Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams Named Co-Chairs for 2026 Met Gala

Key facts

• The 2026 Met Gala will take place on Monday, May 4.
• The theme is 'Costume Art,' with a dress code of 'fashion is art.'
• Co-chairs include Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour.
• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are lead sponsors and honorary chairs.
• The exhibition 'Costume Art' will run from May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027.
• The event typically hosts about 450 attendees.
• New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he will not attend.

A Night of Art and Fashion on the First Monday in May

The 2026 Met Gala, fashion’s most anticipated annual fundraiser, is set for Monday, May 4, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The event will celebrate the spring exhibition 'Costume Art,' which pairs some 200 art objects with 200 garments to highlight the enduring connection between fashion and art. The dress code, announced as 'fashion is art,' invites attendees to interpret the theme through their own relationship to clothing as an embodied art form. The exhibition itself, opening to the public on May 10 and running through January 10, 2027, will examine 'the centrality of the dressed body' by interspersing garments and artworks to illuminate the interplay between artistic representations of the body and fashion.

Beyoncé Returns as Co-Chair Alongside Kidman, Williams and Wintour

The gala’s co-chairs include Beyoncé, a familiar guest returning after a decade-long absence from the event; actress Nicole Kidman; tennis champion Venus Williams; and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who has overseen the gala for decades. A host committee chaired by designer Anthony Vaccarello and filmmaker Zoë Kravitz includes Sabrina Carpenter, Teyana Taylor, Lena Dunham and Misty Copeland. The guest list, typically kept confidential, is expected to include the co-chairs and host committee members. Rumored attendees include Anne Hathaway, Billie Eilish, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Harry Styles, Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.

Bezos and Sánchez Bezos as Lead Sponsors Amid Protest

Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, are the lead sponsors and honorary chairs of the 2026 Met Gala, according to a February press release from the museum. The museum has not disclosed the amount of their contribution. Their involvement has drawn criticism from the activist group Everyone Hates Elon, which has displayed anti-billionaire messaging on public billboards and bus shelters to protest the couple’s participation. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office on an affordability platform, told the local news outlet Hell Gate that he will not attend the gala. Past mayors Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio and Mike Bloomberg have attended in previous years.

The Evening’s Rituals: From Phone Camera Stickers to Late Arrivals

After walking the red carpet, guests enter the museum, where their phone cameras are covered with stickers. They pass an enormous flower arrangement in the lobby, often accompanied by an orchestra. Following the receiving line, attendees proceed to cocktails or the exhibition, then to dinner. By the main course, most tardy guests have arrived, though some wait until dessert to make their entrance. A celebrity musical performance is customary; last year Usher and Stevie Wonder performed, and in 2015 Rihanna was the main performer. The gala raises funds for the Costume Institute and other museum activities.

A New Era for the Costume Institute: The Condé M. Nast Galleries

The 2026 exhibition 'Costume Art' ushers in a new era for the museum, as it will be displayed in the newly opened Condé M. Nast Galleries, located next to the Great Hall. Max Hollein, the Met’s director and CEO, stated in a press release that the exhibition will highlight the museum’s unique ability to position fashion within the context of more than 5,000 years of art. The exhibition will feature pairings that explore the indivisible connection between clothing and the body, as well as the complex interplay between artistic representations of the body and fashion as an embodied art form.

Open Questions and Anticipated Surprises

While the co-chairs and host committee are confirmed, the full guest list remains under wraps. Speculation swirls around whether Adele will make her Met Gala debut, whether Blue Ivy will attend, and whether Taylor Swift will appear for the first time in a decade. The event typically hosts about 450 attendees from fashion, music, film, sports and beyond. The dress code 'fashion is art' provides broad latitude for interpretation, and guests are expected to draw from art history to create looks that celebrate the dressed body. The museum has encouraged attendees to express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form.

The bottom line

• The 2026 Met Gala takes place May 4 with theme 'Costume Art' and dress code 'fashion is art.'
• Co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour will host; Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are lead sponsors.
• The exhibition 'Costume Art' runs May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries.
• Mayor Zohran Mamdani will not attend; activist group Everyone Hates Elon protests Bezos sponsorship.
• The guest list remains secret but is rumored to include numerous A-list celebrities.
• The event raises funds for the Costume Institute and features a red carpet, dinner, and musical performance.