Emma Chamberlain attends the 2026 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue All across Manhattan, stars are powdering their noses, smoothing down wrinkles on gowns and suits, and doing one final look in the mirror. It might seem like a lot of fuss for a Monday, but it's not just any Monday. It's the first Monday in May, which means one thing in New York City: Met Gala day. Tonight, celebrities will gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 2026 Met Gala. Business Insider will be sharing live updates throughout the event, from A-list arrivals to the best and worst Met Gala outfits. Read on to be part of fashion's biggest night. Nicole Kidman, a co-chair this year, turned the Met Gala into a mother-daughter date. Sunday Rose Kidman Urban and Nicole Kidman attend the 2026 Met Gala. Julian Hamilton/Getty Images Kidman arrived in a sparkly red gown with a feathered tutu around the waist. It's not immediately clear how her outfit relates to the dress code, but the look works for her. From the colorful dress to her icy blond hair, Kidman was styled to perfection. She walked the carpet with her daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, who is making her Met Gala debut tonight. Ben Stiller and his wife coordinated to support the New York Knicks. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor enter The Carlyle Hotel before the 2026 Met Gala. John Nacion/Getty Images The first Monday in May coincides with the NBA playoffs, and Ben Stiller wasn't going to let the Met Gala dress code stop him from supporting his favorite basketball team. Stiller and his wife, Christine Taylor, stepped out in coordinating outfits to match the Knicks' official colors, with the actor sporting a bright-orange tie and Taylor wearing a strapless cobalt-blue gown. As the couple dances the night away at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Knicks will be playing the Philadelphia 76ers three miles away at Madison Square Garden. The Met Gala has a strict no-phones policy, so TBD if Stiller — a die-hard Knicks fan — will be able to keep up with the score. It wouldn't be a Met Gala red carpet without Anna Wintour's iconic sunglasses. Anna Wintour attends the 2026 Met Gala. Mike Coppola/Getty Images If there are two things Wintour loves, it's her sunglasses and feathers. She arrived on the red carpet in a turquoise-and-black, beaded dress and a feathery cape reminiscent of the one she wore in 2019 for the "Camp: Notes on Fashion" gala. Emma Chamberlain kicks things off on a high note. Emma Chamberlain at the 2026 Met Gala. Theo Wargo/FilmMagic Emma Chamberlain is hosting Vogue's official livestream, so the pressure was on to wear something fabulous. And the influencer delivered in her hand-painted Mugler gown. The custom ensemble was designed by Miguel Castro Freitas, the brand's creative director. In a video from Vogue, Chamberlain said the dress made her feel like she was in a "Van Gogh painting." We have to agree with her assessment: "It's so elegant, but so major." The Met Gala carpet has us seeing double. The 2026 Met Gala red (or rather, green) carpet. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images We've got our first peek of the Met Gala's carpet, and it looks… sort of familiar. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's iconic steps have been covered with a design reminiscent of the 2024 carpet for the "Garden of Time" dress code. Both predominantly featured green and white, though this year's carpet has also been designed to mimic stone. Framing the steps is a backdrop of flowers and drooping trees. Beyoncé's Met Gala history No one can forget Beyoncé's iconic look at the 2015 Met Gala. Mike Coppola/Getty Images Few celebrities do the Met Gala quite like Beyoncé. She's attended seven times since 2008, and she's made an iconic entrance every time. Designers like Emilio Pucci, Givenchy, and Armani have dressed her in an array of elegant and daring gowns. Ty Hunter, who styled Beyoncé for each event, previously told Business Insider that many of her outfits were planned only a day or two in advance. Despite her icon status, Beyoncé last attended the Met Gala in 2016 — marking her as one of the most highly anticipated stars expected to walk the red carpet this year. No one has a bigger impact on the Met Gala than Anna Wintour. Anna Wintour at the Met Gala in May 2025. TheStewartofNY/GC Images/Getty Images Wintour, now Vogue's global editorial director, has been a staple of the Met Gala for over 30 years. She first co-chaired the gala in 1995, and by 1999, she was chairperson. As chairperson, she doesn't pick the theme, but Wintour decides who gets invited. She's also said it's not uncommon for her to offer outfit advice to attendees and designers. Wintour herself most often wears Chanel for the gala — paired with her iconic sunglasses — though she sometimes switches it up. In 2025, she wore Loewe. Read full story Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are sponsors of this year's gala, much to the dismay of protesters. Lauren Sánchez Bezos attends the press conference for the 2026 Met Gala. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images After attending past Met Galas as guests, the billionaire couple is taking on a new role at this year's ball. They're helping fund this year's exhibit and gala, alongside Saint Laurent and Condè Nast. They're also honorary co-chairs. Sánchez Bezos first attended the Met Gala in 2024, walking the red carpet solo in a statement Oscar de la Renta gown. The Amazon founder, on the other hand, has never walked the event's red carpet, but he's been photographed inside. Though the couple has said they're excited for the Met Gala, protest groups have posted boycott signs and other displays across New York City. The guest list is largely a mystery, but we know some stars who will be there. Sabrina Carpenter attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images We know that the Met Gala's host committee members will be in attendance. That includes Anthony Vaccarello, the creative director of YSL, and Zoë Kravitz (no word yet on whether Kravitz will bring Harry Styles as her plus-one), as well as stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Teyana Taylor, and Lisa. Others have indicated they'll be there by attending pre-Met Gala celebrations, such as Colman Domingo, who attended Wayman + Micah's party, and Kris and Kendall Jenner, who were spotted at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos' bash. Of course, we'll be on the lookout for the stars who always make a splash, like Rihanna. Sometimes, though, it's first-time attendees who make the biggest impact, as Tyla did in 2024 when she arrived in a gown made of sand. How to watch the Met Gala red carpet Neilson Barnard/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Though we won't be able to see what happens inside the famous gala, the red carpet will be filmed from start to finish. Vogue will livestream Met Gala arrivals on YouTube, TikTok, and its other digital platforms beginning at 6 p.m. ET. Model Ashley Graham, actor La La Anthony, and model Cara Delevigne will host, and influencer Emma Chamberlain will return as a Vogue red-carpet correspondent. You can also watch the red carpet on E! starting at 6 p.m. ET. Meryl Streep won't be making an appearance — as herself or Miranda Priestly. Meryl Streep won't be attending the Met Gala. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images "The Devil Wears Prada 2" begins with Meryl Streep in an opening scene clearly inspired by the Met Gala, but life won't be imitating art at this year's event. A spokesperson for the Oscar-winning actor confirmed that Streep will not be attending fashion's biggest night on Monday, as per her tradition. "Meryl has been invited to the Met Gala for many years but has never attended," the representative told People, adding that the star-studded event "has never quite been her scene." The absence still comes as a surprise, given Streep's recent media blitz for "The Devil Wears Prada 2," which included posing on the cover of Vogue alongside Anna Wintour, who has chaired the Met Gala for three decades. Streep — who plays a fashion magazine editor in chief inspired by Wintour in the film — also sat next to the legendary Vogue editor at a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during Milan Fashion Week in September. Three iconic women are serving as co-chairs. Venus Williams attends the 2025 Met Gala. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Anna Wintour, Vogue's former editor in chief, works with a set of famous Met Gala co-chairs each year to bring the event to life. For 2026, Wintour tapped Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Beyoncé. Kidman and Williams have been familiar faces at the Met Gala in recent years, but Beyoncé hasn't attended the event since 2016 for the "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" gala. The theme of the 2026 Met Gala is "Costume Art." Guests wander the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition during a press conference for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art." Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Unlike some A-list events, the Met Gala always has a theme. It coordinates with the Costume Institute's annual exhibit, which attendees can explore once they enter the gala. For 2026, museum curator Andrew Bolton created a "Costume Art" exhibit, saying he "wanted to focus on the centrality of the dressed body within the museum." The Met Gala's red carpet also has a dress code that dictates the eye-catching looks celebrities wear. This year, stars will dress to the "Fashion is Art" dress code, as Vogue announced in February, advising guests to "consider the many ways that designers use the body as their blank canvas." That description leaves plenty of room for guests to interpret the theme as they see fit, particularly compared to stricter Met Gala dress codes of years past, so we'll likely see a variety of different takes on "Fashion is Art" attire. The 2026 Met Gala has arrived at last. The outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ahead of the Met Gala in May 2026. Christina Horsten/picture alliance via Getty Images It's time to roll out the fancy carpet because fashion's biggest night is just hours away. Held annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Met Gala raises funds for the museum's Costume Institute and is the place to be for celebrities on the first Monday in May. A night of glamour doesn't come cheap, though. This year, individual tickets cost $100,000. More often than not, fashion houses and other corporate sponsors buy tables and bring guests to fill them (though Anna Wintour is said to have final say on who gets in). Tables cost $350,000 for 2026. Read full story Read the original article on Business Insider