Evening ensemble by John Galliano for House of Dior (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Angels, ecclesiastical prelates, and monks may be the most underestimated of great dressers. Whether picturing iridescent divine armor, sumptuous embroidered vestments, or austere hooded robes, Catholic art has produced some extremely memorable clothing. These religious sartorial models have exerted a surprisingly strong influence on the secular imagination.
A new exhibition at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art acknowledges the apparent contradiction of Catholic fashion. Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination features a dialogue between fashion and medieval art from the Met’s collection to examine fashion's ongoing engagement with the devotional practices and traditions of Catholicism. Papal robes and accessories from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which are seen for the first time outside the Vatican, serve as the cornerstone of the exhibition, alongside fashions from the early 20th century to the present.
Inspired by the exhibition, Anne Higonnet, professor and chair of art history at Barnard College, Columbia University, looks at an unexpected range of style leaders, from the archangel Gabriel to Pope Francis I, and their influence on recent fashion.
Other Connections
Take a look at a procession of sumptuous contemporary fashion by designers including Gianni Versace and John Galliano who found inspiration in historic religious objects, art, and ecclesiastical vestments.
