“Fashion is very much an art form not in spite of the body, but because of it,” says Andrew Bolton, OBE, curator in charge of the Costume Institute. And this year’s exhibition, “Costume Art,” seeks not just to address this tantalizingly complex issue, but to explore it in all its many facets. The central thesis is as simple as it is thrilling: pair existing artworks with corresponding garments or accessories and let your synapses fire. The very layout of the show—broken into sections that move from Biblical nudity to the au courant idea of body diversity to the ways in which we’ve long used clothes not merely to adorn but to subvert and distort the body—indicates just how richly drawn this subject is and why it’s mesmerized artists since time immemorial.
Sinéad Burke, CEO of Tilting the Lens, emphasizes how this exhibit highlights bodies that have traditionally been overlooked, and as someone with a physical disability, she is among those featured. Her body has been memorialized in the exhibition as a custom mannequin, alongside model and musician Aariana Rose Philip, transforming their presence into a lasting part of the narrative around representation, fashion, and identity.
Additionally, this exhibition will be the first in the costume department’s new home, the Conde M. Nast Galleries. Once relegated to a modest 4,500-square-foot space in the museum’s basement, the department will now take flight in a grand, 12,000-square-foot display room on the ground floor, just off the central Great Hall. It is, says Max Hollein, the museum’s director, a symbol of how important clothing has become to The Met’s mission in exploring the many facets of art in the modern age. “We collect paintings, sculptures, textiles, arms and armor, but especially all the fashion,” he says. “And we want to make sure that it’s understood that fashion is a fantastic form of art.”
Featuring testimonials from Misty Copeland, Alex Consani, Gwendoline Christie, Aimee Mullins, Sinéad Burke, Aariana Rose Philip and more.
Director: Nina Ljeti
Directors of Photography: Michael Lopez, Henry Gill
Editor: Evan Allan
Senior Producer: Bety Dereje
Producer: Rashida Josiah
Associate Producers: Anisa Kennar, Justine Ramirez, Lea Donenberg
Camera Operator: Chanthila Phaophanit
Assistant Camera: Kahdeem Prosper Jefferson, Gordan Wong
Gaffers: Billy Voermann, Mary Kalecinska
Swing: Alex Frischman
Audio: Mariya Chulichkova, Joanna Hunt
Set Designers: Ilana Portney, Dana Keren
Production Assistants: Quinton Johnson, Myles Haywood
Runners: Edie Chesters, Rachel Ademidun
Groomer for Andrew Bolton: Shin Arima
Makeup Artist for Sinéad Burke and Alex Consani: Ai Yokomizo
Hairstylist for Sinéad Burke and Alex Consani: Sonny Molina
Makeup Artist for Misty Copeland: Victor Henao
Hairstylist for Misty Copeland: Nai’vasha Grace
Makeup Artist for Aariana Philip: Meadow Soleil Cloud
Makeup Artist for Gwendoline Christie: Daniel Kolaric
Hairstylist for Gwendoline Christie: Joe Kelly
Hair & Makeup Artist for Aimee Mullins: Stèfan Jemeel
Production Coordinator: Tanía Jones
Production Manager: Kristen Helmick
Senior Production Manager: Venita Singh-Warner
Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors
Assistant Editors: Andy Morell, Fynn Lithgow
Senior Motion Graphics Designer: Samuel Fuller
Post Production Coordinator: Holly Frew
Supervising Editor: Kameron Key
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy
Global Talent Casting Directors: Ignacio Murillo, Morgan Senesi
Executive Producer: Rahel Gebreyes
Senior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke
Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson
VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri
Florist: London Blooming Haus
Photography By Paul Westlake
Images Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Special Thanks: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Jed Maegraith
September 29, 2020 at 4:28 pm
Woah so early
Paula Avila
September 29, 2020 at 4:31 pm
Omg yayyyyyy❣️????
1 K Subs before 2021
September 29, 2020 at 4:33 pm
*Literally 99% won’t see this : Your amazing and wonderful, stay safe during this rough times????????????*
soshibell
September 29, 2020 at 4:33 pm
goodness, they are gorgeous.. i will have a mixed feelings watching these two potraying the one of the most tragic love story
Jeff Harrison
September 29, 2020 at 4:37 pm
Love how they barely know these. Youth!
Emma Cole
September 29, 2020 at 4:47 pm
Who else thinks they’re both going to become huge stars!
MSN
September 29, 2020 at 4:52 pm
She’s literally so beautiful
nivranshu baruah
September 29, 2020 at 4:57 pm
Okk they are confused AF. But it’s adorable.
Vivek
September 29, 2020 at 5:06 pm
OBE : what friends called Obi wan kenobi
Vivek
September 29, 2020 at 5:08 pm
Operation London bridge : operation to fix erectile dysfunction
magna czagany
September 29, 2020 at 5:22 pm
Who’s darling ?
Hienric
September 29, 2020 at 5:11 pm
I’m Australian and I knew more than both of them somehow…
JacklinR17
September 29, 2020 at 5:15 pm
I am American and seem to know more lol
Bliss
September 29, 2020 at 5:55 pm
Right! Same! Even when I was their age, I knew more… Crazy!
Benedikt Heine
September 29, 2020 at 5:19 pm
Princess Diana ????????????????????????????
Blue Sparrow
September 29, 2020 at 5:25 pm
Isn’t the Trooping the colour to celebrate the queen’s fake birthday?
magna czagany
September 29, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Josh O’Connor is much too good looking to play Charles.
Lainie Medina
September 29, 2020 at 5:28 pm
And decent!
Kaygan Zemin
September 29, 2020 at 5:28 pm
Thank you for nothing.
Jesse Jones
September 29, 2020 at 6:15 pm
I’m pretty sure she was right about the purple….
Amanya
September 29, 2020 at 6:20 pm
They have NO idea what’s going on and I’m here for it
Ingrid ika wentary
September 29, 2020 at 6:35 pm
It’s about time for Josh O’Connor to get more recognition ????
Adriyanti
September 29, 2020 at 6:38 pm
It is good to put them in here before season 4 started! All spotlight must go towards them I suppose
Matthew Warnecke
September 29, 2020 at 7:03 pm
PAINFUL
illmakeuhowell
September 29, 2020 at 7:18 pm
i had high hopes for Sophie Turner as Diana
Crystal Kim
September 29, 2020 at 7:34 pm
THE CROWN BE MAKING ME A DIANA/CHARLES SHIPPER <3
Tomiwa Adio
September 29, 2020 at 7:39 pm
they are going to be huge stars
Seline Lane
September 29, 2020 at 7:45 pm
If Kristen Stewart playing Diana flops alt least we have a Emma corrin ????