Ahead of Met Gala, Anna Wintour previews new fashion exhibit that seeks to ‘reclaim’ body types that

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:15]is a collective thread that is audible.

[00:00:19]The curator in charge of the Costume Institute for bringing this >> [applause] >> This is my favorite day of the year and also my most terrifying one, even several decades in.

[00:00:35]Costume art threads re- reweaves the threads of connection between art and fashion that designers for centuries have pulled through.

[00:00:45]It's about everybody and it's about every body. Nude bodies and classical bodies, corpulent bodies and disabled bodies and the way both fashion and art can shape our imaginations.

[00:01:01]So, none of it would be possible this year without four women.

[00:01:04]First, our co-chairs, Beyoncé, Nicole and Venus Williams.

[00:01:10]Each of whom have fought not just to succeed, but to keep growing after that success.

[00:01:18]Lauren Sanchez Bezos, our honorary chair, far from simply lending her name, came to every important meeting full of enthusiasm and good ideas.

[00:01:31]Lauren is willing to shake up society with risk-taking and an upbeat spirit that is as boundless as her energy.

[00:01:40]And she and her husband, Jeff, have shown with this event that they genuinely genuinely care about giving back.

[00:01:57]The Met has always understood something the rest of the world is finally catching up to. Fashion is art.

[00:02:05]The designers we celebrate tonight are true artists. The Costume Institute is the custodian of their work, the way the Met is the custodian of any great painting or sculpture.

[00:02:18]That's what this museum definitely understands. It is my honor to introduce the legend and my friend, Venus Williams.

[00:02:29]>> [applause] >> Fashion has always been a big part of my life. I remember I still remember my mom sewing my first tennis skirt for my professional match. I was 14 years old.

[00:02:49]I was just about as tall as I am now and I went out there swinging in my mom making my first skirt and I fell in love then. I fell in love with watching something come to life like that and it gave me a deep appreciation for fashion at its core. How it's made, how it moves, how it makes you feel and how it tells a story, how it create memories and how a lot of the times, as we'll see, how it makes history.