2026 Meta Gala Red Carpet Arrivals: Hudson Williams, Doechii, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Sam Smith, and More

The 2026 Met Gala is upon us, people — and yes, we’re already stress-eating canapés on behalf of every stylist in Manhattan. Tonight, the Metropolitan Museum of Art becomes the most exclusive runway on the planet, with co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams leading the charge. No pressure or anything.

This year’s theme, “Costume Art,” is the museum’s long-overdue love letter to fashion as a legitimate art form — not just something critics name-drop at cocktail parties. Running May 10, 2026 through January 10, 2027, the shiny new ~12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries will house hundreds of works celebrating the dressed (and occasionally undressed) body, with coordinating fashions to match. The evening’s dress code? “Fashion is Art.” Vague enough to mean everything. Specific enough to mean nothing. Godspeed, stylists.

The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating 'Costume Art' — **Zoe Kravitz** — Credit: TheStewartOfNY/INSTARimages

And here’s where it gets spicy: the exhibit’s sub-sections — think Hellenistic drapery, anatomical explorations, and an entire ode to the nude body — are basically handing guests a cheat sheet. Given Hollywood’s current obsession with naked dressing, don’t be shocked if half the carpet looks like it was styled by Michelangelo and the other half by someone who simply forgot fabric existed.