The Met Gala is almost here and this year’s theme is shaping up to be one of the most thought-provoking yet.
Every year on the first Monday of May, celebrities, stylists and designers go all out to make sure their look stops the internet in its tracks.
This year’s gala takes place in New York City on May 4, which means that for us in Australia, we’ll be watching the carpet coverage roll in from May 5 thanks to the time difference.
If past years are anything to go by, get set for a playground of fashion delights.
Think Rhianna’s 2018 look that channelled the grandeur of Catholic vestments with a cream bejewelled gown layered beneath a flowing overcoat from Maison Margiela, or Lady Gaga‘s no less than four outfit changes at the 2019 event, or take your pick from any of Nicole Kidman‘s timeless outfits.
The Met Gala has given us some of the most memorable fashion moments of the last few decades, and 2026 looks set to deliver more of the same.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala is an annual charity fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York, traditionally held to mark the opening of the department’s major spring fashion exhibition.
It is one of the most exclusive events on the calendar — and one of the most lucrative.
According to New York Times, in 2025 the museum raked in the biggest gross in the event’s 77-year history, raising around $31 million USD in a single night.
How are the Met Gala themes chosen?
Every year, Met Gala attendees go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a star-studded event to raise funds for the museum’s exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements.
The theme is chosen each year by Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, and is tied directly to the museum’s spring exhibition opening on the night of the gala.
What is the 2026 Met Gala theme?
This year’s exhibition and theme is ‘Costume Art’ — and it’s a big one.
According to Bolton: “‘Costume Art’ is a celebration of the body in all of its strengths and weaknesses; its resiliencies and continuities.”
“Its perfections, its imperfections, its idiosyncrasies and commonalities; and, above all, its sublime beauty, its wondrous complexity and its glorious and miraculous diversity.”
It will explore the “depictions of the dressed body across The Met’s vast collection, pairing garments with artworks to reveal the inherent relationship between clothing and the body”.
“Costume Art will present a dynamic and scholarly conversation between garments from The Costume Institute and an array of artworks from across The Met’s vast collection, elevating universal and timeless themes while bringing forward new ideas and ways of seeing,” the museum’s French Director and CEO said.
The show will inaugurate the Met’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries, spanning nearly 12,000 square feet, and will explore depictions of the dressed body across 5,000 years of art and fashion. Objects will be grouped into a series of thematic categories — from the Classical Body and the Naked Body to the Pregnant Body and the Aging Body, shining a light on the figures that fashion has historically overlooked.
It promises to inspire some truly extraordinary looks on the carpet.
What are examples of past Met Gala themes?
As we count down to the annual extravaganza, let’s take a look back at Met Gala themes from the last 30 years:
- 1995: Haute Couture
- 1996: Christian Dior
- 1997: Gianni Versace
- 1998: Cubism and Fashion
- 1999: Rock Style
- 2000: No theme
- 2001: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years
- 2002: No theme
- 2003: Goddess: The Classical Mode
- 2004: Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century
- 2005: The House of Chanel
- 2006: AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion
- 2007: Poiret: King of Fashion
- 2008: Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
- 2009: The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion
- 2010: 2010: American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity
- 2011: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
- 2012: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations
- 2013: “Punk: Chaos to Couture”
- 2014: Charles James: Beyond Fashion
China: Through the Looking Glass
2015
This theme explored how western fashion has been influenced by China. The exhibition included pieces from major fashion houses such as Dior, Alexander McQueen and Chanel.
Rihanna’s piece (above) took two years to craft.
Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
2016
In 2016, the exhibition revolved around the differences between manmade and machine-made fashion. On the carpet, there was a range of futuristic and dramatic outfits.
Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
2017
This theme paid tribute to Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo and her avant-garde designs with Comme des Garçons.
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
2018
Items from the Vatican were on display during this theme, and most of them had never ventured beyond Rome. In 2018, hundreds of holy items were on display, and celebrities leaned into religious references.
Camp: Notes on Fashion
2019
2019 is one of the most memorable Met Gala years because of the looks that followed. This theme took inspiration from Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on Camp, which examined excess, performance, and out-there motifs. Lady Gaga’s above look, which featured three outfit reveals, was a standout.
In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
2021
The annual spectacle was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the theme was About Time: Fashion and Duration, which honoured the museum’s 150-year history. The theme then changed in 2021 and explored Bolton’s question of who gets to be American.
In America: An Anthology of Fashion
2022
This theme was a continuation of 2021 and looked at the entirety of America’s fashion history, particularly shining a spotlight on young designers.
Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
2023
Chanel’s former creative director was honoured posthumously in 2023. The exhibition itself featured pieces of his work from Chanel, Fendi, his own brand, and Chloé, and highlighted his legacy.
The Garden of Time
2024
Vogue revealed that the Garden of Time was inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 book of the same name, and went along with the exhibition Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. The exhibition itself included clothing and accessories spanning across four centuries.
The theme explored fleeting beauty and the fragility of fashion. There were plenty of floral elements across the carpet!
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style
2025
The 2025 theme and exhibition name was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.
It explored the history of Black style from the 18th century to the present, and how fashion is pivotal to Black identities.
The exhibition was inspired by the book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which was written by by Monica L. Miller in 2009.
“Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies,” Monica said in a press release from the museum.
“It asks questions about identity, representation, and mobility in relation to race, class, gender, sexuality, and power. The exhibition explores this concept as both a pronouncement and a provocation.”
