Zendaya in Givenchy by John Galliano.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
After days … no weeks … no months(!) of preparations, the big night is finally here.
Welcome, friends, to the 2026 Met Gala.
A quick reminder—the Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute, which this year is moving out of its basement headquarters and into its new permanent home in the Condé M. Nast Galleries, just off the Metropolitan Museum’s Great Hall. The new exhibition, titled “Costume Art,” is dedicated to the overlapping ways in which fashion and art have engaged with the human body throughout the ages. The dress code is “Fashion Is Art” and we’re expecting an army of stylish A-listers to come with looks worthy of … well, the illustrious walls of The Met. So pull up a chair, join us, and follow along with our Met Gala live updates as we track the comings and goings of culture’s biggest players as they finally answer the age-old question: Is fashion art?
A Bit of History
Fun fact: The first Met Gala took place in 1948. It was the brainchild of the publicist Eleanor Lambert, who organized it to raise funds for the museum’s annual fashion exhibition.
The first edition cost a mere $50 to attend and took place not at The Met but at the Waldorf Astoria. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the event blossomed into something more extravagant under the watchful eye of wonderfully eccentric Vogue editor Diana Vreeland.
My, how things have changed …
The Day Has (Finally) Come!
Good morning, world, and happy Met Gala Day to all who celebrate. As spring tradition dictates, the first Monday in May is earmarked for the most fashionable and fabulous charity event of the New York social calendar: the Costume Institute Benefit.
It’s going to be a wildly entertaining evening, filled with bold-face names and head-turning looks, so keep checking back throughout the day for all the latest updates from the red carpet, complete with witty, wonderful commentary from the Vogue team. Are you ready for what has become known as the Oscars of Fashion? We sure hope so.