Wallpaper* selects eight key fashion-art encounters ahead of Met Gala
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will open its spring 2026 exhibition 'Costume Art' on Sunday 10 May 2026, pairing works from The Met's collection with fashion in a show spanning prehistory to the present day. The exhibition is the inaugural show in the institution's newly opened gallery space. The annual Met Gala, taking place on 4 May 2026, will follow the dress code 'Fashion is Art'. In anticipation, Wallpaper* highlights eight historic intersections of fashion and art: Elsa Schiaparelli's collaborations with Salvador Dalí (including the 1936 tromp l'oeil drawer suit and the lobster dress worn by Wallis Simpson); Yves Saint Laurent's 1965 Mondrian collection based on Piet Mondrian's neoplasticist paintings; Rei Kawakubo's costumes and sets for Merce Cunningham's 1997 ballet 'Scenario'; Elmgreen & Dragset's 2005 permanent installation 'Prada Marfa' on a Texas highway; Kim Jones's references to the Bloomsbury Group, including his debut Fendi Couture S/S 2021 collection; Mariano Fortuny and Henriette Negrin's Delphos Gown (circa 1907), inspired by the Charioteer of Delphi; Louis Vuitton's 2000 collaboration with Stephen Sprouse featuring graffiti logo; and John Singer Sargent's 1884 'Portrait of Madame X', whose black dress is attributed to couturier Félix Poussineau.
Key facts
- Met Costume Institute opens 'Costume Art' exhibition on 10 May 2026
- Exhibition is first in newly opened gallery space
- Met Gala on 4 May 2026 with dress code 'Fashion is Art'
- Wallpaper* selects eight fashion-art collaborations
- Schiaparelli and Dalí created 1936 drawer suit and lobster dress
- Yves Saint Laurent's 1965 Mondrian collection based on Piet Mondrian
- Rei Kawakubo designed costumes and sets for Merce Cunningham's 1997 ballet 'Scenario'
- Elmgreen & Dragset's 'Prada Marfa' installed in 2005 on Texas highway
- Kim Jones referenced Bloomsbury Group in Fendi Couture S/S 2021
- Fortuny and Negrin's Delphos Gown circa 1907 inspired by Charioteer of Delphi
- Louis Vuitton collaborated with Stephen Sprouse in 2000
- John Singer Sargent's 1884 'Portrait of Madame X' dress attributed to Félix Poussineau
Entities
Artists
- Elsa Schiaparelli
- Salvador Dalí
- Leonor Fini
- Jean Cocteau
- Alberto Giacometti
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Piet Mondrian
- Rei Kawakubo
- Merce Cunningham
- Elmgreen & Dragset
- Kim Jones
- Vanessa Bell
- Duncan Grant
- Mariano Fortuny
- Henriette Negrin
- Stephen Sprouse
- Marc Jacobs
- John Singer Sargent
- Virginie Avegno Gautreau
- Félix Poussineau
- Coco Chanel
- Wallis Simpson
- Marcel Proust
- Joaquín Sorolla
- Kate Moss
- Cynthia Gregory
- Lady Ottoline Morrell
- India (author)
- Andrew Bolton
- Riccardo Tisci
- Walter Van Beirendonck
- Charles James
- Yves Klein
- Picasso
- Phoebe Philo
- Rick Owens
- Pieter Mulier
- Jonathan Anderson
- Grace Wales Bonner
- Christian Lacroix
- Manolo Blahnik
- Beyoncé
- Nicole Kidman
- Venus Williams
- Anna Wintour
- Anthony Vaccarello
- Zoë Kravitz
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Doja Cat
- Gwendoline Christie
- Teyana Taylor
- Alex Consani
- Misty Copeland
- Elizabeth Debicki
- Paloma Elsesser
- Lena Dunham
- Yseult
- Jeff Bezos
- Lauren Sánchez Bezos
- Jack Moss
- Karl Lagerfeld
- Alexander McQueen
- Condé Montrose Nast
- Max Hollein
- Samar Hejazi
- Tschabalala Self
- Amy Sherald
- Anna Weyant
- Glenn Martens
- Jean Paul Gaultier
- Georges Seurat
- Max Weber
- Daniel Roseberry
- Iris van Herpen
- Jack McCollough
- Lazaro Hernandez
- Daniel del Valle
- Matthieu Blazy
- Nicolas Ghesquière
- Simone Beyene
- Lisa
- Chloe Malle
- Sam Smith
- Lauren Wasser
- A’ja Wilson
- Adut Akech
- Angela Bassett
- Sinéad Burke
- Rebecca Hall
- Aimee Mullins
- Chase Sui Wonders
- Bhavitha Mandava
- Chase Infiniti
- Emma Stone
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Yorgos Lanthimos
- Sombr
- Joachim Trier
- Elle Fanning
- Olivia Dean
- Noah Jupe
- Robert Icke
- Sadie Sink
- LISA
- A'ja Wilson
- Cy Gavin
- Blake Lively
- Sarah Jessica Parker
- Rihanna
- Cynthia Erivo
- Doechii
- Colman Domingo
- Emma Chamberlain
- Hunter Schafer
- Anne Hathaway
Institutions
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Costume Institute
- Wallpaper*
- V&A
- Vogue
- Comme des Garçons
- Prada
- Fendi
- Burberry
- Erdem
- Charleston House
- Louis Vuitton
- Middle Plane
- Darklight
- The Observer
- Omega Workshops
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Condé Nast
- Paterson Rich Office
- Saint Laurent
- Givenchy
- Moschino
- Celine
- AnOther
- 10 Magazine
- Rizzoli
- Peterson Rich Office
- Artribune
- Condé M. Nast Gallerie
- The Met
- Y/Project
- Schiaparelli
- Loewe
- TheVxlley
- Chanel
- Valentino
- Dior
- Gucci
- Ralph Lauren
- Bottega Veneta
- Cartier
- NYU
- Coachella Festival
- West End
- Forbes
- Condé M. Nast Galleries
- The Mark Hotel
- The Carlyle
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Marfa
- Texas
- East Sussex
- England
- Paris
- France
- Delphi
- Greece
- New York
- Brooklyn
- Great Hall
- West End
- London
- United Kingdom