The Met is breathing new life into its costume collection through video, light projection, sound installations and artificial intelligence
‘Tulipes Hollandaises’ evening cloak designed by Charles Frederick Worth and manufactured in 1889. Photo: Nick Knight, 2023; courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met’s Costume Institute houses more than 33,000 garments, costumes and accessories. All originally designed to be worn, they now lie dormant in the museum’s collection. The Met’s annual fashion exhibition reanimates some 250 of these objects – which span four centuries – through videos, light projections, soundscapes and artificial intelligence, aiming to restore their sense of life and dynamism by engaging all five senses (10 May–2 September). The garments all contain iconography or motifs related to nature; as such, the show teases out ideas of renewal and ephemerality in both fashion and the natural world.
Find out more from the Met’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary
Costume Institute Collections Office in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Photo: Hippolyte Petit; courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art/BFA.com
‘Vilmiron’ ensemble from Spring/Summer 1952 by House of Dior. Photo: Hippolyte Petit; courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art/BFA.com
Dress, Spring/Summer 2011 by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Photo: Hippolyte Petit; courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art/BFA.com
