“Costume Art,” the Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition opening tomorrow, six days after the Met Gala celebrated it, isn’t what it may sound like. It pairs some 200 garments and accessories with 200 visual works of art.
But the Metropolitan Museum of Art also has actual theater costumes, and art about theater costumes.
Here are two typical examples from the new Costume Art exhibition
Below are some examples from the Met of what I think of as costume art:
Man’s theater costume, 15th century China
1750 – 1849
first half of the 18th century..
Elegant nuihaku, like this one, were worn wrapped around the waist as outer garments, mostly by actors playing female roles. On stage, actors could take advantage of the light-reflecting qualities of the applied metallic leaf.
1866
Loïe Fuller. Fuller was an American dancer and actress. She invented dances and patented her costumes and techniques. T
Edwin Booth, from the Actresses and Celebrities series (N60, Type 1) promoting Little Beauties Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products, 1887
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