The Met’s 'Anthology of Fashion' Discovers the Hidden Stories of American Fashion History

A visual tale of untold fashion stories comes to light in The Met’s latest Costume Institute exhibition, In America: An Anthology of Fashion. Exploring the work of designers and dressmakers from the 19th to the mid-late 20th century, this second turn of the In America showcase pays inclusive homage to the unsung heroes—or “footnotes" of fashion history at the direction of curator Andrew Bolton. Opening May 7 at New York’s Met Museum, the exhibit dovetails with the Met Gala’s opulent “Gilded Glamour and White Tie” theme. Boasting more than 100 men’s and women’s historic pieces on display, these garments adorn 13 rooms throughout the museum’s American Wing. Each milieu—specially designed by nine noted American film directors—is an immersive world that ties to the others along broader motifs. Seven case studies in style are also revealed, taking a deep dive into the mode landscape created by A Lexicon of Fashion last fall.

“There are essentially two larger themes. The first is the emergence of a specific American style. The initial part of the exhibition provides historical context about the evolution and development of an identifiable American style in the 19th to 20th century,” curator Andrew Bolton tells L'Officiel. “The other narrative is the rise of the named designer—a designer who is a creative individual in his or her own right with a dress label, who became known as a designer, rather than a nameless dressmaker. These are the two underpinning themes in the exhibition that connect all of the stories.”

Panning between hallmark American designers, such as Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, and Halston, and less recognized tailors, dressmakers, and designers including Ann Lowe, Lucie Monnay, and Lloyd “Kiva” New, the show takes a garment-centred view of this important space within fashion. Through stories that touch on aesthetics and design, as well as politics and culture, each creator has made important contributions to style history. By offering equal weight to the many participants within the genre, Anthology spotlights hidden talents with an emphasis on previously overlooked women and people of colour. 

“Our style lets us express things that we can’t put into words. We reveal and conceal who we are with symbols and shapes, colours and cuts, and who creates them,” remarked First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, a special guest at the exhibition unveiling. “The history of American design is rich and deep. It is a story of innovation and ingenuity, of rebellion and renewal. It has often been written by those in the shadows, not recognized for their influence and art. But here at The Met, their stories are told. Their voices are raised and their work can shine.”

Sofia Coppola takes over the McKim, Mead and White Stair Hall and the Worsham-Rockefeller Dressing Room with Gilded Age mannequins among the decadent spaces. And Julie Dash reinterprets the Greek Revival Parlor with Eta Hentz’s 1944 Grecian collection and a Helen of Troy motif, while her take on the Renaissance Revival Room celebrates Ann Lowe, a Black designer who created Jacqueline Bouvier’s wedding dress. 

Another highlight of the exhibit is the vignette created by Tom Ford, staging a literal battle scene with fashion’s epic 1973 “Battle of Versailles” fashion show in mind. In the gallery of John Vanderlyn’s panoramic 1819 mural of Versailles, Ford depicts mannequins wearing original designs from the show, suspended mid-air and battling with swords. Then Regina King recreates a 19th-century parlour from Richmond, Virginia to honour the work of important Black designer Fannie Criss Payne, imagined during a fitting as a powerful creative presence.

Finally, Chloé Zhao takes a subdued view of a Shaker Retiring Room from the 1830s with an understated tone in accord with the room’s minimalism. Quotes from Shaker leader Mother Ann Lee quietly, but meaningfully championing equality for women and traditional artworks are reconceived with female deities in Shaker dress and worshippers in American sportswear designer Claire McCardell.

“The idea was to align a hidden story of each room with a hidden story in fashion. What changed when we began working with the film directors is that in every single case, they wanted to humanize the spaces, and give each a really distinct personality, to breathe life and animate it,” says Bolton. “There are different strategies—rearranging the furniture, taking furniture out, adding furniture or decorative arts, and adding props. The intent with all of them is to create a space that felt like it had been lived in, a lived space as opposed to a museum Period Room. When you walk through the show, the most compelling part for me is that they have breathed life into the rooms through their creative visions.”

In addition to the film narratives, Bolton focused on the period’s garments themselves in a series of case studies, offering a fuller valuation of the unsung heroes of American fashion. “There is such a rich tapestry of designers in the collections and their work is so compelling. For example, Marguery Bolhagen’s story is very interesting. She worked with Charles James for a while, hence her very architectural silhouettes. She did couture and she had private clients, one of which was Austine Hearst,” shares Bolton. “Designers like her operate on a different scale and in a different way than some of the other designers. I felt that their contribution to American fashion is no different from someone who may have been more successful at business and may have had more longevity than another designer. I feel as if many of them, women in this particular case, had such a big impact on fashion in their times and influenced so many women’s lives.”

In America: An Anthology of Fashion is on view alongside In America: A Lexicon of Fashion at The Met’s Costume Institute in New York through September 5, 2022.