body” and the “Naked Body,” which are two prominent forms presented in well-known paintings and sculptures. It also includes bodies that “have traditionally been overlooked” or excluded from the mainstream narrative of art—ironically for their naturalistic qualities—such as the “Pregnant Body” and the “Aging Body,” and finally, the “Mortal Body” and the “Anatomical Body,” both of which represent a kind of being that exists alongside the outward, physical visage. The categorical bodies that will be depicted within the exhibit coincide with the statement “life imitates art,” as art itself is a reflection of a person’s ideas and being, none of which will ever be the same as another. These bodies, in turn, are meant to display the idea that differences and physical imperfections are a fact of humanity, and that variance is a uniting factor.
No guests have officially been announced for the Met Gala, as they are usually kept hidden until they step onto the red carpet, but as that first Monday in May approaches, speculations about the attendees will certainly arise. The Met Costume Institute will open its exhibition on May 10, 2026—a week after the Met Gala—and can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art alongside their other short-term and permanent exhibitions.