The 2026 Met Gala is inviting fashion and art brains combined for this year's theme.

Vogue announced the theme of the biggest fashion gala, called “Fashion is Art,” on Monday, February 23. The theme links to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's spring 2026 exhibition named "Costume Art."

The 2026 exhibition, which was revealed in November, also recognised the launch of the Institute's first permanent galleries at the museum.

Curator in charge Andrew Bolton revealed at that time, the Condé M. Nast Galleries, which spans nearly 12,000-square-foot, adjoins The Met’s Great Hall. Bolton said its opening indicates “a huge moment for the Costume Institute.”

“It will be transformative for our department,” he added, “but I also think it’s going to be transformative to fashion more generally — the fact that an art museum like The Met is actually giving a central location to fashion.”

The exhibition curated by Bolton explores the pivotal role of the dressed body within the museum’s extensive holdings, placing paintings, sculptures and artefacts from 5,000 years of art history in dialogue with historic and modern designs from the Costume Institute.

“What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body,” he explained.

He said it acts as a common thread throughout the institution, which ultimately sparked the exhibition’s original concept.

Bolton also reflected that while the Costume Institute has often been perceived as a secondary presence, the dressed body is in fact central to nearly every gallery.

“Even the nude is never naked,” he added. “It’s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas.”