Costume Art at the Met: Fashion Meets Art History in New Condé Nast Galleries

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens 'Costume Art' in May 2026, inaugurating the new Condé M. Nast Galleries designed by Peterson Rich Office (PRO). Architects Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich created a continuous spatial sequence where garments and artworks share platforms, materials, and sightlines. Rusticated plaster bases extend from permanent architecture into display plinths, linking objects across disciplines. The exhibition organizes fashion by body types—classical figure, age, pregnancy, physical difference—rather than chronology or designer. Pairings include a contemporary suit printed with musculature beside an ancient marble athlete, and a late 19th-century dress with a pointillist study of figures in motion. Sheer theatrical scrims subdivide galleries into zones while maintaining long views; visitors see overlapping body types as they move. Each object has its own framed opening to encourage personal encounters. The sequence includes 'The Cathedral' (high ceiling) and 'The Crypt' (low, compressed space). Mannequins feature polished steel heads that reflect the surrounding space and visitors. The curatorial approach privileges material presence—texture, weight, construction—over image. The exhibition runs from May 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027.