On Monday, May 4, 2026, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City hosted the annual Met Gala, celebrating the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, "Costume Art." The event marked the inauguration of the museum’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries and brought together actors, musicians, designers, athletes, and cultural figures for one of fashion’s most anticipated nights.

The exhibition explored the relationship between fashion and fine art by pairing historical and contemporary garments with paintings, sculptures, and objects spanning over 5,000 years of art history. Organized around themes centered on the human body — including the “Classical Body,” “Pregnant Body,” and “Aging Body” — the show examined how clothing shapes identity, beauty, and representation across cultures and time periods.

This year’s dress code, "Fashion is Art," encouraged guests to approach fashion as a form of artistic expression. The red carpet featured sculptural silhouettes, couture inspired by classical artwork, metallic textures, and dramatic tailoring that blurred the line between garment and artwork.…