Met Gala 2026 “Costume Art” Theme and “Fashion Is Art” Gown Code Defined

When everyone else is busily decking their halls, in-demand stylist Law Roach begins thinking about how he’ll deck out longtime client Zendaya for fashion’s biggest night. 

Because when it comes to determining her 2026 Met Gala look, “It usually starts 5 months in advance,” the fashion pro shared on an April 30 Reddit “Ask Me Anything” forum ahead of the May 4 event. “It all starts with what the designer says the client is going with. Once that’s figured out, we just have a conversation about inspiration, and then I take it back to my team.” 

That’s also around the time that Anna Wintour and her team putting together the annual benefit for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute announces the theme of that year’s exhibition. 

And with 2026’s “Costume Art” display pairing historical and modern garments from the Met’s curatorial departments with art objects spanning across 5,000 years, well, expect to see some real masterpieces ascending the museum’s famed steps.