Beau monde prepares for biggest night on May 4 as internet gears up to ‘judge’
Last November, fashion’s most looked-forward-to night, the Met Gala, unveiled its dress code – “Fashion is Art”.
Echoing its theme’s ethos, Costume Art, industry leaders, fashion trailblazers and thespians will walk the iconic carpet on May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Accompanying the announcement of its theme, the co-chairs of the 2026 Met Gala were also disclosed, with an almost all-women, queer line-up: Beyonce, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, Anna Wintour, who is currently Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and artistic director, and members of the Gala Host Committee – co-chaired by YSL creative director Anthony Vaccarello and Zoe Kravitz.
“What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body, as per Vogue.
“It’s the common threat throughout the whole museum, which is really what the initial idea for the exhibition was,” Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, said.
This year, the theme explores the “relationship between clothing and the body”, with an acute focus on prehistoric Western art to the 21st century. It is at this juncture that fashion and artwork will meet at the cross-section of concept, aesthetics and politics.
Anticipated to upstage or match the artistry and political significance of last year’s Met Gala (Superfine: Tailoring Black Style), the 2026 one has already been met with scrutiny as Jeff Bezos (and Lauren Sanchez Bezos) is its main sponsor, who is a controversial billionaire and his affiliation with the Epstein files.
Even so, many will tune in for the individual interpretations of the theme, as the event – often dubbed fashion’s biggest night – delivers its course.
Whether it is another boring beige-coloured nude dress or an archival look, May 4 promises spectacle and scrutiny as the internet cosplays as “fashion police”.
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The Sun Malaysia
