On Wednesday 8th November, Vogue revealed the upcoming theme for their annual fashion showcase and exhibition; Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. The Meta Gala, held on the first Monday in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, raises funds for the Costume Institute. The prestigious event is attended by the biggest names in fashion, as well as a plethora of famous faces: the Kardashians, Rhianna and Emma Chamberlain have all appeared on the red carpet in recent years.

The exhibition will span 400 years of history, which includes a 17th-century bodice as well as work from legendary designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy. The exhibit aims to illuminate the beauty of the natural world through fashion and textiles. According to Vogue, the exhibition will consist of 250 items drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection and will feature 50 historically significant pieces. Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO, explained that the Costume Institutes exhibition will push the boundaries of our imagination and invite us to experience the multisensory facets of a garment. He added that Sleeping Beauties will heighten our engagement with these masterpieces of fashion by evoking how they feel, move, sound, smell, and interact when being worn, ultimately offering a deeper appreciation of the integrity, beauty, and artistic brilliance of the works on display.

Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, said: Fashion is one of the most emotional artistic forms because of its connection to the body. It is imbued with memory and emotions, and we relate to it very much via our senses. One thing I hope this show will activate is that sensorial appreciation of fashion. He then explained that the collection is structured around 15 beautiful and historically significant pieces that are too delicate to ever be worn again, these are the Sleeping Beauties of the title, he said. Video animation, light projection, AI and CGI will be used in conjunction with the fragile garments to shape the understanding of each piece. According to Bolton, the exhibition will be based on three elements: Land, Sea and Sky. It is very much an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion Bolton added.

Words by Olivia Griffin