The biggest night in the fashion world is fast approaching, and E! News has revealed how the Met Gala chose its now-iconic date—the first Monday in May, UNN reports.
Details
Indeed, the publication writes, Hollywood's most stylish stars will arrive at the 2026 Met Gala on May 4, which is the first Monday in May. Ahead of the event, co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, the publication sought to understand why this event has now become iconic.
The live broadcast of the red carpet usually kicks off in the evening New York time (around 6:00 PM), which corresponds to 1:00 AM on May 5, Kyiv time.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual benefit for the Costume Institute was not always held on the first Monday in May. After all, while this lavish gala has been held since 1948, the tradition of its now-iconic date began only 21 years ago.
Although the event was held in late April between 2001 and 2004, the most obvious date change occurred in 2000. In fact, until the turn of the new millennium, the fashion world's premier event usually took place in late November or early December.
It all started with the 1999 event, when an exhibition dedicated to Coco Chanel was canceled following the death of the Metropolitan Museum's chief curator, Richard Martin, in November of that year. The following year, the museum told The New York Times that it was "impossible" for the Costume Institute to prepare an exhibition by the usual date.
Following the cancellation, the organization decided to hold an exhibition in honor of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 2001 from May 1—a Tuesday—to July 29, marking the beginning of the event's beloved spring period.
It wasn't until 2005 that the institute established the first Monday in May as the event date, when the Metropolitan Museum hosted an event titled "In Honor of Chanel."
While the first Monday of the fifth month of the calendar year has become synonymous with the event, the date has proven flexible. Ultimately, the celebration was completely canceled in 2002 following the September 11 attacks and moved to September in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in 2026, the tradition remains, and celebrities are expected to bring their A-game to the party themed "Costume Art." This year's dress code, "Fashion Is Art," calls on Met Gala participants to reflect on how a designer uses their body as a "blank canvas."
"What unites every curatorial department and every gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body," said Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute, in a statement regarding the theme, according to Vogue. "It is the common thread that runs through the entire museum, and that was the original idea for the exhibition."
How much it costs to attend the Met Gala
If you are lucky enough to receive an invitation to the biggest fashion event of the year, a ticket for one person costs $30,000, and a table costs $275,000.
Fortunately, not everyone has to pay for entry, as Anna Wintour is known to invite emerging designers to the gala. And typically, celebrities invited specifically to showcase a designer's work on the red carpet also do not have to pay.
And the high price tag doesn't deter the rest of the stylish public: there is even a waiting list.
"I know people in high society who couldn't get a ticket and are ready to go if a last-minute spot opens up. They are ready to head out," vintage store owner Cameron Silver, who has attended the event several times, told Page Six in 2017. "They prepare their look even if they aren't sure they'll manage to secure a spot a few days before the event."
Number of participants
It varies: 500 is considered a small and intimate number, while 800—the largest number of participants ever present at the Met Gala—is considered too large.
"We want the event to feel intimate for our guests," Vogue's Sylvana Ward Durrett told Fast Company in 2017, "so in the last few years, we've significantly reduced the number of participants, cutting it by nearly 200 or 300 people."
Despite the event's reputation as a lavish and glamorous affair, organizers actually want it to remain exclusive to the lucky few who get to attend, and Wintour usually starts the list with the hope of keeping it at 500 people.
And just because a celebrity is invited doesn't mean they automatically get an invitation for their significant other; their partner must also receive their own invitation.