The Metropolitan Museum of Art has officially announced the theme for its blockbuster 2026 fashion exhibition and corresponding Met Gala, taking the institution's long-standing argument that fashion is art to its most literal conclusion yet.
Costume Art: The Revolutionary Theme
Revealed on Monday, 'Costume Art' will be the next major show presented by the museum's Costume Institute, officially launched by the star-studded Met Gala on May 4, 2026. The exhibition aims to demonstrate how fashion has been deeply intertwined with various art forms throughout history by strategically pairing garments with objects from across the museum's vast collection.
Max Hollein, the Met's CEO and Director, explained in an interview that he hopes this exhibit will guide visitors on a fashionable journey through art history. 'It's a show that can really live in fascinating ways at the museum and can pull from all different areas of our collection - paintings, sculpture, drawings,' Hollein stated. He added that while many agree fashion is art, this exhibition will make it obvious how fashion manifests 'all across the museum and in all different mediums already.'
Exploring the Dressed Body Through Themes
According to Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's curator in charge, the exhibition will meticulously examine the dressed body, organized thematically by different body types. The thematic sections will include expected categories like the 'Naked Body' and the 'Classical Body,' but will also venture into less conventional territory with themes such as the 'Pregnant Body' and the 'Aging Body.'
Curators revealed that the connections drawn between artworks and garments will range widely 'from the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the individual to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound.' One striking example from the 'Naked Body' section will pair a 1504 print by German artist Albrecht Durer with spandex bodysuits by Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck from a 2009 collection that reinterprets the story of Adam and Eve.
Challenging the 'Ideal' Body Narrative
Misty Copeland, the trailblazing former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer who made history as the company's first Black female principal, attended Monday's announcement. She spoke powerfully about the interplay between fashion and dance, noting that the show makes a 'powerful case for the body, in all its forms, as a work of art, worthy of being seen, elevated, and celebrated.'
Copeland directly addressed the historical bias in both fashion and dance toward an 'ideal' body that has traditionally been thin, white, and female. 'That bias shaped my own experience,' she shared. 'Early in my career, I was made to feel that my body didn't fit the mold. My skin was too dark, my muscles too defined. Being a Black woman and a ballerina was presented almost as a contradiction.' She described her fight to challenge this notion and stand firmly in the value and beauty of her body, and of other Black and brown dancers whose bodies have often been overlooked.
'Costume Art' will open to the public on May 10, 2026, and will run until January 10, 2027. The exhibition will inaugurate the new Conde Nast galleries, a significant 12,000 square foot space created from the museum's former retail store located near the Great Hall. This new gallery will not only host all future spring Costume Institute exhibits but also other shows from different departments of the museum.
When celebrities ascend the famous steps for the Met Gala on May 4, 2026, they will be just feet away from the exhibition, allowing for easy viewing of the art before the evening's social festivities. While the celebrity chairs for the gala have not been officially announced, reports indicate that Anna Wintour will return as the primary host, potentially joined by Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, who are sponsoring the event.
