The Metropolitan Museum of Art is set to dramatically elevate the presence of fashion within its historic halls. The institution will open the Condé M. Nast Galleries in the spring of 2026, a nearly 12,000-square-foot space dedicated to the Costume Institute, located in a prime position just off the museum's iconic Great Hall.
This move relocates the fashion exhibitions from a lower-level space to one of the most visible areas in the museum, signaling a major acknowledgment of fashion's cultural and artistic significance. The new galleries will occupy what was previously the museum's largest retail store.
Key Takeaways
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art will open the new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries for its Costume Institute in spring 2026.
- The galleries are in a prominent location adjacent to the museum's Great Hall, a significant upgrade from the previous lower-level space.
- The inaugural exhibition, "Costume Art," will run from May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, and will explore the dressed body across art history.
- The project reflects the immense popularity of fashion exhibitions, such as 2018's record-breaking "Heavenly Bodies," which drew over 1.6 million visitors.
A Transformative Moment for Fashion
The creation of a centrally located, expansive home for the Costume Institute is being hailed as a landmark development. For years, the department was situated in a less prominent area of the museum. This new placement signifies a fundamental shift in how fashion is perceived within the art world.
Andrew Bolton, the curator-at-large for the Costume Institute, described the move as a huge moment. "It will be transformative for our department, but I also think it’s going to be transformative to fashion more generally—the fact that an art museum like the Met is actually giving a central location to fashion," he said.
Max Hollein, the director and chief executive of the Met, emphasized the strategic importance of the decision. "It’s a major milestone in the development of the Met’s profound involvement and sincere engagement with the history of fashion," he noted, adding that it was a priority to give the collection the level of prominence it requires.
Inaugural Exhibition to Redefine 'Costume Art'
The new galleries will be inaugurated with a major exhibition titled "Costume Art," scheduled to open on May 10, 2026. The show aims to highlight what Bolton calls "the centrality of the dressed body within the museum."
The exhibition will feature an innovative curatorial approach, pairing historical and contemporary garments from the Costume Institute's collection with paintings, sculptures, and other objects from across the Met's various departments. This method seeks to create new dialogues between different forms of art.
"What connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body. It’s the common thread throughout the whole museum," Bolton explained.
The exhibition will move away from displaying clothing as isolated artifacts. Instead, it will focus on the human form, with thematic sections exploring archetypes like the "Naked Body" and "Classical Body." It will also include often-overlooked categories such as the "Ageing Body" and "Pregnant Body," aiming for a more universal and resonant experience for visitors.
Fashion's Drawing Power
The decision to create the new galleries is supported by hard data. The 2018 exhibition Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination not only set an attendance record for the Costume Institute but also became the most-visited exhibition in the Met's entire history, attracting more than 1.6 million people during its run.
The Forces Behind the Expansion
The Costume Institute's rise to prominence has been significantly influenced by Anna Wintour, the global editorial director of Vogue and a trustee of the museum. As chair of the Met Gala, she has transformed the annual fundraiser into a global media event that provides the primary funding for the department.
A Self-Sufficient Department
The Costume Institute is the only curatorial department at the Met that is required to fund its own operations, including acquisitions, exhibitions, and staff salaries. The annual Met Gala is its main source of revenue. In May 2024, the event raised a staggering $31 million.
Wintour sees the gala's high profile as a gateway for public engagement with the museum's broader collections. "The entry point was watching whatever they see on the red carpet," she said, suggesting the event encourages people to visit other exhibitions.
The new galleries are named in honor of a significant gift from Condé Nast. The inaugural exhibition and the 2026 Met Gala will receive additional underwriting from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, journalist Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
Design and Future Plans
The Condé M. Nast Galleries were designed by the Brooklyn-based architectural firm Peterson Rich Office. The project also includes plans for new dining and retail spaces, enhancing the visitor experience in this central part of the museum.
While the new space will become the main stage for the Costume Institute's major spring exhibitions, the existing Anna Wintour Costume Center on the museum's lower level will not be abandoned. It will continue to host smaller, more focused exhibitions in the autumn, ensuring a continuous and varied program of fashion-related content for museum visitors throughout the year.