FASHION IS ART declares the 2026 Met Gala theme—"Costume Art." Curator Andrew Bolton sparks the conversation of “the centrality of the dressed body in the museum's vast collection” by placing paintings, sculptures, and other similar objects spanning the 5 centuries of art in The Met right alongside historical and contemporary garments from the Costume Institute.
Every year at the Met there are garments that look like pieces of art, yet there is a usual notion that traditional art is hierarchically higher than fashion, which is being challenged by Bolton, as he feels fashion has an edge on art because it is based on one's lived, embodied experience. He has organized the exhibition in 3 categories—
1. Bodies that are omnipresent in art, classical and nude bodies; think along the lines of The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo and The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
2. Bodies that are overlooked, referring to aging and pregnant bodies, like the work of Eleanor and Harry Callahan titled The Pregnant Body
3. Works of art that depict anatomical bodies, for example, the anatomist, Govard Bidloo's sketch “The Anatomical Body”
By putting bodies in the front and center of the conversation, Bolton is making a commentary on how bodies have always been used to enhance and elevate fashion to an art form. To drive the narrative home, the artist Samar Hejazi has been commissioned to create mirrored heads for the show’s mannequins with the intent to position the viewer in place of the mannequin to facilitate empathy and compassion.
