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In honor of the groundbreaking spring exhibit by the Costume Institute titled Costume Art, celebrating the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, the Met Gala is being honored in 2026. The official dress code is fashion is art.

This is a theme that explores the dressed body in depiction over the history of art, which is more than 5,000 years old. It matches historical clothing with art pieces across the entire collection of The Met and is organized into body types, such as the naked body, classical body, pregnant body, aging body, etc. Cloisonne is able to point out the strong relation between the human figure and the clothes.

Fashion is Art creates opportunities to perceive fashion as wearable, living art, leading to dramatic silhouettes, artistic embellishments, and conceptual looks.

The 2019 theme does not only raise funds for the Costume Institute but also secures the status of fashion as a worthy art form in one of the world's greatest museums. The result? The red carpet that was most artistic and thought-provoking in the history of the Met Gala.