For many, clothing is just a necessity of their daily lives. For others, clothing is something they wear to identify themselves and their sense of style. But, what if clothing became something you can’t wear? The Costume Institute in The Metropolitan Museum in New York City has a collection of over thirty three thousand pieces of fashion. When a piece of clothing joins the collection, it is reinvented as a piece of art that is never worn again but instead admired as a piece of art. Each year, The Costume Institute creates one or two exhibitions to display some of the stunning pieces. This Spring and Summer 2024 exhibition is ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ which brings back the sensory components of each fashion item by including interactive technologies that allow visitors to explore what it might be like to wear each piece. Recently, I visited the exhibition and admired the collection that dates back centuries. 

The theme of the gallery revolves around nature with motifs of flowers, animals, insects, shells, and more. While the walls of the space were white and simplistic, it made each piece stand out along with its sensory components. When I first entered the exhibition, I saw the instructions on the walls advising visitors to rub them in order to release the scent. Other scent components included tubes connected directly to floral headpieces, allowing visitors to enjoy the aromas. There were also many nature related sound elements such as bird chirping, composed music, and more. Adding on, there were videos that were projected on the ceilings that corresponded with the lighting in each section. Even though the gallery was a bit crowded, I was able to fully appreciate each piece thanks to the unique sensory elements that enhanced the viewing experience. 

Some standout artists include Jun Takahashi, Alexander McQueen, and Sarah Burton. The face of the Sleeping Beauties exhibition is Jun Takahashi’s “Deep Mist” collection. The infamous dress of the collection  is made with different materials of 3-D printed clear resin, silk roses, silk velvet leaves, polychrome silk butterflies, nylon tulle, and embossed leather. The bottom of the dress is purposefully sheer as it reveals the lit up garden inside. With a similar sheer tulle, the other dress in the collection has a floral bottom that is embroidered with beads in the form of spiders. Moreover, Alexander McQueen’s “The Birds” collection had some pieces with a particularly unique display. A jacket in this collection is made of orange wool twill that is hand painted with black swallows. The ceiling where the piece was displayed had a video of birds circling the area until the blue sky was no longer visible amongst the flocks of birds. Once the sky was no longer visible, the lighting went from bright to almost pitch dark. Lastly, Sarah Burton’s Ensemble piece for Alexander McQueen is a black silk dress with dyed and painted feathers that formed the illusion of real monarch butterflies all over. The intricate design captivated viewers as this area was crowded with many staring in awe. 

All in all, the Sleeping Beauties: Awakening Fashion exhibition was a once in a lifetime chance to view such timeless pieces. In order to visit it, you must scan a QR code and join a virtual queue. Once you get a notification that is almost your turn, you can start to make your way to the exhibition. When I visited The Met museum in June, there was a fifty minute virtual queue. However, when I reached the exhibition, there was another long physical line that wrapped around the wall to get in despite it almost being my turn on the virtual line. Trying to avoid the line and the crowds of people, I decided to return another day. When I recently went again, there was a seventy minute online queue but no physical line which allowed me to enter the exhibition right away. The last day of the exhibition is September 2nd so I highly recommend you to visit it before then!