{"id":55831,"date":"2022-05-04T21:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=55831"},"modified":"2022-05-04T21:22:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:22:51","slug":"met-costume-institute-in-america-an-anthology-of-fashion-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/met-costume-institute-in-america-an-anthology-of-fashion-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a Peek Inside the Met Costume Institute’s ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’ Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“In America: An Anthology of Fashion” exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for The Met Museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Metropolitan Museum of Art\u2019s Costume Institute always manages to transport the viewer to another time with its grandiose and other-worldly exhibits. The second installment to last year\u2019s exhibition, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion<\/em>, (which runs till September 5, 2022) is this year\u2019s In America: An Anthology of Fashion, <\/em>which will open to the public May 7 (and will also close Sept. 5). Both exhibits, curated by Andrew Bolton, were created in partnership with The Met\u2019s American Wing.<\/p>\n

Charting American sartorial evolution since the 18th century, period rooms dedicated to specific themes tell the story of over 200 years of fashion history, \u201cfrom the personal to the political, the stylistic to the cultural, and the aesthetic to the ideological,\u201d The Met explained<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Frank Lloyd Wright Room, created to look like films by director Martin Scorsese for the exhibition ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s an American-made coat worn by President George Washington (which he may have worn to his inauguration), and what\u2019s left of President Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Brooks Brothers jacket that he was wearing when he was assassinated. (Following his untimely death, there was a period of time mourners were allowed to cut off scraps of material as keepsakes.)<\/p>\n

Another Brooks Brothers coat is included as well, which was part of the uniform of an enslaved man. A striped ball gown designed by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley for Mary Todd Lincoln is also showcased. (Actress Sarah Jessica Parker and designer Christopher John Rogers <\/a>teamed up to pay homage<\/a> to the trailblazing African-American designer through Parker’s Met Gala look.)<\/p>\n

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A dress worn by Mary Todd Lincoln is displayed in Costume Institute exhibition “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Distinguished American film directors have collaborated with the Costume Institute to produce three-dimensional cinematic \u201cfreeze frames\u201d to further illustrate the chronology intended, from Tom Ford, Martin Scorsese, Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, Regina King, Sofia Coppola, Radha Blank, Janicza Bravo, and more.<\/p>\n

Creating a dialogue between American pioneering designers and their foreign counterparts, a creator of American sportswear Claire McCardell and the equally formidable French designer Madeleine Vionnet will be shown in the same installation.<\/p>\n

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A room that was transformed into a depiction of the Battle of Versailles by designer Tom Ford for the exhibition ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a room specifically designed by Tom Ford, the exhibition pays homage to the triumphant performance by American designers in 1973\u2019s Battle of Versailles. Spearheaded by legendary fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert to help restore the historic landmark of Versailles, the \u201cbattle\u201d featured the top five designers from France and America.<\/p>\n

With attendees like Princess Grace of Monaco, the famed runway show featured designs from French designers Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Christian Dior\u2019s Creative director at the time, Marc Bohan. American designers included Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Bill Blass, and Anne Klein (with her assistant at the time, Donna Karan).<\/p>\n