Met Museum Opens 'About Time' Fashion Exhibition After Pandemic Delay

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York finally opens 'About Time: Fashion and Duration' on October 29, 2020, after a pandemic-induced postponement from May. Curated by Andrew Bolton of the Wendy Yu Curatorial Division of the Costume Institute, the exhibition marks the museum's 150th anniversary. It explores time through fashion, juxtaposing 60 pairs of garments from 1870 to 2020 along two temporal lines: one inspired by Charles Baudelaire's fleeting moments, the other by Henri Bergson's continuous flow. The installation is designed like a clock face, with each minute represented by two outfits—one historical, one contemporary—sharing silhouette, technique, or vision. Examples include Yves Saint Laurent's 1978 black velvet gown paired with Elsa Schiaparelli's 1938 winter ensemble, and Azzedine Alaïa's 1994 chenille reinterpretation of Charles James's 1951 pleated jersey dress. All garments are shown in black or white to emphasize sculptural qualities. During the lockdown, Bolton revised the selection in response to Black Lives Matter, adding more Black, Indigenous, and designers of color. The exhibition concludes with a white patchwork dress from Viktor & Rolf's spring/summer 2020 haute couture collection, displayed in an 'infinite box' surrounded by a tornado of samples inspired by E.V. Day's 'Exploding Couture' series (1999–2002), symbolizing a phoenix rising from ashes. The exhibition runs through February 7, 2021.