Heavenly Bodies Fashion and the Catholic Imagination is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan’s Upper East Side daily from May 10 – October 8, 2018.
The exhibition examines the influence of Roman Catholic imagery on fashion designers. The curators compare pieces from the Met’s collections to fashion designs, many of which are represented by hand-scanned mosaics.
There are pieces from the Vatican collection which haven’t been shown outside of the Vatican. The Byzantine gallery shows designs inspired by the interiors of Byzantine churches.
Heavenly Bodies Fashion and the Catholic Imagination is the annual show produced by the Met’s Costume Institute.
One of the exhibition’s most striking pieces is the cover image of a suit designed by Spanish – British designer John Galliano for Christian Dior. It is how Galliano imagined he might dress a pope for the house.
The Met curators have woven together a pilgrimage of sorts that you can take in different ways. The exhibition is spread across the Met Fifth Avenue and the Met Cloisters, the medieval art museum in Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights. The designs on view there are inspired by monastic orders and the seven sacraments of the Catholic faith.
If you grew up Catholic, you can’t help but be influenced by Roman Catholic art. If you didn’t grew up Catholic, some of your world view may be anti-Catholic, but you just can’t help being influenced by it one way or the other.
Heavenly Bodies Fashion and the Catholic Imagination Tickets
$25
$17 Seniors (65+)
$12 Students
Children under 12 free with an adult
Visitors with a valid New York State ID can pay what you wish at the ticket counter.
Tickets are valid for three consecutive days admission to The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Brauer, and The Met Cloisters.
Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
(at 82nd St)
Upper East Side, Manhattan
(212) 535-7710
Open daily 10 am – 5:30 pm (9 pm Friday and Saturday nights).
Subway
- (4) (5) (6) to 86th St
- (1) to 86th St (then the M86 crosstown bus to Fifth Ave)
- (B) (C) to 81st St (then the M79 crosstown bus to Fifth Ave)
Bus
- From Uptown take the M1, M2, M3, M4 down Fifth Avenue to 82nd St.
- From Downtown take the M1, M2, M3, M4 up Madison Avenue to 83rd St.
- From Manhattan’s West Side, take the M79 or M86 crosstown bus to Fifth Avenue.
- From the Met Cloisters take the M4 bus to 82nd St and Fifth Avenue.
Visiting the Met Cloisters
The Met Cloisters are in Fort Tryon Park between Washington Heights and Inwood, Manhattan.
Subway
(A) to 190th St, take the elevator up out of the station, and walk north on Margaret Corbin Drive for about ten minutes.
Bus
From the Met Fifth Avenue, take the M4 bus from Madison Ave / 83rd St.
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