WASHINGTON (May 4, 2026) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute will feature “Costume Art” in its 2026 spring exhibition, exploring the question of whether fashion is art. The exhibition will showcase iconic designs alongside contemporary pieces, highlighting the craftsmanship, cultural impact, and storytelling embedded in fashion and how fashion functions as both personal expression and a form of art.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis, and commentary on the Met Gala and the intersection of fashion and art. To schedule an interview with an expert, please contact Skyler Sales at skylers
gwu [dot] edu (skylers[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Imani Cheers is an associate professor of digital storytelling at the George Washington School of Media and Public Affairs. Dr. Cheers is an award-winning digital storyteller, director, producer, and filmmaker. As a professor of practice, she uses a variety of mediums including video, photography, television, and film, to document and discuss issues impacting and involving people of the African Diaspora.
Tanya Wetenhall is an assistant professor at the George Washington School of Arts and Design. Wetenhall teaches costume and textiles as material and visual culture. With a focus on object-based teaching and learning, her courses encompass fashion and costume history, fashion in art, world dress practices, and the cultural histories of theatre and ballet design. Her research explores the manifestation of national identity in design.
Bibiana Obler is the program head and associate professor of art history at the George Washington School of Arts and Design. Obler's research and teaching interests include modern and contemporary art and craft from the late nineteenth century to the present, with emphases on twentieth-century avant-gardes, theories of gender and cross-cultural representation, photography, and disability studies.
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