The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened “Costume Art” to the public on May 10, 2026, using the Costume Institute’s spring show to inaugurate a new suite of exhibition galleries and to make an argument about whose bodies fashion has been built for. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s Curator in Charge, the exhibition gathers roughly 400 objects and runs at The Met Fifth Avenue through January 10, 2027.
A new home for fashion at the Met
The headline institutional fact is the real estate. “Costume Art” is the first exhibition in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a nearly 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the museum’s Great Hall, announced as part of the Met’s plan for a permanent, large-scale home for shows exploring the art of fashion. For an institution whose Costume Institute blockbusters have long had to share or borrow gallery space, the dedicated footprint is a structural shift, not just a decorating choice.
The show’s argument
The exhibition pairs garments with works of art across the museum’s collection, organizing them around the human body and, by several accounts, deliberately widening the range of body types that fashion display has historically centered. Reviews framed it as the Met “making a case for making fashion diverse again,” with the curatorial premise that clothing and the figure it dresses are inseparable subjects. Nearly 400 objects are on view.
The gala that launched it
As is now tradition, the exhibition’s name doubled as the theme of the Met Gala, the Costume Institute’s annual fundraiser, held Monday, May 4, 2026 — six days before the public opening. Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s global chief content officer, again chaired the benefit, whose proceeds fund the Costume Institute’s operations and exhibitions. The gala remains the single largest source of the department’s annual budget, which is why the Costume Institute is the only curatorial department at the Met required to fund itself.
Why it matters
“Costume Art” is both a show and a statement of intent. By spending on a permanent, nearly 12,000-square-foot gallery and opening it with an exhibition about the body, the Met is signaling that fashion is a permanent fixture of its program rather than a once-a-year spectacle. For New Yorkers, the practical upshot is a major fashion exhibition that stays open through the holidays and into the new year — on view at the Fifth Avenue museum through January 10, 2027.
Verification
- Public run (May 10, 2026 – January 10, 2027), inaugural exhibition in the new galleries adjacent to the Great Hall, and the roughly 12,000-square-foot size — The Met spring 2026 exhibition program: https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/spring-2026-exhibitions
- Andrew Bolton as Curator in Charge, the “Condé M. Nast Galleries” name, nearly 400 objects, and the body-types framing — WWD first look: https://wwd.com/pop-culture/culture-news/first-look-met-gala-costume-art-museum-1238938077/
- Met Gala held May 4, 2026; “Costume Art” theme — CBS New York: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/met-gala-theme-2026-costume-art/
- Exhibition’s diversity-of-body-types premise — Wallpaper* review: https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/costume-art-met-costume-institute-exhibition-2026
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is 'Costume Art' and when can I see it?
- It is the Met Costume Institute's spring 2026 exhibition, on view at The Met Fifth Avenue from May 10, 2026 through January 10, 2027. It pairs fashion with works of art organized around the human body.
- Where is it installed?
- In the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a nearly 12,000-square-foot suite adjacent to the Great Hall — the first dedicated special-exhibition galleries the Costume Institute has had at that scale.
- Who curated it?
- Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's Curator in Charge.
- When was the 2026 Met Gala?
- Monday, May 4, 2026. 'Costume Art' was the gala's namesake theme; the exhibition opened to the public six days later, on May 10.