On Nov. 17, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the 2026 Met Gala theme, “Costume Art,” in honour of the new 12,000 square foot gallery space that will house the Costume Institute’s annual spring exhibition.
The Met Gala has consistently been a spectacle that sparks widespread discussion; the theme is the backbone of the ensembles worn by attendees. This year’s theme, however, is very broad. In an interview with //Vogue//, Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton said the exhibition will be on the human body—specifically how the body communicates with costume. “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,” he explained.
There are many ways designers might interpret the 2026 Met Gala theme, from referencing famous portraits housed in the Met to reimagining other iconic paintings. They could draw inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman marble sculpture. Imagine someone appearing in a dress referencing //Winged Victory of Samothrace//, a sculpture of the goddess Nike on the bow of a ship. Despite the material being marble, the look of wetness and wind against her body makes the dress flow as if real. It would be interesting to see a designer experiment with that illusion, transforming a hard material into something that looks soft and fluid.
Bolton mentions in the interview that the exhibit will reference the nude body in art, so perhaps we can expect to see some inspiration from works such as //Aphrodite of Knidos//, Michelangelo’s //David// and many more. //David// was revolutionary in the way it depicted the idea of a ‘perfect body’ during the Renaissance. Designers and attendees can create room for a discussion about the classic ‘idealized body’ and the way nude women have been depicted and perceived by society for centuries.
The Costume Art exhibition will be split into three sections: Overlooked bodies, such as aging bodies; bodies frequently portrayed in art; and universal bodies, referencing the ubiquitous human anatomy we all share. Basing costumes on overlooked bodies is particularly thought-provoking, especially since many of the celebrities attending the Met Gala regularly use anti-aging procedures, such as Botox and plastic surgery. With a celebrity culture punctuated by Ozempic and unhealthy body standards, plus-sized bodies are also overlooked and stigmatized in visual culture. Ironically, it could be argued that the very celebrities funding and attending the Met Gala are partially responsible for the disregard of these bodies in the first place.
Bolton’s idea of representing the ‘universal body’ in this exhibit also has many intriguing facets. Can we expect to see ideas of the anatomical body, perhaps dresses that are supposed to represent the human muscular structure, skeleton, or different organs essential for living?
The Met Gala itself is highly exclusive, with tickets from past years costing about $30,000 USD and attendees drawn mostly from celebrity or wealthy circles. In this context, this theme of a ‘universal body’ may be an attempt to reach out to the average person viewing this event, who does not share that level of privilege. The message behind the theme may be a gesture towards connection and community, because in the end, we are all humans.
Who will be brave enough to represent the overlooked bodies? And while most of the celebrities have some familiarity with their own bodies as works of art, how will celebrities celebrate the universal?
