Reviving Nature’s Motifs: The “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” Exhibition

Aug 6

ART & STYLE

Focusing on the botanical world’s cycles of growth, blooming, and decay, the archival pieces collected in the Met’s dynamic “Sleeping Beauties” exhibit provide a framework for experiencing the many dimensions of life, nature, and art.

*Dress with painted aluminum flowers, Francesco Risso for Marni, spring/summer 2024 collection*

“Fashion is a living art form that requires most of our senses for its fullest appreciation and the greatest understanding.”

— Andrew Bolton, curator

*May organza dress, Christian Dior, spring 1953 collection*

If you’ve been meaning to get to the Met, there are just a few weeks left to see the fairytale-like “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” before it ends on September 2nd. Featuring nearly 250 pieces that span over 400 years from the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute, the works all connect to an overarching theme of the ephemerality of nature and its cyclical rebirths.

*Monarch butterfly dress, Alexander McQueen, spring 2011 collection*

Of these garments and accessories, the centerpiece of the show is 50 rarely-seen garments that are so extremely fragile they can no longer be shown in a traditional form on mannequins. The show’s “Sleeping Beauties” moniker describes the presentation of these historic artifacts, as they’re presented lying down in glass cases with fabric sprawled out, allowing visitors to see their various forms of deterioration. Through the use of accompanying technology including light projection, CGI, and video animation, attendees are given a broader context of each of these pieces.

*Illuminated strapless cocktail dress with roses, Jun Takahashi for Undercover, spring/summer 2024 collection*

Curator Andrew Bolton has also described another meaning behind the show name “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” as it’s also meant to have an aspect of consciousness to it. In an interview with Fashionista, he said:

"I want to encourage people to go back to their own wardrobes, to reawaken their own wardrobes, which is an element of sustainability. That was very conscious in my mind when I was working on the exhibition, to allow people to rethink what they have in their wardrobes and think about re-wearing it."

*Flower-covered vintage hats by Sally Victor, House of Schiaparelli, & others*

Throughout the show, botanical motifs, natural materials, and vibrant floral themes abound, through which the storytelling is enriched by contextual sensory experiences. Wanting to eschew traditional models of “look, but don’t touch” exhibitions while preserving the integrity of the pieces, the curatorial team built an expanded experience that illuminates the artistry of each piece.

*Rose silk taffeta jacket, Valentino, fall/winter 2023 collection*

Organized into three main sections aligned with the categories of earth, air, and water, the show includes works that can be felt, walls embossed with the same embroidery of several garments, and even a Loewe-designed coat seeded with oat, rye, and wheatgrass that’s been growing since the show opened — and that will deteriorate by its conclusion.

*Left: “Tulipes Hollandaises” evening cloak, Charles Frederick Worth for House of Worth, 1889*

Audio samples of what fabrics and other materials sound like when moving are also included, as are scents in different rooms to evoke audiences’ senses, all with the goal of encouraging people to move from being viewers to engaging as active participants of a dynamic artistic experience.

And for those who may not be able to visit, the Met has published a comprehensive catalog in hardcover book form about the exhibition. With nearly 500 pages, it catalogs pieces by Balenciaga, Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Madeleine Vionnet, Issey Miyake, Madame Grès, Louis Vuitton, and more, documenting the sensorial aspects of their creations.