We’re delighted to unveil a new collection crafted exclusively for The Met Store by the New York City–based designer John Derian, who's celebrated for his unique decoupage decorations on hand-blown glass plates, trays, bowls, and more.
From butterflies to bunnies, birds, and blooms, the collaboration pays homage to the natural world in honor of The Costume Institute’s spring 2024 exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.
Now on view at The Met Fifth Avenue through September 2, 2024, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion reactivates the sensory capacities of masterworks in The Met collection through first-hand research, conservation analysis, and diverse technologies—from cutting-edge tools, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery to traditional formats of x-rays, video animation, light projection, and soundscapes.
See approximately 250 garments and accessories spanning four centuries, visually united by iconography related to nature, which serves as a metaphor for the fragility and ephemerality of fashion and a vehicle to examine the cyclical themes of rebirth and renewal. The exhibition breathes new life into these storied Museum objects through creative and immersive activations designed to convey the smells, sounds, textures, and motions of garments that can no longer directly interact with the body.
In search of inspiration to complement The Costume Institute’s chosen theme, Derian mined The Met collection for lush and lively artworks.
Our latest offerings feature details from a diverse selection of sources, including an early 16th-century French book of flower studies at The Met Cloisters, a 16th–17th-century tile panel painted with undulating vines probably made in Syria and now in the Islamic Art collection, three mid-18th-century British plates with various botanical motifs in the Museum's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts holdings, and a beautifully embroidered 19th–20th-century Mexican sampler in the American Wing.
Shop select designs online and the full collection in-store at The Met Fifth Avenue.
