The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its Spring 2026 Costume Institute exhibition, “Costume Art,” which will open on May 10, 2026, inaugurating the new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast gallery designed by Peterson Rich Office. The exhibition will feature artworks from across the Met’s collections in dialogue with garments from the Costume Institute, focusing primarily on Western art from prehistory to the present. Major sponsors include Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, with additional support from Saint Laurent and Condé Nast. Curator Andrew Bolton and museum director Max Hollein spoke at the press conference, where preview objects included Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons ensemble and Hans Bellmer’s "La Poupée."
This exhibition matters because it marks a significant institutional recognition of fashion as a central art form within the Met, with a dedicated permanent gallery space on the ground floor off the Great Hall. By placing garments in direct dialogue with artworks from across the museum’s vast collections, “Costume Art” aims to elevate fashion’s role within culture and art, connecting every department and gallery. The show underscores the Met’s commitment to fashion as a scholarly and artistic discipline, while the high-profile sponsorship and celebrity attendance signal the continued cultural and commercial importance of the Costume Institute’s annual exhibitions.