Sleeping Beauties

This vibrant publication brings to life four centuries of extraordinary garments and accessories inspired by the natural world

Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion explores clothing’s complex relationship with the body through the senses, offering new ways for understanding and experiencing a garment’s inherent artistry. Engaging texts by scholars, scientists, and conservators reveal the history behind over 200 works of fashion while also addressing their fragility and ephemerality.

Exceptional new photography by Nick Knight of creations by international couturiers and design houses--including Cristòbal Balenciaga, Thom Browne, Collina Strada, Christian Dior, Gucci, Charles James, LOEWE, Madame Grès, Thebe Magugu, Maison Margiela, Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Paul Poiret, Yves Saint Laurent, Elsa Schiaparelli, Bea Szenfeld, Philip Treacy, Iris van Herpen, Louis Vuitton, and Charles Frederick Worth--further deepens our appreciation for each object’s sensorial integrity.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition schedule

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(May 10-September 2, 2024)

Andrew Bolton is curator in charge, The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.