Met Gala 2026 raises record $42m as tech billionaires reshape fashion's biggest night

Key facts

• The 2026 Met Gala raised a record $42 million for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Lead sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos contributed $10 million.
• Individual guests paid up to $1 million for a ticket.
• Beyoncé wore a diamond skeleton mesh gown by Olivier Rousteing.
• Kim Kardashian's corset was a collaboration with British pop artist Allen Jones.
• The exhibition 'Costume Art' opens May 10, 2026, in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries.
• Chloe Malle, Anna Wintour's successor at Vogue, attended in a Colleen Allen gown.

A record-breaking night for the Met

The 2026 Met Gala raised a record $42 million for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with lead sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos thought to have contributed $10 million. Individual guests wrote cheques for up to $1 million to secure a spot on Anna Wintour's final guest list. The evening opened the exhibition 'Costume Art,' which places fashion on the same pedestal as fine art. From May 10, 2026, until January 10, 2027, the museum's new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries will display hundreds of pieces centered on the dressed body, paired with thematically relevant fashions.

Beyoncé and the Kardashians dominate the red carpet

The official dress code was 'Fashion Is Art,' but the red carpet was divided between tributes to art history and celebrations of the body itself. Beyoncé arrived in a collaboration with Olivier Rousteing: a body-conscious dress with a skin-tone mesh base and a diamond skeleton that traveled from collarbone to ankle. The Kardashians went nipple-forward. Kim Kardashian's gravity-defying bullet-pointed breasts were a collaboration with British pop artist Allen Jones. Kylie Jenner wore a nude corset with prosthetic breasts and belly button, a Schiaparelli homage to the Venus de Milo. Kendall Jenner also wore a corset or breast plate.

Art history references and surreal moments

There were no fewer than three Madame Xs in the house. Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Julianne Moore, and Claire Foy all channelled John Singer Sargent's painting, with one strap falling from the shoulder. Sánchez Bezos's Schiaparelli gown winked at the controversial glamour of the original, which scandalized polite society. Chloe Malle, Wintour's successor at Vogue, wore mango-hued Colleen Allen as Frederic Leighton's Flaming June. Angela Bassett took inspiration from Laura Wheeler Waring's 1927 Girl in Pink Dress. Gracie Abrams came as Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer in an embroidered gold Chanel gown. Lena Dunham went meta in a red feathered Valentino homage to Artemisia Gentileschi, referencing a blood spatter detail in her 1620 painting.

Tech billionaires embed themselves in the Met

This year's Met Gala has been soured by unease at how fashion has enabled tech billionaires to leverage their deep pockets to embed themselves within the Met. Jeff Bezos skipped the red carpet and joined his wife inside. Mark Zuckerberg, in a Prada tuxedo, and his wife Priscilla Chan, in a red Alaïa gown, made a low-profile entrance but were seated at Wintour's table. The Google co-founder Sergey Brin posed for photos in a navy suit embroidered with Matisse-style faces. The presence of these billionaires at one of New York's most beloved cultural institutions has sparked debate about the influence of money in the art world.

A night of spectacle and controversy

The red carpet was one of the most spectacular in recent years, with sculpted bodies lending a Madame Tussauds vibe. Nipples, skeletons, and cleavage dominated discourse, but there were also thoughtful interrogations of the is-fashion-art question. Beyond the clickbait, designers and their muses brought to life a rich best-dressed list drawn from the walls of the world's great art collections. Madonna's gothic ghost-ship headpiece was a nod to surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, who also inspired her 1995 music video for Bedtime Story, now part of MOMA's collection. Lisa from Blackpink had two additional arms within her veiled gown, sculpted from 3D scans of her own body by Robert Wun, posed in reference to traditional Thai dance.

What comes next for the Met and its patrons

The exhibition 'Costume Art' will run until January 10, 2027, offering the public a chance to see the pieces that inspired the night's looks. The Met Gala's record fundraising underscores the growing intersection of fashion, art, and tech wealth. As the night unfolded, Vogue kept a live blog with up-to-the-minute coverage of the festivities and after-parties throughout New York City. The event's success raises questions about the future of cultural institutions and their reliance on billionaire patrons, a tension that is unlikely to fade.

The bottom line

• The 2026 Met Gala raised a record $42 million, with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos contributing $10 million.
• Beyoncé's diamond skeleton gown and Kim Kardashian's Allen Jones corset were among the most talked-about looks.
• Three attendees channeled John Singer Sargent's Madame X, including Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
• Tech billionaires Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Brin attended, sparking debate over money's role in cultural institutions.
• The exhibition 'Costume Art' opens May 10, 2026, in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries.