First Look at the Met’s ‘Costume Art’ Where Every Body Matters, Really

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its spring exhibition "Costume Art" in the Condé M. Nast Galleries, featuring around 200 pairings of garments and artworks that trace connections across centuries. The show prioritizes fashion over art, displaying dresses, jeans, body stockings, and bustiers to explore the human form through sections like "Naked and Nude Body," "Corpulent Body," and "Disabled Boy." Chief curator Andrew Bolton emphasizes celebrating body diversity amid threats from AI and politics, with nine individuals—including fashion designer Michaela Stark—scanned to create more realistic mannequins.