The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened a new spring exhibition titled Costume Art, which pairs couture fashion pieces with Egyptian artifacts and other artworks from the museum’s collection. This exhibition marks the debut of the Costume Institute’s new 12,000 square foot gallery space, the Condé Nast Galleries, located near the museum’s Great Hall.
Costume Institute Exhibition Explores Diverse Human Bodies
The exhibition features 200 garments and accessories alongside 200 artworks, inviting visitors to reconsider traditional hierarchies between fashion and art. Andrew Bolton, the lead curator, explained that the show focuses on “the dressed body” as a theme present throughout the Met’s vast collection. The expanded gallery space allowed Bolton to organize the exhibition into 13 thematic sections, each exploring different body types and their representation in fashion and art.
The show begins with the “Naked and Nude” body, displaying pieces such as a Walter van Beirendonck spandex outfit with trompe l’oeil musculature paired with classical engravings and statues. Another notable section, “Abstracted Body,” presents Comme des Garçons dresses with distorted silhouettes alongside curvaceous sculptures by artists like Max Weber and Henry Moore.
Highlighting Underrepresented Bodies
The exhibition also highlights bodies often underrepresented in fashion and Western culture. The “Corpulent Body” section features designs by Michaela Stark, whose corsets emphasize curves and flesh, paired with ancient Cycladic marble figures and modern sculptures. The “Disabled Body” section includes a mannequin styled after campaigner Sinéad Burke, wearing a modified Burberry trench coat designed to fit her stature. These mannequins are displayed on high podiums to emphasize diversity and visibility.
Other sections explore themes such as the “Mortal Body,” with garments and sculptures resembling skeletons, and the “Aging Body,” which includes a jumper with the word “Hag” alongside a 1905 painting titled The Old Duchess. The exhibition balances beauty with elements of surprise and strangeness, encouraging visitors to reflect on the many ways bodies are represented in fashion and art.
Exhibition Launch and Met Gala
The Costume Institute’s new exhibition was launched with the annual Met Gala, an event that has attracted some controversy due to its sponsorship. Anna Wintour, who described the first Monday in May as her “favourite day of the year,” emphasized the importance of funding for the arts and praised Lauren Sánchez Bezos, one of the gala’s sponsors, as a “force for joy” and generosity. The gala is noted for its significant economic impact on New York City, benefiting many local businesses.
The Costume Institute’s new home and its latest exhibition underscore the growing popularity and cultural significance of fashion exhibitions at the Met, placing them alongside the museum’s renowned ancient Egyptian artifacts and other celebrated collections.