The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest museum in the Western Hemisphere, and the world's most encyclopedic art museum under one roof. Founded in 1870, its permanent collection, housed in seventeen curatorial departments, embraces more than two million works of art spanning five thousand years of world culture, from prehistory to the present, from every part of the globe in all artistic media, and at the highest levels of creative excellence.

 

Produced in conjunction with The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition:

 

CharlesJames:Beyond Fashion.

 

After designing in his native London, and then Paris, Charles James (1906-1978) arrived in New York City in 1940. Though he had no formal training, he is now regarded as one of the greatestdesigners in America to have worked in the tradition of the Haute Couture. James's fascination with complex cut and seaming led to the creation of key design elements that he updated throughout his career: wrap-over trousers, figure-eight skirts, body-hugging sheaths, ribbon capes and dresses, spiral-cut garments, and evening gowns with pouf drapery. His unique design process used sculptural, scientific, and mathematical approaches to construct revolutionary ball gowns and innovative tailoring that continue to influence designers today.