The theme of the 2024 The Met fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is announced: “Sleeping Beauty: Fashion Awakens” | Vogue Taiwan

From Elizabethan waistcoats and corsets in 17th-century England to more recent works by designers such as Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney and Connor Ives in the 21st century, this exhibition will travel through four hundred years of fashion history. The exhibits also include classic designs by Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and many other fashion masters. These will form the core of the exhibition, which aims to dismantle and inspire our understanding of the natural world, as well as explore clothing and textiles. production process.

Before the exhibition theme was officially released, Andrew Bolton, chief curator of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, commented: “Fashion is one of the most perceived art forms, stemming from its close relationship with the body. It is soaked in memory and Emotions, we often connect with fashion through our senses.”

Andrew Bolton particularly emphasized:

He said:“This is what the theme calls ‘Sleeping Beauty’.” The objects on display, including the Elizabethan blouse and the 1887 silk ballgown by American designer Charles Frederick Worth, which was the original inspiration for the exhibition, will no longer be restored to their original wearable purpose, but rather It is transformed through exhibitions.

Many of the exhibits will be displayed alongside contemporary fashion pieces that unintentionally echo their forebears. Some works will be given new life using a trompe l’oeil technique called “Pepper’s ghost”, and a variety of sensory stimulation methods such as film animation, light projection, soundscapes, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery will be used to create each piece. The work weaves a contextualized background for understanding.

Bolton further explained that the exhibition will be divided into three major themes: “Earth, Sea, and Sky”, tracing the development and changes of human attitudes towards the natural world, and how to make clothing through craftsmanship and transformation of natural materials. “This exhibition is very much a celebration of nature and a poetic expression of fashion’s sensibilities,” he notes. The contemporary focus on sustainability and regenerative manufacturing methods will be showcased through some of the most innovative names in modern fashion. The work of the spiritual creator is reflected.

Alexander McQueen 2001 Spring and Summer Series Dresses

Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Alexander McQueen 2011 Spring/Summer Collection Dresses

Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bolton specially invited video artist and SHOWstudio founder Nick Knight to serve as the creative consultant for the visual presentation of this exhibition. In addition, artist Sissel Tolaas, known for her collaboration with Balenciaga’s Demna, also participates in the exhibition, designing unique scents for some of the core displays. The exhibition space layout was jointly planned by the architectural firm Leong Leong and the Metropolitan Museum’s design department.