NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that the 2026 Met Gala will carry the theme "Costume Art," with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour serving as co-hosts. Tickets for the New York event start at $100,000 per seat and $350,000 for a table of ten.

The dress code for the gala is "Fashion is Art," the museum said. The theme is drawn from the Costume Institute's spring 2026 exhibition of the same name, which is organized into sections including the "Naked Body," the "Classical Body," the "Pregnant Body" and the "Aging Body."

"It's a show that can really live in fascinating ways at the museum and can pull from all different areas of our collection — paintings, sculpture, drawings," said Max Hollein, CEO and director of the Met. "The show is organized thematically by different body types," said Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's curator in charge.

The 2026 gala will mark Knowles-Carter's first appearance at the event in ten years. She has attended seven times previously. Kidman previously chaired the gala in 2003 and 2005 and has made six appearances. Williams, who launched her own fashion label during her tennis career, will serve as a chair for the first time. Wintour retains final approval over the guest list.

The 2026 edition is the first Met Gala since Wintour stepped down as Vogue's editor-in-chief. She has taken on the titles of Condé Nast's chief content officer and Vogue's global editorial director. The Host Committee for the 2026 gala is chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz.

The Met Gala is traditionally held on the first Monday in May. Since 1948, it has raised money to fund the Costume Institute's operations and exhibitions. In 2025, the gala raised $31 million.