The Tamesis
Venus Williams remembers her mother sewing her first tennis skirt when she was 14 years old. “I fell in love,” Williams said during a press conference this morning for the 2026 Met Gala and exhibition “The Art of Costume.” “I fell in love with watching something like this come to life, and it gave me a deep appreciation for the core of fashion: how it’s made, how it moves, how it makes you feel, and how it tells a story. And, as we’ll see, many times, how it makes history.”
Williams, who serves as co-chair of the 2026 Met Gala, is no stranger to making history for her athleticism and her confident, expressive way of dressing on and off the court. She is therefore the ideal curator for this year’s exhibition, which explores the ways in which fashion and art depict the human body, as well as the body’s role in culture and society.
“Fashion sets me apart from other players – because it was “A game,” she said with a sly smile, “about power, strength, will, skill, and being the best dressed.” I try to win it all. It also allows me to connect with passionate fans around the world,” she said. “But most importantly, it allows me to connect with myself.
From homemade tennis skirt to full-blown fashion icon, Williams not only embraces the joy of everyday dressing, but understands its deeper impact. “What I appreciate about clothing and dressing up is that it has the power to do two things,” she said. “It reminds us of our shared characteristics and experiences, and at the same time, it reveals something new about ourselves and the world around us.”
This morning’s press conference brought together fashion industry luminaries—Thom Browne, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, and Saint Lauren’s Anthony Vaccarello, among others—to not only celebrate the opening of the exhibition, but also to mark the launch party for the Costume Institute’s new permanent Condé M. Nast Gallery. Relocated from a smaller location in the basement, the new space spans 12,000 square feet and is located near the museum’s first-floor lobby. The move demonstrates fashion’s growing importance and influence in the Met’s hallowed halls.
“This is truly an important moment in the history of the institution,” said Max Hollein, museum director and CEO. “These new galleries – now at the heart of our two million square foot building – and this magnificent exhibition make one point clear: fashion yes Art. Of course, this is something we have long believed in and pursued throughout the Met’s 156-year history, with a rigor and breadth unmatched by any other museum. “
Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of the Costume Institute, weighs in on why “The Art of Costume” is indeed the right choice for the gallery’s first exhibition. “The history of art is very much a history of wearing bodies,” said Bolton, wearing a Thom Browne suit. “Among the museum’s collections, spanning more than 5,000 years of history and cultures from around the world, one constant theme remains: the human figure. More precisely, the clothed body,” he continued. “It looks like it’s draped, wrapped, tailored, armored, cut, painted and otherwise shaped. Traces of a life that once existed, a body that once existed.”
