Image Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Katerina Jebb
It is no secret that the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Gala (formally known as the Costume Institute Benefit) and the Costume Exhibition are a few of the most anticipated fashion events of the year. Well, as of last week, the world-renowned museum announced its 2018 Costume Exhibition, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. It will be presented at The Met Fifth Avenue in the medieval galleries and the Anna Wintour Costume Center as well as The Met Cloisters.
The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters will exclusively open the exhibit to Met members on May 8th and will open to the general public on May 10th, and it will conclude on October 8th. Heavenly Bodies will open with the world-renowned Met Gala on May 7th. The hosts of this prestigious benefit will be fashion leaders Amal Clooney, Rihanna, Donatella Versace, and Anna Wintour. Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman will serve as the honorary chairs, and additional contributions are made by Conde Nast.
Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, released:
“The Catholic imagination is rooted in and sustained by artistic practice, and fashion’s embrace of sacred images, objects, and customs continues the ever-evolving relationship between art and religion,” said Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of The Met. “The Museum’s collection of religious art, in combination with the architecture of the medieval galleries and The Cloisters, provides the perfect context for these remarkable fashions. Fashion and religion have long been intertwined, mutually inspiring and informing one another. Although this relationship has been complex and sometimes contested, it has produced some of the most inventive and innovative creations in the history of fashion.”
Image Courtesy of the Metropolatian Museum of Art
Next year’s exhibit will feature 50 masterpieces from the monumental Sistine Chapel. The last time such items were sent from the Vatican to the Met was in 1983.
Of course, the most sought-after part of the exhibition is the fashion. The exquisite and carefully curated array of ensembles will include those of:
Azzedine Alaïa
Cristobal Balenciaga
Geoffrey Beene
Marc Bohan (for House of Dior)
Thom Browne
Roberto Capucci
Callot Soeurs
Jean Charles de Castelbajac
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel
Maria Grazia Chiuri (for House of Dior)
Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana (for Dolce & Gabbana)
John Galliano (for House of Dior)
Jean Paul Gaultier
Givenchy
Craig Green
Madame Grès (Alix Barton)
Rei Kawakubo (for Comme des Garçons)
Christian Lacroix
Karl Lagerfeld (for House of Chanel)
Jeanne Lanvin
Shaun Leane
Claire McCardell
Laura and Kate Mulleavy (for Rodarte)
Thierry Mugler
Norman Norell
Guo Pei
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli (for Valentino)
Pierpaolo Piccioli (for Valentino)
Elsa Schiaparelli
Raf Simons (for his own label and House of Dior)
Riccardo Tisci (for Givenchy)
Jun Takahashi (for Undercover)
Isabel Toledo
Philip Treacy
Donatella Versace (for Versace)
Gianni Versace
Valentina
A.F. Vandevorst
Madeleine Vionnet
Vivienne Westwood
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Learn more about The Metropolitan Museum of Art and “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” here.
