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The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced “Costume Art” as the theme for The Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition Monday.
Drawing from the vast archive of the institute, the exhibit will feature select pieces juxtaposed with works of Western art throughout history that depict the human form. The objective is to capture the relationship between clothing and the body through the lens of art, according to Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton.
“I wanted to focus on the centrality of the dressed body within the museum, connecting artistic representations of the body with fashion as an embodied art form,” he said in a press release.
The exhibition will be the centerpiece of the new 12,000-square-foot Galleries next to the Great Hall in the museum. The space is named after Condé M. Nast, in recognition of a donation from the eponymous media company. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos are the lead investors behind the exhibition.
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The 2026 Met Gala will be Anna Wintour’s first since relinquishing her position as Vogue’s editor-in-chief earlier this year. She remains the company’s global editorial director and Conde Nast’s chief content officer, and will continue to supervise the Met Gala.
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