Met Museum show at new Costume Institute puts fashion in same spotlight as Egyptian artefacts
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened its new 12,000 sq ft gallery space, the Condé M Nast Galleries, for the Costume Institute's spring exhibition, Costume Art. The show pairs 200 fashion pieces with 200 artworks from the Met’s collection, aiming to challenge traditional hierarchies between fashion and art. Curator Andrew Bolton organized the exhibition around 13 thematic body types, emphasizing diversity and placing fashion on equal footing with classical and modern art.
- ▪The Costume Institute's new gallery is three times the size of its previous basement space and is located off the Met's Great Hall.
- ▪Costume Art features 200 garments and accessories paired with 200 artworks, exploring representations of the human body across time and culture.
- ▪The exhibition is divided into 13 thematic sections, including the Naked and Nude body, the Abstracted Body, the Corpulent Body, and the Disabled Body.
- ▪Mannequins in the show are 'pedestalised' to emphasize diversity and elevate fashion to the status of art.
- ▪The exhibition pairs works by designers such as Comme des Garçons, Yves Saint Laurent, and Michaela Stark with artworks by Van Gogh, Henry Moore, and Niki de Saint Phalle.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The institute’s new home is a 12,000 sq ft gallery space off the museum’s Great Hall. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenThe institute’s new home is a 12,000 sq ft gallery space off the museum’s Great Hall. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty ImagesFashionMet Museum show at new Costume Institute puts fashion in same spotlight as Egyptian artefactsCostume Art pairs couture pieces with items from its collection in exploration of many kinds of human bodiesHannah MarriottMon 4 May 2026 15.22 EDTLast modified on Mon 4 May 2026 15.58 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleSpeaking at the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute spring exhibition in New York, Anna Wintour described the first Monday in May as her “favourite day of the year,…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at World news | The Guardian.
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