The Countdown Begins: One Month to the Met Gala! ~ Fashion & Style

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LAIRD BORRELLI-PERSSON
SENIOR ARCHIVE EDITOR, VOGUE U.S.

We’re officially one month away from the 2026 Met Gala! Each Monday in April, Vogue editors will take you inside what’s shaping this year’s conversation—spotlighting standout looks, revisiting memorable moments from the archive, and sharing the perspectives that make the Met Gala fashion’s most anticipated night.

The Met Gala red carpet really is thrilling, but for me the exhibition is equally enthralling. Chalk that up to my having completed a Master’s in Museum Studies and Fashion History, and working at the Museum at FIT. My first Costume Institute experience dates back to when Diana Vreeland was the curator—my aunt worked across the street at Marymount and let me roam the galleries. Later I would learn that museum fashion departments have often been relegated to the basement, representing fine art’s assumed higher place in the pecking order. Part of the excitement around “Costume Art” is that the exhibition will inaugurate the Condé M. Nast Gallery on the Met’s first floor. The publisher’s daughter shared her memories of her father with me earlier this year.

The pairing of art and clothing is right up my alley and I can’t wait for a preview walk-though with the erudite curator Andrew Bolton. I’m expecting to see some archival Jean Paul Gaultier on display as he’s done so many trompe l’oeil body prints and I’m wondering if one of my favorite dresses ever, a long white number from Ann Demeulmeester’s fall 1997 collection, will make the cut. It has an inner tie that transforms a long white tee into a draped design worthy of the Acropolis. As for my favorite Met red carpet look, it’s the 1998 Dior couture dress (from the Marchesa Casati collection) that Jessica Stam wore to the opening of “Poiret: King of Fashion” in 2007. Sigh.

Look out for next Monday’s newsletter, where another one of our editors will share their favorite Met Gala moments.