OMM Newsroom
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that the Costume Institute’s 2027 exhibition and the Met Gala will explore how designers transform everyday clothing and ordinary materials into works of art. AnewZ reports that “extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday” will be organized by Costume Institute head Andrew Bolton, with the support of Stephanie Kramer and Emily Mushaben.
The exhibition will invite visitors to reconsider familiar clothes such as T-shirts and jeans, as well as materials including paper, aluminum and plastic.
The announcement follows the cancellation of an earlier exhibition planned to be dedicated to designer John Galliano. Bolton said he wanted the new project to be an independent concept, not a replacement for the earlier idea, while preserving its ambition and contemporary relevance.
Everyday clothing as art
The exhibition will explore how designers have reworked familiar garments such as white shirts, trench coats, T-shirts and puffer jackets.
The opening section will feature pieces from Japanese designer Jun Takahashi’s Undercover brand’s Fall 2024 collection. The collection was inspired by Wim Wenders’ film “Perfect Days.”
The collection uses collage and layering techniques to transform everyday clothing. The exhibition will conclude with work by Kunihiko Morinaga of the Anrealage brand. The designer is known for using unusual shapes and proportions.
The exhibition will also feature works by Virgil Abloh, Gianfranco Ferré, Jonathan Anderson and Pierpaolo Piccioli.
A separate section, titled “Common Matter,” will examine how designers turn discarded materials and found objects into clothing. It will include work by Maison Margiela, alongside examples by other designers who reuse and reconstruct materials.
Bolton said the exhibition would explore questions of value, consumption and craftsmanship. He said transforming inexpensive materials can require as much skill and labor as working with luxury fabrics.
The exhibition is being developed in collaboration with London-based scenography studio 1009. Bolton said he hoped visitors would become part of the experience and could attend in their favorite everyday clothes, such as T-shirts, jeans and hoodies.
The 2027 Met Gala will be held on May 3, and the exhibition will open to the public on May 9. It will run through Jan. 9, 2028.
Instagram will sponsor the exhibition. Moncler will provide lead support, with additional support from Condé Nast. Jordan Roth will support the education programs.
