Fashion's biggest night of the year just got even bigger as the 2026 Met Gala theme just dropped.On Monday, Nov. 17, Vogue announced that the annual event will be themed "Costume Art," with a corresponding special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2026.According to museum curator Andrew Bolton, the forthcoming gala's latest theme calls for a "transformative" moment for both the museum and the industry."It will be transformative for our department, but I also think it’s going to be transformative to fashion more generally — the fact that an art museum like The Met is actually giving a central location to fashion."The 59-year-old curator added that the exhibit that will accompany the 2026 Met Gala will address:"the centrality of the dressed body in the museum’s vast collection, adding that it is what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body."He elaborated:"It’s the common thread throughout the whole museum, which is really what the initial idea for the exhibition was, this epiphany: I know that we’ve often been seen as the stepchild, but, in fact, the dressed body is front and center in every gallery you come across. Even the nude is never naked. It’s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas."2026 Met Gala theme reclaims “the body” in the dialogue between art and fashion"Costume Art," the theme of the 2026 Met Gala, emphasizes the importance of the body, or the "the indivisible connection between our bodies and the clothes we wear." Andrew Bolton added that fashion "has an edge on art because it is about one’s lived, embodied experience."The museum curator explains that the new theme recommends "putting the body back" in talks of fashion and art, fully embracing it, for it is a significant part of the conversation."The idea was to put the body back into discussions about art and fashion, and to embrace the body, not to take it away as a way of elevating fashion to an art form."The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" - Arrivals - Source: GettyMeanwhile, Vogue is yet to announce the dress code for the 2026 Met Gala.During the 2025 Met Gala, the theme was "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," with a "Tailored for You" dress code.At the time, the annual fashion event honored the influence of Black dandyism, with Anna Wintour, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, and Colman Domingo co-chairing the gala. Meanwhile, LeBron James served as an honorary chair.Among the best-dressed last year were Christian Lachman, Coco Jones, Lewis Hamilton, Zoe Saldana, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Tyler Mitchell, Gigi Hadid, Khaby Lame, Bad Bunny, Anne Hathaway, Dua Lipa and fiancé Callum Turner, Andra Day, Miley Cyrus, and Jodie Turner-Smith.