I had the pleasure of attending the press walkthrough of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion. The Costume Institute states that the exhibition “explores the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, focusing on iconic fashion models in the latter half of the the 20th century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring the fashion of their respective eras.”

Using photographs and displays featuring the works of  the masters of fashion and fashion photography, the exhibit progresses through and “examines a timeline of fashion from 1947 to 1997 through the idealized aesthetic of the fashion world” as explained by Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute. “With a mere gesture, a truly stellar model can sum up the attitude of her time – becoming not only a muse to designers or photographers, but a muse to a generation”

This beautiful exhibit opens to the public on May 6th in the Tisch Gallery on the 2nd floor of  the Metropolitan Museum of Art and will remain open until August 9th 2009.  It’s worth seeing with your own eyes, but after the jump, you can catch a sneak preview of the exhibition.

Event sponsor Marc Jacobs.

Event Co-chair Anna Wintour.

The Influence of The New Look display. Dresses by Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga.

Model Jean Patchett shot by Irving Penn for the cover of Vogue – April 1950.

Recreation of photograph by Richard Avedon of model Sunny Harnett for Harper’s Bazaar, September 1954.

Recreation of photograph of Peggy Moffitt in Rudi Gernreich shot by William Claxton for Life, July 10, 1964.

Twiggy in Yves St. Laurent, shot by Bert Stern for Vogue, March 1967.

Marisa Berenson shot by Hiro for Harper’s Bazaar, February 1966.

Jean Shrimpton shot by David Bailey for British Vogue, January 1964 and Penelope Tree shot by David Bailey.

The influence of Sports Illustrated.

Aluminum alloy dresses worn in the 1966 fashion film satire Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? Dresses created by brothers Bernard and François Baschet.

Lauren Hutton.

House of Chanel ensemble Fall/Winter 1991, by Karl Lagerfeld.

Outfits by Donna Karan,  Prada and Helmut Lang.

Gallery text – Grunge, the Anti-Model, and a Return To Glamour.

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