Met Gala 2026: “Costume Art” Exhibition, Jeff Bezos Sponsorship, and Protest

On May 4, 2026, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held its Costume Institute fundraiser, the Met Gala, themed “Costume Art.” The exhibition paired about 200 garments with artworks in a 12,000-sq-ft space near the Great Hall, highlighting the link between clothing and the body.

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The Met Gala began in 1948 as a dinner for 50 and now funds the Costume Institute. The 2025 gala raised $31 million; the 2026 event reached $42 million, aided by sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez.

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Chief curator Andrew Bolton called the show a “celebration of body plurality,” linking art and garments. The exhibition divides into “Diversity in Bodily Being” and “Bodily Being in Its Universality,” with categories like Naked and Nude, Pregnant, Aging, and Mortal bodies. Nine participants were scanned to create realistic mannequins, moving beyond ultrathin standards.

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Olivia Wilde wore a black off-the-shoulder Thom Browne dress with a caged white tulle train. Heidi Klum appeared as a marble statue, covered in chalky gray body paint and facial prosthetics. Reports said Zendaya and Meryl Streep were absent, with no confirmation of protest solidarity.

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The museum said the “Costume Art” exhibition pairs garments with artworks to reveal the dressed body’s relationship to art. It opens on May 10 and remains on view for eight months. The gala’s $42 million total includes contributions from Bezos, Sánchez.

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Activists outside the museum called for a boycott of Jeff Bezos over wealth and labor concerns. The protest echoed demands for celebrities to use the red-carpet for messaging, recalling backlash to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Tax the Rich” dress. No formal response confirmed solidarity.

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• Exhibition size: 12,000 sq ft, ~200 garments, 418-page catalogue

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• Sponsors: Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez, Condé Nast, Thom Browne, Michael Kors, Tory Burch

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• Fundraising: $31 million (2025) -> $42 million (2026)

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• “Costume Art” literally has something for every body on view. — Andrew Bolton, Chief Curator, Costume Institute

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• “The body is under attack from different places — first and foremost from artificial intelligence, and from politics. So the idea of celebrating the body in all of its forms, differences and beauty is something that might resonate with the times under which we are living. Different bodies are being questioned.” — Andrew Bolton, Chief Curator, Costume Institute

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• “It’s about commonality and differences at the same time, and a celebration of body plurality,” — Andrew Bolton, Chief Curator, Costume Institute

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• “The other day a colleague came through and said, ‘This is like a G-rated movie. There’s something here for everyone,” — Andrew Bolton, Chief Curator, Costume Institute

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Sources differ on whether celebrity absences are protest-related; no confirmation exists. The museum has not responded to boycott demands.

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The exhibition opens May 10 and runs through January 2027, offering continued engagement with body-diversity themes.

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