Anna Wintour Costume Center facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Anna Wintour Costume Center

Savage Beauty Exhibition, 2011
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Established	2014
Location	1000 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City 10028
Public transit access	Subway:   to 86th Street Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M79, M86

The Anna Wintour Costume Center is a special part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It's like a huge closet for amazing clothes and costumes! This center is home to the Costume Institute, which is a department of the museum. They collect and show off incredible fashion and costume design from different times and places.

The center is named after Anna Wintour. She is a very famous editor of Vogue magazine. She also helps organize the museum's big yearly party, the Met Gala. This party helps raise money for the Costume Institute.

The center officially opened on May 5, 2014. The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, helped open it. Many famous people from fashion and entertainment were there. These included Sarah Jessica Parker and Ralph Lauren.

History of the Costume Institute

A Robe à la française from the 1740s, displayed at the Costume Institute.

The story of the Costume Institute began in 1902. Two wealthy sisters, Irene and Alice Lewisohn, started volunteering. They helped immigrant families at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York. Alice taught drama, and Irene focused on dance.

In 1914, the sisters bought land for a new theater. The Neighborhood Playhouse opened in 1915. It became known for its exciting and new plays. A famous theater designer, Aline Bernstein, worked there. She designed costumes and stage sets.

The Playhouse closed in 1927. But the sisters continued their work. In 1928, they started the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. This school trained actors and dancers.

From Playhouse to Museum

Through their theater work, the Lewisohns learned a lot. They gained knowledge about acting, costumes, and stage design. In 1937, Irene Lewisohn opened a special place for this knowledge. It was called the Museum of Costume Art. It was located on Fifth Avenue. Aline Bernstein became its first president.

After Irene Lewisohn passed away in 1944, a new idea came up. Dorothy Shaver, a department store president, wanted to move the collection. She believed it would help the American fashion industry. So, she raised money to bring the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1946, the Museum of Costume Art joined the Met. It became The Costume Institute. At first, it ran on its own. But in 1959, it became a full department of the museum. Today, the museum has the Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library.

The Met Gala and New Collections

Since 1946, the Costume Institute has held a big yearly event. It's called the Met Gala. This event helps raise money for the institute's work. A fashion publicist named Eleanor Lambert helped start it.

In 2009, a huge collection of costumes moved to the Met. This was the American Costume Collection from the Brooklyn Museum. It was very expensive to care for this collection. So, it moved to the Costume Institute. The Brooklyn collection is older. It includes a dress from 1892. Before the move, 23,500 items were put online. Now, both museums share these images.

When the Brooklyn collection joined, the Met's costume collection grew. It had 31,000 items from the 1600s onwards. The first big show in the new center was in 2014. It featured designs by Charles James. He was an important designer in New York fashion.

In 2015, Andrew Bolton became the main curator. He had worked at the Costume Institute since 2002. In 2017, the institute showed an exhibit of Rei Kawakubo's work. She is a living designer. This was the first time they focused on a living designer since 1983.

List of Exhibitions