All articles tagged with #costume institute
The Met Gala has shifted from a prestige-only fashion night toward a corporate-driven spectacle, with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez serving as honorary chairs and reportedly spending over $10 million to sponsor the event; critics say the red carpet looked like a collage and the art-inspired theme struggled to feel fresh, even as the gala raised a record $42 million for the Costume Institute.
Honorary Met Gala co-chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos used a Costume Institute press-preview speech to praise Anna Wintour for elevating fashion as art, and to emphasize the future of fashion—backed in part by Jeff Bezos’s Bezos Earth Fund funding lab-grown sustainable fabrics. With Wintour, Venus Williams and other co‑chairs in attendance, Sánchez Bezos highlighted the exhibit’s theme 'Fashion is Art' and the designers who create it.
Live coverage of Met Gala 2026 as the dress code 'Fashion is Art' launches the Costume Art theme, with the Costume Institute's new Condé Nast Galleries, and Bezos-Lauren Sánchez funding drawing activist protests and boycott chatter; tickets remain pricey, tech companies buy tables, and Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams lead a star-studded lineup under Anna Wintour's guidance for an evening of artful, risk-taking fashion and performances.
The Met’s Costume Institute unveils a new 12,000-square-foot space for Costume Art, pairing 200 garments with 200 artworks and organizing them into 13 “body” themes to recast fashion as art and pedestalize diverse bodies—while the Met Gala’s Bezos-backed launch stirs controversy about funding, the exhibition foregrounds the dressed body as a key lens through which fashion and antiquities sit in dialogue.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez reportedly paid at least $10 million to sponsor the Met Gala and serve as honorary co-chairs, with some sources suggesting the total could be higher, highlighting a trend of billionaire-led funding in fashion. The move, celebrated by some as strategic promotion for the Costume Institute, drew criticism from others who say the gala is becoming more transactional and less about fashion’s artistry. The couple’s participation underscores the growing influence of tech money at the event, while Anna Wintour’s approval appears to remain a key factor.
The Met Gala 2026 returns on Monday with a 'Fashion is Art' theme tied to the Costume Institute's spring 2026 exhibition, 'Costume Art,' promising a star-studded, fashion-forward night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; full details (guest list, viewing options) require Globe access.
This guide to the 2026 Met Gala covers the theme, hosts and dress code, while noting the Costume Institute’s next show and its new home at the Condé Nast Galleries—the 11,500-square-foot entrance that signals fashion’s prime place in the Met.
The 2026 Met Gala will explore the Costume Art exhibition with the dress code “Fashion is Art,” inviting attendees to treat the dressed body as a canvas as designers pair garments from the Costume Institute with artworks spanning 5,000 years. The show will occupy the Met’s new Condé M. Nast Galleries and features nearly 400 objects. Co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour will lead the gala, with a broadened host committee including Doja Cat, Elizabeth Debicki, Misty Copeland, and others; Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serve as honorary chairs. The event emphasizes wearable art and how fashion intersects with art across the museum.
Vogue has announced the theme for the 2024 Met Gala, titled "Sleeping Beauties," which is inspired by historically significant and aesthetically beautiful garments that are too fragile to be worn again. This announcement has sparked speculation that the theme may be a nod to the controversy surrounding Kim Kardashian wearing and allegedly damaging Marilyn Monroe's iconic dress at the 2022 Met Gala. However, both Kim and Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum have clarified that the dress was not damaged during Kim's brief wear. Regardless, guests at the upcoming Met Gala are expected to carefully select and possibly replicate delicate gowns from fashion history.
The theme for the 2024 Met Gala has been revealed as "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," inspired by the exhibit of the same name at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit will feature 250 pieces from the Costume Institute's permanent collection, including historically significant pieces that are too fragile to be worn again. The fashion exhibition will explore the relationship between humans and the natural world through fashion, with displays organized around the themes of land, sea, and sky. The exhibit will run from May 10 to September 2, 2024, and will showcase designs from notable fashion designers such as Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney, and Yves Saint Laurent.
The theme for the next Met Gala, set to take place on May 6, 2024, has been revealed as "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art will showcase fragile garments from its collection, displayed in special glass "coffins," exploring cyclical themes of rebirth and renewal through creative and immersive activations. The exhibit will feature about 250 garments and accessories spanning four centuries, with each room inspired by the natural world. The exhibition will run from May 10 to September 2, 2024.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City plans to transform a large store off its Great Hall into an 11,500-square-foot gallery for its Costume Institute exhibitions. The museum also intends to convert an entrance underneath the main staircase into a retail space and restaurant that will be open to the public even when the museum is closed. The renovation aims to modernize the visitor experience and address overcrowding during popular exhibitions. The project, called the "Great Hall Gallery Project," is estimated to cost over $50 million and will be led by Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue. The renovation is expected to be completed by 2026 in two phases.
The Met Gala 2023 is underway, with celebrities, designers, and fashion enthusiasts gathering for the black-tie event that raises money for the Costume Institute. Known for its outlandish outfits, the red carpet is ready for the stars to showcase their fashion choices.
The Met Gala, also known as the Costume Institute Benefit, will take place tonight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a dress code of "In honor of Karl," a tribute to the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Co-chairing the event are Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Anna Wintour. Lagerfeld's career will also be explored in the Costume Institute's spring exhibition "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty." Lagerfeld's influence and star-making power was undeniable, but over the years he made a number of disparaging statements that upheld thin ideals or cast criticism on the #MeToo movement at a time when the fashion industry was facing a reckoning.
The Met Gala, also known as the Costume Institute Benefit, will take place on the first Monday in May with the dress code "In honor of Karl," a tribute to the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Co-chairing the event are Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Anna Wintour. Lagerfeld's career will also be explored in the Costume Institute's spring exhibition "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty." The gala's themes are chosen based on the Costume Institute's new exhibitions, and past themes have explored highly conceptual or region-specific motifs.