Met Gala 2026 cochairs : the status now and the key date
Who will be named copresidents of the Met Gala 2026 The straight answer right now : no official names yet. The gala is set for Monday, May 4, 2026 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the cochair lineup remains under wraps.
There is a pattern though. Vogue and The Met usually reveal cochairs in late winter or early spring, after the exhibition theme is announced. That timeline held in recent editions and it shapes expectations again for 2026, which is why attention is already pointed at the first months of the year.
Met Gala 2026 cochairs : what to expect and when the names usually arrive
The main question is timing. The Met tends to announce the Costume Institute exhibition in the fall of the previous year, then confirms cochairs closer to spring. For 2024, The Met previewed the exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” in November 2023 in its press materials, before Vogue named the celebrity cochairs early the next year.
Expect the 2026 cochair reveal to land between February and April, in line with recent habit. That window gives fashion houses, publicists, and the museum time to lock looks, tables, and travel. It also keeps suspense high, which, let’s be honest, drives search and social buzz.
There is also the format. In recent years, four celebrity cochairs have shared the role alongside Anna Wintour, who oversees the benefit. The names typically blend film, music, sport, and a fashion forward profile, creating a global mix that fits the theme of the exhibition.
How copresidents are chosen : roles, criteria, money realities
The job is part ceremonial, part strategic. Cochairs set the tone on the steps, help host inside, and support the fundraising push for the Costume Institute. According to The New York Times, individual tickets cost 75,000 dollars in 2024 and tables started at 350,000 dollars, figures that underscore why sponsor alignment and international star power matter.
Selection flows through Anna Wintour and the Costume Institute, with input from lead sponsors and fashion houses tied to the exhibition. In 2024, Vogue confirmed Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth as cochairs. TikTok and Loewe sponsored that edition, and Vogue listed TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew and Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson as honorary chairs as well.
The financial impact is significant. The gala is the main funding source for the Costume Institute, and 2023 set a record haul reported at more than 22 million dollars by The New York Times. Those stakes explain why profiles with broad reach across continents tend to be chosen, and why the reveal is managed tightly.
Recent cochair lineups shaping the 2026 outlook
Looking back helps. For 2023, tied to the exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, Vogue named Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, and Roger Federer as cochairs. The diversity of fields was clear, and each had a credible link to fashion history or an active relationship with major houses.
The following year leaned into showstoppers. With “Sleeping Beauties” as the exhibition, Zendaya returned to the steps as a cochair, alongside Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth, a quartet that balanced fashion resonance and mass appeal. Again, this mirrored the sponsor set and the design houses set to dominate the carpet.
What does that suggest for 2026 A similar blend is likely, aligned to the new exhibition, with at least one figure from music and one from film, often joined by a sports icon or a global television star. That is not rumor, just the visible pattern from official lineups in 2023 and 2024 reported by Vogue.
So when will the Met announce the 2026 cochairs
Watch late winter into early spring 2026. That is when Vogue normally drops the names, shortly after The Met begins its promotional run for the exhibition. If the museum follows its usual calendar, the reveal will hit weeks before red carpet fittings go into overdrive.
Until then, the most reliable sources stay the same : The Met press room and Vogue’s official channels. Social speculation will fly, definetly, but the confirmed copresidents arrive through those outlets, and the first Monday in May will do the rest.