The Met Gala is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual showcase where fundraising, performance and style collide on the museum steps. What begins as a tightly curated benefit quickly becomes a cultural moment: the carpeted ascent to The Met is the place where designers, celebrities and cultural leaders translate a concept into wearable statements. For guests and observers alike, the evening operates as a live exhibition of how clothes can function as commentary, and every arrival is read as an intentional contribution to the discourse.
This edition of the event is organized around the Costume Institute exhibition titled Costume Art, which reframes clothing as a central part of how bodies are depicted across cultures. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show occupies nearly 12,000 square feet in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries and pairs almost 400 objects—garments, accessories and artworks—to explore the dressed body through 13 thematic sections. The display touches on the naked body, the classical body, the pregnant body and the aging body, and opens to the public on Sunday, May 10, running through Sunday, January 10, 2027.
The red carpet brief: interpreting “Fashion Is Art” and the co-chairs’ arrival
With this year’s dress code phrased as “Fashion Is Art”, attendees are being invited to treat clothing as deliberate composition. The instruction functions as both guideline and provocation: expect experiments in proportions, fabric manipulations and color narratives that reference fine art as much as couture. On the first Monday in May, roughly 450 guests representing fashion, entertainment, politics, tech, media and sport will reach the landmark to present their own readings of the theme. Among those greeting arrivals as co-chairs are Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams, joined by longtime host Anna Wintour; Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos hold honorary roles. Their presence often signals the tone of the evening and the kinds of statements designers will create for the red carpet.
Who’s missing and why it matters
Not every headline name will be on the steps this year. One prominent absence is Zendaya, who has opted out of attending as she balances back-to-back promotional work. After intensive press activity for projects such as The Drama and the third season of Euphoria, plus early promotion for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, she chose to skip the Gala evening. The decision underscores how career rhythms—especially the modern publicity cycle—affect participation at cultural events. Zendaya’s last Met appearance saw her in an all-white Louis Vuitton look, so her absence will be noticed not only by fans but by fashion commentators tracking continuity in a celebrity’s red-carpet narrative.
Law Roach, appearances and previewing a look
Zendaya’s stylist, Law Roach, confirmed he will attend independently, framing his presence as one of the rare times the Gala is about his own presentation. When stylists step into the spotlight, they often use the platform to distill their personal aesthetics into a public statement, previewing elements of a concept or emphasizing craft. Roach’s participation without his principal client highlights how the Met can elevate industry-makers as much as star faces, and how the spectacle encompasses both celebrity and behind-the-scenes talent in equal measure.
Rihanna’s ongoing reign and the archive of iconic Met moments
When discussing memorable Met moments, few names generate as much immediate recognition as Rihanna. Over many editions she has shaped our expectations of what bold red-carpet risk-taking can look like—from early playful looks to full-on couture statements that bent silhouette and scale. Her 2015 Guo Pei gown and the enormous 2017 Comme des Garçons creation stand out as examples of dressing that reads as performance as much as fashion. In recent years, she has used the Gala to make personal announcements and to embody themes in ways that blur private life with public spectacle, reinforcing her role as a performer who understands costume as narrative.
As cameras roll tonight and the steps fill, watch for how designers and celebrities reference the museum’s curatorial framing: garments that speak to body, identity and time. The evening will be part exhibition and part runway, and it will generate the images and conversations that carry through the rest of the year. Whether a look leans literal, abstract or theatrical, the Met Gala remains the single night where fashion and art explicitly meet, and where the choices made on the carpet feed back into both industry trends and popular imagination.
