{"id":389713,"date":"2026-04-21T02:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T02:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/389713\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T02:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T02:07:14","slug":"understanding-the-difference-between-theme-and-dress-code-and-how-closely-attendees-follow-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/389713\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the difference between theme and dress code \u2014 and how closely attendees follow it"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTech White Tie,\u201d \u201cAmerican Independence,\u201d \u201cThe Garden of Time\u201d\u2026 What do they all have in common? Well, that\u2019s easy: They were all Met Gala<\/a> dress codes.<\/p>\n

For over 50 years, the Met Gala, often referred to as fashion\u2019s biggest night, has adopted a dress code inspired by the Costume Institute\u2019s annual spring exhibition. Though often varying in specificity and inspiration, this year\u2019s Met Gala dress code is particularly open-ended and therefore welcoming of innumerable interpretations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gala dress code will be \u2018Fashion is Art,\u2019 inviting guests to express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form and celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history,\u201d reads a statement from the Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a> for this year\u2019s gala.<\/p>\n

But there are a few more things worth understanding before the first Monday of May rolls around. Allow us to serve as your unofficial guide to the Met Gala dress code and theme \u2014 and how they differ.<\/p>\n

The difference between theme and dress code\"Sabrina<\/p>\n

Sabrina Carpenter at the 2024 Met Gala.<\/p>\n

(Aliah Anderson via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While \u201ctheme\u201d and \u201cdress code\u201d are often used interchangeably when talking about the Met Gala, they technically mean and refer to different things. The Met Gala, for instance, does not have a theme \u2014 it has a dress code inspired by the theme of the Costume Institute\u2019s annual spring exhibition. The Costume Institute, a curatorial department within the Metropolitan Museum of Art that houses a collection of over 33,000 pieces of clothing and accessories spanning seven centuries, is the primary beneficiary of the annual Met Gala.<\/p>\n

The theme for the Costume Institute\u2019s spring 2026 exhibition<\/a> is \u201cCostume Art,\u201d and the dress code for the 2026 Met Gala is \u201cFashion is Art.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCostume Art,\u201d Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge, told Vogue<\/a>, is inspired by the \u201ccentrality of the dressed body in the museum\u2019s vast collections.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat connects every curatorial department and what connects every single gallery in the museum is fashion, or the dressed body,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cIt\u2019s the common thread throughout the whole museum, which is really what the initial idea for the exhibition was, this epiphany: I know that we\u2019ve often been seen as the stepchild, but in fact the dressed body is front and center in every gallery you come across. Even the nude is never naked. \u2026 It\u2019s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some themes from the Costume Institute\u2019s past spring exhibitions and the accompanying dress code for that year\u2019s Met Gala:<\/p>\n

2025<\/p>\n

Theme: \u201cSuperfine: Tailoring Black Style\u201d<\/p>\n

Dress code: \u201cTailored for You\u201d<\/p>\n

2024<\/p>\n

Theme: \u201cSleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion\u201d<\/p>\n

Dress code: \u201cThe Garden of Time\u201d<\/p>\n

2023<\/p>\n

Theme: \u201cKarl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty\u201d<\/p>\n

Dress code: \u201cIn Honor of Karl\u201d<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

Theme: \u201cIn America: An Anthology of Fashion\u201d<\/p>\n

Dress code: \u201cGilded Glamour and White Tie\u201d<\/p>\n

Standout dress code interpretations\"Rihanna<\/p>\n

Rihanna at the 2018 Met Gala.<\/p>\n

(Jackson Lee via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

When Vogue declares you the winner of the Met Gala<\/a>, you know you\u2019ve done something right. At the 2018 Met Gala, Rihanna put a decadent spin on the event\u2019s dress code, which was \u201cSunday Best,\u201d in honor of the Costume Institute\u2019s theme for the spring exhibit that year, which was \u201cHeavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quite literally referred to as \u201cPope Rihanna\u201d for this ensemble, the \u201cKiss It Better\u201d singer, who was also a cochair that year, stepped out in a custom Maison Margiela Artisanal look inspired by religious iconography \u2014 a minidress, cape and beaded papal miter \u2014 designed by John Galliano and exquisitely crafted with pearl-and-crystal embellishments. For finishing touches, RiRi opted for custom Christian Louboutin heels, a pearl clutch and a circa 1934 Cartier crucifix necklace.<\/p>\n

But Rihanna isn\u2019t alone in crafting memorable, over-the-top looks for the Met Gala. Also in a league of her own is Zendaya, who has proven time and again why she\u2019s always one of the most hotly anticipated arrivals for the event.<\/p>\n

\"Law<\/p>\n

Law Roach and Zendaya at the 2019 Met Gala.<\/p>\n

(Theo Wargo via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s hard to pick just one noteworthy Met Gala look from Z, we\u2019ll try our best. A look that immediately comes to mind is from 2019, when the Drama star channeled her inner Cinderella<\/a> in a baby-blue light-up ball gown by Tommy Hilfiger for the dress code \u201cStudied Trivality,\u201d inspired by the Costume Institute\u2019s spring exhibit \u201cCamp: Notes on Fashion.\u201d It was one of Zendaya\u2019s earlier Met Gala experiences, and yet she still managed to knock it out of the park \u2014 with help from her longtime stylist Law Roach, who also dressed as her fairy godmother that evening. It was a perfect marriage of couture and camp. No notes on our end!<\/p>\n

\"Blake<\/p>\n

Blake Lively at the 2022 Met Gala.<\/p>\n

(Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Another Met Gala look worthy of an honorable mention? The custom Atelier Versace gown<\/a> that Blake Lively wore in 2022. Inspired by art deco architecture in New York City, Lively\u2019s transformative copper-toned gown featured a crystal-embellished bodice and a breathtaking patina-green train, which she paired with matching opera gloves, in honor of the Statue of Liberty. In line with the Costume Institute\u2019s spring exhibit \u201cIn America: An Anthology of Fashion,\u201d the Met Gala\u2019s \u201cGilded Glamour and White Tie\u201d dress code encouraged attendees to interpret the extravagance of American style in the Gilded Age \u2014 which Lively did to a T.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect all attendees to follow the dress code<\/p>\n

While you are required to abide by the Met Gala dress code, there have been instances in which attendees showed up in looks that were\u2026 well, loose interpretations at best.<\/p>\n

\"Sydney<\/p>\n

Sydney Sweeney at the 2025 Met Gala.<\/p>\n

(John Shearer via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Just last year, Sydney Sweeney wore a fringed black beaded Miu Miu frock with a keyhole detail. While the custom-made gown was a chic selection, Sweeney faced backlash<\/a> for failing to honor the gala\u2019s dress code, \u201cTailored for You,\u201d inspired by the Costume Institute\u2019s spring exhibition \u201cSuperfine: Tailoring Black Style<\/a>.\u201d The Euphoria star\u2019s look was criticized for spotlighting neither men\u2019s suiting nor Black dandyism, a movement steeped in the rebellion and liberation of Black men from their enslavers.<\/p>\n

Sweeney also revealed the inspiration for her look: Kim Novak, a famed Hollywood actress in the 1950s, who Sweeney was cast to play in the upcoming film Scandalous! But Novak recently called Sweeney the \u201ctotally wrong<\/a>\u201d choice to portray her.<\/p>\n

\"Kanye<\/p>\n

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian at the 2013 Met Gala.<\/p>\n

(Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In 2013, Kim Kardashian walked the Met Gala red carpet with Kanye West in a floor-length floral-print gown<\/a> designed by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy, while pregnant with daughter North West. It marked her first-ever Met Gala appearance, which is a pretty big deal when you consider the fact that she\u2019s become a mainstay at the event. The gown seemed like a choice, especially since the Costume Institute\u2019s spring exhibition \u201cPunk: Chaos to Couture\u201d and the Met Gala’s \u201cPunk\u201d dress code<\/a> seemed to encourage edgier, dark-hued ensembles (see: Cara Delevingne<\/a>\u2019s studded Burberry gown and Miley Cyrus<\/a>\u2019s mesh Marc Jacobs frock).<\/p>\n