NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� If there’s been one uniting theme of all the blockbuster fashion exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it鈥檚 the simple idea
鈥淐ostume Art,鈥� announced Monday as the next big show at the museum鈥檚 Costume Institute 鈥� launched by in 2026 鈥� aims to make that connection more literal than ever, pairing garments with objects from across the museum to show how fashion has long been intertwined with different art forms.
Max Hollein, CEO and director of the Met, said in an interview ahead of Monday鈥檚 announcement that he hopes the exhibit will take visitors to the New York museum on a (very fashionable) journey through art history, where they will see connections throughout.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a show that can really live in fascinating ways at the museum and can pull from all different areas of our collection 鈥� paintings, sculpture, drawings,鈥� Hollein said.
鈥淚 hope we all agree that fashion is art,鈥� Hollein added. 鈥淏ut actually I think the exhibition 鈥� will make it obvious how fashion is actually happening, so to say, all across the museum and in all different mediums already.鈥�
The new show will examine the dressed body, and will be organized thematically by different body types, according to the Costume Institute’s curator in charge, Andrew Bolton. It will include the 鈥淣aked Body鈥� and the 鈥淐lassical Body,鈥� for example, but also less expected themes like the 鈥淧regnant Body鈥� and the 鈥淎ging Body.鈥�
The connections that will be drawn between artworks and garments will range, curators said in a statement, 鈥渇rom the formal to the conceptual, the aesthetic to the political, the individual to the universal, the illustrative to the symbolic, and the playful to the profound.鈥�
One example: in the 鈥淣aked Body鈥� section, a 1504 print from will be paired with spandex bodysuits by Belgian designer from a 2009 collection that revisits the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
On hand for Monday’s announcement was who after a trailblazing career that saw her become the company’s first Black female principal dancer. In her remarks, she spoke of the interplay between fashion and dance and said the show makes a 鈥減owerful case for the body, in all its forms, as a work of art, worthy of being seen, elevated, and celebrated.鈥�
鈥淥f course, both fashion and dance have long held up an 鈥榠deal鈥� body, one that has historically meant thin, white, and female. That bias shaped my own experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淓arly in my career, I was made to feel that my body didn鈥檛 fit the mold. My skin was too dark, my muscles too defined. Being a Black woman and a ballerina was presented almost as a contradiction.鈥�
Copeland said she and stood 鈥渇irmly in the value and beauty of my body, and of the many Black and brown dancers whose bodies have so often been overlooked.鈥� The new exhibit 鈥� following the lauded which focused on 鈥� adds to that conversation, Copeland said.
It鈥檚 also a show that will have a new home. 鈥淐ostume Art,鈥� which opens to the public May 10, will inaugurate new gallery space occupying some 12,000 square feet (1,115 square meters), right off the museum鈥檚 Great Hall.
That means that when the A-listers come up the main steps on May 4 at the Met Gala 鈥� perhaps dressed to channel famous objects of art 鈥� they will be only feet from the exhibit, making it easier to view the art before sipping and socializing. (Gala details 鈥� such as the celebrity hosts and specific dress code 鈥� will be shared later.)
Hollein said the museum was mainly concerned with giving fashion a more prominent home 鈥� and giving regular visitors a smoother experience. In past years, long lines would snake through other galleries and create bottlenecks in inconvenient places.
The new Conde M. Nast galleries 鈥� created from what was formerly the museum鈥檚 retail store 鈥� will house not only all spring Costume Institute exhibits to come, but other shows from different parts of the museum.
Bolton said in a statement that the gallery space 鈥渨ill mark a pivotal moment for the department, one that acknowledges the critical role fashion plays not only within art history but also within contemporary culture.鈥�
鈥淐ostume Art鈥� opens to the public May 10, 2026, and runs until Jan. 10, 2027.
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This story has been updated to correct the date of the 2026 Met Gala. It’s May 4, not May 5.
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