The 2026 Met Gala officially has a dress code: “Fashion Is Art.”
The exhibition’s theme is “Costume Art,” which curator Andrew Bolton explains is dedicated to “the centrality of the dressed body in the museum’s vast collection.” While the Costume Institute’s show is dedicated to the corporeal form, the dress code offers guests room for broad interpretation. Luckily, there is plenty of inspiration to draw from. Designers have long translated art (in its many nebulous forms) into wearable works.
Many attendees, we imagine, will draw from art movements. As the likes of Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, and Christian Lacroix knew well, one can’t go wrong with turning back the pages of history. The Rococo, Baroque, and Renaissance periods are sure to be popular jumping-off points. But there are also more modern interpretations: Yves Saint Laurent channeled Piet Mondrian in 1965 (and again in 2002 at his final haute couture show), while Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez nodded to Ellsworth Kelly in their Loewe debut last year. And, of course, we can’t forget Moschino, Prada, and Versace’s love of Pop Art.
Famous painting subjects are also on our bingo card. Portrait of Madame X and Flaming June would make lovely picks, though we’d also be thrilled to see someone delve into Cubism. Portrait of Dora Maar, anyone?
We can also expect plenty of nods to the “Costume Art” theme—literal and cerebral. Perhaps the pinnacle of costume art is Yves Saint Laurent’s 1979 ode to Pablo Picasso’s costumes for Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet, Parade. Riffs on the human form are also likely, be it trompe l’oeil figures, naked dressing, and breastplates, or exaggerated padding.
There are also plenty of fashion-as-art moments that can serve as a reference. What better place than the Met steps for an outrageous piece of performance art? We wouldn’t be surprised to see an IRL transformation on the first Monday in May. Consider Shalom Harlow closing Alexander McQueen’s spring 1999 collection, her strapless white dress graffitied in real time with neon yellow and black paint, or Bella Hadid’s spray-on look at Coperni’s spring 2023 runway.
Below, we’ve rounded up 56 past runway looks that could suit the 2026 Met Gala dress code, “Fashion Is Art.”
If You’re a Rococo Romantic
