The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened a major new Costume Institute exhibition titled "Costume Art," which runs until January 10, 2027, in the newly designed Condé M. Nast Galleries by Peterson Rich Office. Curated by Andrew Bolton with Stephanie Kramer, Ayaka Iida, and Emily Mushaben, the show features nearly 400 objects from all 19 of the museum's collecting departments, organized around body typologies such as the "Classical Body" and "Aging Body." The exhibition marks a significant institutional commitment to fashion as a central curatorial concern, with the 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Great Hall.
The exhibition matters because it represents a shift in the museum world's attitude toward fashion, which was long regarded as a lesser creative form than visual art. Andrew Bolton notes that even a decade ago, such a cross-departmental show would have been impossible due to the lower status of fashion within museums. The Costume Institute's conceptual exhibitions and the high-profile Met Gala have helped elevate fashion's legitimacy, and this show—inaugurating dedicated galleries supported by designers like Thom Browne, Michael Kors, and Tory Burch—solidifies dress as a serious subject for art-historical study and display.