Because fashion is a trillion dollar business, there has been a stubborn, enduring argument that it is more of an industry and a practice than an artistic discipline. It\u2019s a notion that the Met Gala has often challenged by inviting attendees to dare to dress<\/em>. The truth is that fashion can, at times, be both.<\/p>\n Schiaparelli, fall 2026 ready-to-wear<\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Schiaparelli, fall 2026 ready-to-wear<\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n The Met Gala is one of the most watched cultural events every year, and the Costume Institute\u2019s exhibitions are blockbusters in their own right, with some of Bolton\u2019s shows being the most visited in the museum\u2019s history. \u201cFashion\u2019s acceptance as an art form has really occurred on art\u2019s terms,\u201d Bolton said<\/a> last year. \u201cIt\u2019s premised on the negation, on the renunciation, of the body, and on the [fact that] aesthetics are about disembodied and disinterested contemplation.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet what connects every curatorial department gallery is fashion, or the dressed body, he explained. \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,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s always inscribed with cultural values and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n So what should guests wear? The joy in this theme is that there is an abundance of possibilities. Attendees could lean into the idea of nudity, perhaps, and either embrace one of today\u2019s most pervasive trends\u2014the naked dress\u2014or lean more artistic, say with Daniel Roseberry\u2019s Schiaparelli gilded body parts, Thom Browne\u2019s anatomical couture creations, or Glenn Martens\u2019s take on Jean Paul Gaultier\u2019s nude prints.<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/69f4a486f11b4ffe636b1fbf\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/SCHIAPARELLI_RTWFW2627_FRONT_LOOK_22.JPG\"\/)
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