The theme explained

“The stories really reflect the evolution of American style, but they also explore the work of individual tailors, dress-makers, and designers,” said Andrew Bolton, head curator at the Costume Institute.

He continued: “What’s exciting for me is that some of the names will be very familiar to students of fashion, like Charles James, Halston, and Oscar de la Renta, but a lot of the other names really have been forgotten, overlooked, or relegated into the footnotes of fashion history.

“So one of the main intentions of the exhibition is to spotlight the talents and contributions of these individuals, and many of them are women.”