with met gala postponed, 'about time: fashion and duration' garments revealed in detail

following the video preview of its spring exhibition, the met’s costume institute reveals ‘about time: fashion and duration’ in more intimate detail. with new york’s metropolitan museum of art still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the costume institute shares its curated collection of contemporary and historic garments which traces a century and a half of fashion. scheduled to open to the public on october 29, 2020, the presented work dates as far back as 1870, in honor of the museum’s 150th anniversary. 

left: dinner dress, mrs. arnold (american), ca. 1895; brooklyn museum costume collection at the metropolitan museum of art, gift of the brooklyn museum, 2009; gift of sally ingalls, 1932 | right: ensemble, comme des garçons (japanese, founded 1969), fall/winter 2004–5; courtesy comme des garçons
all images © nicholas alan cope, courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art

presented entirely with black garments, the met’s ‘about time: fashion and duration’ emphasizes the evolving silhouettes and use of secondary detailing. with the collection of pieces ranging from 1870 to the present, curators aim to connect the concept of ‘duration’ with debates about diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, and other ethical issues that will surely express a continuing impact throughout the next decade of fashion.

left: riding jacket, morin blossier (french), 1902; gift of miss irene lewisohn, 1937 | right: ensemble, nicolas ghesquière (french, born 1971) for louis vuitton (french, founded 1854), spring/summer 2018; courtesy collection louis vuitton

the individual garments comprising ‘about time: fashion and duration,’ have been recently revealed in lieu of the exhibition opening and gala at the metropolitan museum of art. still yet to be seen is the theatrical design of the gallery space, which is scheduled to be unveiled this fall. the space will unfold with two adjacent galleries fabricated as enormous clock faces and organized around the principle of sixty minutes of fashion. each ‘minute’ will feature a pair of garments, with the primary work representing the linear nature of fashion and the secondary work its cyclical character.

left: evening dress, weeks (french), ca. 1919; brooklyn museum costume collection at the metropolitan museum of art, gift of the brooklyn museum, 2009; gift of the estate of mrs. arthur f. schermerhorn, 1957 | right: dress, comme des garçons (japanese, founded 1969), fall/winter 2012–13; courtesy comme des garçons

andrew bolton, the wendy yu curator in charge of the costume institute comments: ‘fashion is indelibly connected to time. it not only reflects and represents the spirit of the times, but it also changes and develops with the times, serving as an especially sensitive and accurate timepiece. through a series of chronologies, the exhibition will use the concept of duration to analyze the temporal twists and turns of fashion history.’

left: dress, jean paul gaultier (french, born 1952), fall/winter 1984– 85; purchase, friends of the costume institute gifts, 2010 | right: ‘tulip’ evening dress, charles james (american, born great britain, 1906–1978), 1949; gift of elizabeth de cuevas, 2015

left: ensemble, viktor & rolf (dutch, founded 1993), spring/summer 2005; on loan from centraal museum, utrecht | right: evening dress, madeleine vionnet (french, 1876–1975), 1939; gift of mrs. harrison williams, 1952

left: dress, iris van herpen (dutch, born 1984), fall/winter 2012–13 haute couture; gift of iris van herpen, in honor of harold koda, 2016 | right: ball gown, charles james (american, born great britain, 1906–1978), 1951; brooklyn museum costume collection at the metropolitan museum of art, gift of the brooklyn museum, 2009; gift of mr. and mrs. robert coulson, 1964

left: afternoon dress, american, ca. 1877; gift of theodore fischer ells, 1975 | right: ‘bumster’ skirt, alexander mcqueen (british, 1969–2010), fall/winter 1995–96, edition 2010; courtesy alexander mcqueen

left: evening dress, probably american, ca. 1928; gift of richard martin and harold koda, 1992 | right: dress, john galliano (british, born gibraltar, 1960), spring/summer 1997, edition 2008; gift of john galliano, 2012

left: evening jacket, elsa schiaparelli (italian, 1890–1973), winter 1938–39; gift of mrs. pauline potter, 1950 | right: ‘broken mirrors’ ensemble, yves saint laurent (french, born algeria, 1936–2008), fall/winter 1978–79; courtesy musée yves saint laurent paris © yves saint laurent

left: suit, gabrielle chanel (french, 1883–1971), spring/summer 1963; brooklyn museum costume collection at the metropolitan museum of art, gift of the brooklyn museum, 2009; gift of jane holzer, 1977 | right: suit, karl lagerfeld (french, born germany, 1933–2019) for house of chanel (french, founded 1913), spring/summer 1994; courtesy CHANEL patrimoine collection, paris

exhibition info:

name: about time: fashion and duration
location: the metropolitan museum of art, fifth avenue, new york
dates: october 29, 2020 – february 7, 2021