The Costume Institute

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

The redesigned Costume Institute space reopened in May 2014, after a two-year renovation, as the Anna Wintour Costume Center with the exhibition Charles James: Beyond Fashion. The complex includes the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery, the main showcase space with a flexible design that lends itself to frequent transformation with video, sound, and wireless technology. The Center also includes the Carl and Iris Barrel Apfel Gallery to orient visitors to The Costume Institute's exhibitions. Behind the scenes is a state-of-the-art costume conservation laboratory; a study/storage facility to house the combined holdings of The Costume Institute and Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection; and The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library, one of the world's foremost fashion libraries.

The collection is open for research appointments by scholars, graduate students, doctoral students, and designers in relevant fields. For an appointment, please email CostumeInstitute.Collections@metmuseum.org.

If you own a piece that you believe might enhance our department's holdings, please