NEW YORK (AP) – If there’s a common theme to all of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s blockbuster fashion exhibits, it’s a simple idea. That fashion is art.
“Costume Art” was announced Monday as the museum’s Costume Institute’s next big show. starry met gala In 2026, we aim to make that connection more literal than ever, combining clothing and museum holdings to show how fashion has long been intertwined with various art forms.
Max Hollein, CEO and director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said in an interview ahead of Monday’s announcement that he hopes the exhibit will take visitors on a (very fashionable) journey through art history to the New York Museum of Art, where they will discover connections throughout.
“This is an exhibition that can live in a museum in a really fascinating way, drawing from all areas of our collection, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings,” Hollein said.
“I hope everyone agrees that fashion is art,” Hollein added. “But I actually think this exhibition is going to shed light on how fashion is actually happening, so to speak, and how fashion is happening across museums and already in different mediums.”
Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton said the new show will examine dressed bodies and be organized thematically around different body types. For example, it includes not only “naked bodies” and “classic bodies,” but also less-expected themes such as “pregnant bodies” and “aging bodies.”
The curators said in a statement that the connections drawn between artwork and clothing “range from the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the personal to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound.”
As an example, in the “Naked Bodies” section, a print from 1504 German artist Albrecht Durer Paired with a spandex bodysuit by the Belgian designer walter van beirendonck From a 2009 collection that reimagines the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
In preparation for Monday’s announcement, Misty Copeland who recently retired from American Ballet Theater After a pioneering career, she became the company’s first black female principal dancer. In her comments, she talked about the interplay between fashion and dance, saying the show “makes a powerful case that bodies in all their forms are works of art and deserve to be seen, elevated and celebrated.”
“Of course, both fashion and dance have long advocated an ‘ideal’ body type, which has historically meant being thin, white, and female. Those biases have shaped my own experiences,” she said. “Early in my career, I was made to feel like my body didn’t fit. My skin was too dark, my muscles too defined. Being a black woman and a ballerina almost seemed like a contradiction.”
Copeland said: fought to challenge that idea and “standing firmly in the value and beauty of my body, and the value and beauty of so many black and brown dancers whose bodies have too often been ignored.” New exhibit follows acclaimed one “Super Fine: Black Style Tailoring” focused on black men’s clothing — Copeland added more to the conversation.
It is also a program that has a new home. “Costume Art,” which opens to the public on May 10, will open a new gallery space occupying approximately 12,000 square feet (1,115 square meters) just steps from the museum’s Great Hall.
That means when costumed A-listers take to the main staircase to showcase famous art pieces on May 4th at the Met Gala, they’ll be just meters from the exhibit hall, making it easier for them to admire the art before drinking and socializing. (Gala details, including celebrity host and specific dress code, will be shared later.)
Hollein said the museum’s main focus is to make fashion a more prominent place and provide a smooth experience for the general public. In recent years, there have been long lines. for fashion exhibitions It can meander through other galleries and create bottlenecks in inconvenient places.
The new Conde M. Nast Gallery, housed in a former museum retail space, will feature all of the upcoming spring Costume Institute exhibits, as well as other exhibits from various locations at the museum.
Bolton said in a statement that the gallery space “will be a pivotal moment for the department in recognizing the important role that fashion plays not only in art history but also in contemporary culture.”
“Costume Art” will be open to the public starting May 10, 2026 and will run until January 10, 2027.
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This story has been updated to correct the 2026 Met Gala date. It’s May 4th, not May 5th.
