Tracing the Thread of “Camp” in Met Costume Institute Show

Bertrand Guyon (French, born 1965) for House of Schiaparelli (French, founded 1927). Ensemble, fall/winter 2018–19 haute couture. Courtesy of Schiaparelli. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019
From Left to Right: Jeremy Scott (American, born 1975) for House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983). Dress, spring/summer 2017. Courtesy of Moschino. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019 ~ Alessandro Michele (Italian, born 1972) for Gucci (Italian, founded 1921). Ensemble, fall/winter 2016–17. Courtesy of Gucci Historical Archive. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2018 ~ Franco Moschino (Italian, 1950–1994) for House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983). Dress, fall/winter 1989. Courtesy of Moschino. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2018
From Left to Right: Jeremy Scott (American, born 1975) for House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983). Dress, spring/summer 2017. Courtesy of Moschino. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019 ~ Alessandro Michele (Italian, born 1972) for Gucci (Italian, founded 1921). Ensemble, fall/winter 2016–17. Courtesy of Gucci Historical Archive. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2018 ~ Franco Moschino (Italian, 1950–1994) for House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983). Dress, fall/winter 1989. Courtesy of Moschino. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2018

Designed by the theater scenographer Jan Versweyveld to focus on camp’s exuberant aesthetic, The Costume Institute’s new exhibition, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” will be on view from May 9 through September 8, 2019, at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 999.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, framed around Susan Sontag’s seminal 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp,’” will showcase more than 250 objects dating from the 17th- century to the present, to discuss the thread of “camp,” from Louis XIV, King of France, to Drag Queens.

The NYC show will examine how the elements that Sontag identifies as “camp”- like artifice, démodé, excess, extravagance, humor, innocence, irony, nostalgia, pastiche, parody, surplus, and theatricality – are expressed in fashion.

Fashion is the most overt and enduring conduit of the camp aesthetic,” said Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute at The Met. “Effectively illustrating Sontag’s Notes on ‘Camp,’ the exhibition will advance creative and critical dialogue about the ongoing and ever-evolving impact of camp on fashion.”

From Left to Right: Jun Takahashi (Japanese, born 1969) for Undercover (Japanese, founded 1990). Ensemble, fall/winter 2017–18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2017 (2017.399a–d). Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019 ~ Alejandro Gómez Palomo (Spanish, born 1992) for Palomo Spain (Spanish, founded 2015). Wedding ensemble, spring/summer 2018. Courtesy of Palomo Spain. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019
From Left to Right: Jun Takahashi (Japanese, born 1969) for Undercover (Japanese, founded 1990). Ensemble, fall/winter 2017–18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2017 (2017.399a–d). Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019 ~ Alejandro Gómez Palomo (Spanish, born 1992) for Palomo Spain (Spanish, founded 2015). Wedding ensemble, spring/summer 2018. Courtesy of Palomo Spain. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019

The much-anticipated “Camp: Notes on Fashion” exhibition will be unveiled on Monday, May 6, 2019, at “The Costume Institute Benefit,” also known as”The Met Gala.” The event, led by US Vogue editor-in-chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour, singer and actress Lady Gaga, tennis star Serena Williams, Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele, and singer Harry Styles, is underwritten by Gucci.