Masterworks: Unpacking Fashion at New York's Met

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A beautiful garment might be likened to a work of art, but can fashion ever truly be considered art? This month, The Met in New York says "yes" with an upcoming exhibition on classic and contemporary couture.

Masterworks: Unpacking Fashion opens this Friday and follows the museum's wildly popular Manus x Machina show, which explored the relationship between fashion and technology. Both shows coincide with the 70th anniversary of The Costume Institute – today known as the Anna Wintour Costume Center – becoming part of The Met. The collection currently houses more than 35,000 items of clothing and accessories.

The new exhibition will showcase around 60 outfits from the 18th century to the present day, charting the evolution of fashion trends, techniques and materials. It includes both historic and iconic designs from such revered and diverse talents as Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan, Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen.

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"Our mission is to present fashion as a living art that interprets history, becomes part of the historical process, and inspires subsequent art," explains curator in charge Andrew Bolton. As well as documenting significant periods of fashion history, Masterworks aims to establish a connection between past and present, with outfits from different eras paired alongside one another. For example, a Cristobal Balenciaga gown from 1964 matched with a 2015 John Galliano for Maison Margiela dress, or a Halston Heritage dress from the 1980s paired with a Vionnet piece from the 1930s.

"While fashion is often derided for its ephemerality, its quick responsiveness to change ensures that it is an immediate expression of the spirit of its time – a vivid reflection of social, cultural and political circumstances, and of shifting ideals of beauty," commented assistant curator Jessica Regan.

"The masterworks we've chosen to highlight are among many we have collected in the past decade that draw on forms, motifs and themes of the past, reinterpreting fashion history in ways that resonate in the present."

Masterworks: Unpacking Fashion runs from 18 November 2016 to 5 February 2017 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; metmuseum.org