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Costume Art

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Costume Art is the 2026 high fashion art exhibition of the Anna Wintour Costume Center, a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art which houses the collection of the Costume Institute. The exhibition was announced on 17 November 2025.[1] The exhibit includes nearly 400 pieces from the museum's collection, including gowns, armor, and vases.[2]

Met Gala

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The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art inaugurates its annual exhibition with a formal benefit dinner at The Costume Institute Benefit, also informally known as the Met Gala. The gala for the 2026 exhibition took place on 4 May 2026.[3] The co-chairs for the event were Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz.[3]

Exhibition

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The exhibit is divided into two main sections, "Diversity in Bodily Being" and "Bodily Being in Its Universality". The first section is subdivided into "Reclaimed Body", "Disabled Body", "Pregnant Body", "Corpulent Body", "Naked and Nude Body", "Classical Body" and "Abstract Body".[4] Designers featured include:[4][5]

As part of the effort to show how art and fashion interact with the human body, curator Andrew Bolton commissioned custom mannequins to display the garments featured in the exhibit.[6] Seeking to showcase a diverse range of body types, the mannequins were modeled on real people. These included:[6]

Reception

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ARTnews criticized the exhibition's curation for not providing enough context and for shallow juxtapositions.[7] Selvedge negatively likened the exhibition's treatment of othered bodies to that of cabinet of curiosities' treatment of medical oddities, saying the parts of the exhibition dealing with shared human anatomy like blood and viscera were more successful.[8] Wallpaper* found it "deeply-researched" and spoke to the exhibition's sense of optimism.[9]

Publication and merchandise

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An catalogue and collector's edition The Body Electric accompanied the exhibition.[10] The Met Store also sold a scarf designed by Tory Burch, nesting dolls designed by Thom Browne, as well as a T-shirt and tote bag designed by Michael Kors.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Van Meter, William (17 November 2025). "The Metropolitan Museum Unveils 2026 Costume Institute Theme". Artnet News.
  2. ^ Sporn, Stephanie (11 May 2026). "With new Costume Institute exhibition and galleries, the Met makes powerful statement about fashion's place in museums". The Art Newspaper.
  3. ^ a b Rodgers, Daniel (4 May 2026). "Met Gala 2026: Theme, date, co-chairs, dress code and everything to know". Vogue Scandinavia.
  4. ^ a b Sessoms, Janelle (4 May 2026). "The Met's 'Costume Art' Exhibit Puts Every Type of Body on Display". Fashionista.
  5. ^ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (5 May 2026). "All the Looks That Made It From the Runway Into the Met's "Costume Art" Exhibition". Vogue.
  6. ^ a b "Who Are the Custom Mannequins in "Costume Art" Based On? We're So Glad You Asked". Vogue. 4 May 2026.
  7. ^ Greenberger, Alex (4 May 2026). "The Met's Costume Institute Needs an Art History Lesson". ARTnews.
  8. ^ Ben-Horin, Keren (2026). "Costume Art". Selvedge (131): 90–92. ISSN 1742-254X.
  9. ^ Fixsen, Anna (5 May 2026). "Behind The Met Gala brouhaha is a deeply researched exhibition". Wallpaper*.
  10. ^ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (20 April 2026). "A First Look at the 'Costume Art' Catalog". Vogue.
  11. ^ Feitelberg, Rosemary (4 May 2026). "First Look at The Met's 'Costume Art' Where Every Body Matters, Really". Women's Wear Daily.
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Further reading

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