5 Female Artists Consider the Theme of the Met Gala
IN FLUX Frank and Grace and Me, 2026, a self-portrait by Charlotte Wales, who was well into her second pregnancy at the time—accompanied by her toddler son. “I couldn’t wait for my daughter to be born,” she says, “so I could be more physical with my son again.” Fashion Editor: Julie Vojtovics.Photograph by Charlotte Wales
The human figure is the heart of “Costume Art,” the new show at The Met—the way it has been dressed, undressed, manipulated, ornamented, and honored over centuries of art-making. Here, Vogue adds a small chapter to that history, with five works by contemporary female artists, each considering the body in all its marvelous, multitudinous glory.
STUDY IN CONTRASTS
“Costume Art” is built on historical juxtapositions. Here, Harley Weir offers a body adorned with a leather British army apron and a 19th-century crinoline.
Photograph by Harley Weir
ALL UPSIDE
The “Abstract Body” is one of the exhibition’s themes. A self-portrait by Isabelle Wenzel (who trained as an acrobat) plays with its meaning.
Photograph by Isabelle Wenzel
ADD A LAYER Evening, 2019, by Tschabalala Self—who is on the advisory committee for “Costume Art”—addresses bodily scale and shape to expressive effect.
Artwork by Tschabalala Self
BARE IT ALL
The nude body is Coco Capitán’s subject in this work—and a preoccupation in the exhibition as well.
