Fashion's biggest night is on the horizon once again.&nbsp;

Mark your calendar: the 2026 Met Gala is expected to take place on May 4, 2026, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.&nbsp;
After a series of unforgettable <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/every-met-gala-theme-ever" target="_blank" rel="noopener">themes</a> that have defined the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/met-gala-2025-theme-dress-code-guest-list-co-chairs-livestream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Met Gala</a> in recent years, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the theme for the 2026 Met Gala at long last. The upcoming gala event and costume institute exhibition will be themed around "Costume Art."
&ldquo;The title &lsquo;Costume Art&rsquo; refers to the history of the costume institute,&rdquo; said Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute&rsquo;s curator, at a press conference on Nov. 17. Bolton explained that fashion often obtains &ldquo;the status of art because of, and not in spite of, its relation to the body.&rdquo;
Though the theme leaves plenty of room for interpretation, it centers fashion as an element of art, and encompasses representations of the dressed body within the thousands of years of art in the Met's collections.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The idea was to put the body back into discussions about art and fashion, and to embrace the body, not to take it away as a way of elevating fashion to an art form,&rdquo; Bolton told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/costume-art-is-the-first-exhibition-in-the-costume-institutes-new-permanent-galleries-at-the-met" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vogue</a>&nbsp;ahead of the announcement.&nbsp;
At the Nov. 17 event, Bolton also announced that this year's fashion sponsor is Saint Laurent.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;Of course, both fashion and dance have long held up an &lsquo;ideal&rsquo; body, one that has historically meant thin, white, and female. That bias shaped my own experience,&rdquo; said <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/misty-copeland-facts-career-legacy-ballerina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Misty Copeland</a>, famed American dancer who recently retired from the American Ballet Theatre, at the exhibition announcement. &ldquo;Early in my career, I was made to feel that my body didn&rsquo;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."
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Copeland said that she continues to stand &ldquo;firmly in the value and beauty of my body, and of the many Black and brown dancers whose bodies have so often been overlooked," and added that the new exhibition will continue to build on crucial conversations surrounding physicality, identity, and body that last year's "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style"&nbsp;
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The exhibition will match 200 pieces of art with 200 garments and accessories, creating a visual and thematic link between fashion and art. The Costume Institute's "Costume Art" exhibit is slated to open May 10, 2026, shortly after the gala takes over <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/new-york-city-fashion-beauty-lifestyle-store-openings-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a>.
Though the theme for the 2026 Met Gala has been revealed at long last, fans of the annual event will have to wait for news on the event's co-chairs, hosts, guests, and dress code.&nbsp;

The 2026 Met Gala Theme Has Been Announced — Here's What It Actually Means

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