A Look Inside the Eagerly-Awaited “Camp: Notes on Fashion” Exhibit

The Met Costume Institute’s Alessandro Michele, Harry Styles and Lady Gaga-chaired Gala may be grabbing the headlines for now, but after the red carpet is cleared, the eagerly-awaited “Camp: Notes on Fashion‎” exhibit will open to the public. Taking cues from Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on Camp, the exhibition traces campy clothing from its origins through to a wide array of current-day fashion labels.

From Balenciaga’s towering platform Crocs to Björk’s infamous swan dress and the Mugler oyster shell gown Cardi B wore to the Grammys, the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” spring 2019 exhibit is an exploration of how over-the-top fashion has been used as both a form of expression and escapism throughout history. The “Camp: Notes on Fashion”exhibit explores through more than 250 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present.

Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp'” provides the framework for the exhibition, which examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.

https://hypebeast.com/2019/5/metropolitan-museum-of-art-costume-institute-camp-notes-on-fashion-exhibit-inside-look