Long before 1946, when fashion was officially acknowledged as curatorial department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a provocative question hovered over the profound daily act of getting dressed: Is fashion art? Can art be fashion?

Central to that provocative query is the body—you know, the very thing from which you read this sentence. The human form is perhaps the most important, foundational aspect of our existence, and thus plays a crucial role in the annals of art, stretching all the way from the Venus of Willendorf to Cindy Sherman’s warped and witty photographic self-portraits.

“Fashion is very much an art form not in spite of the body, but because of it,” says Andrew Bolton, OBE, curator in charge of the Costume Institute. And this year’s exhibition, “Costume Art,” seeks not just to address this tantalizingly complex issue, but to explore it in all its many facets. The central thesis is as simple as it is thrilling: pair existing artworks with corresponding garments or accessories and let your synapses fire. The very layout of the show—broken into sections that move from Biblical nudity to the au courant idea of body diversity to the ways in which we’ve long used clothes not merely to adorn but to subvert and distort the body—indicates just how richly drawn this subject is and why it’s mesmerized artists since time immemorial.

Additionally, this exhibition will be the first in the costume department’s new home, the Conde M. Nast Galleries. Once relegated to a modest 4,500-square-foot space in the museum’s basement, the department will now take flight in a grand, 12,000-square-foot display room on the ground floor, just off the central Great Hall. It is, says Max Hollein, the museum’s director, a symbol of how important clothing has become to The Met’s mission in exploring the many facets of art in the modern age. “We collect paintings, sculptures, textiles, arms and armor, but especially all the fashion,” he says. “And we want to make sure that it’s understood that fashion is a fantastic form of art.”

In the video above, Bolton, Hollhein, and members of the host committee weigh in on this very special exhibition, and you’ll see an exclusive first look at the items featured in the show. While the show may not forever settle the matter as to whether the fashion is art (or vice versa), it’s sure to get you pondering over it. And isn’t that the real point, after all?

Director: Nina Ljeti
Directors of Photography: Michael Lopez, Henry Gill
Editor: Evan Allan

Senior Producer: Bety Dereje
Producer: Rashida Josiah
Associate Producers: Anisa Kennar, Justine Ramirez, Lea Donenberg
Camera Operator: Chanthila Phaophanit
Assistant Camera: Kahdeem Prosper Jefferson, Gordan Wong
Gaffers: Billy Voermann, Mary Kalecinska
Swing: Alex Frischman
Audio: Mariya Chulichkova, Joanna Hunt
Set Designers: Ilana Portney, Dana Keren
Production Assistants: Quinton Johnson, Myles Haywood
Runners: Edie Chesters, Rachel Ademidun

Groomer for Andrew Bolton: Shin Arima
Makeup Artist for Sinéad Burke and Alex Consani: Ai Yokomizo
Hairstylist for Sinéad Burke and Alex Consani: Sonny Molina
Makeup Artist for Misty Copeland: Victor Henao
Hairstylist for Misty Copeland: Nai'vasha Grace
Makeup Artist for Aariana Philip: Meadow Soleil Cloud
Makeup Artist for Gwendoline Christie: Daniel Kolaric
Hairstylist for Gwendoline Christie: Joe Kelly
Hair & Makeup Artist for Aimee Mullins: Stèfan Jemeel

Production Coordinator: Tanía Jones
Production Manager: Kristen Helmick
Senior Production Manager: Venita Singh-Warner
Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors

Assistant Editors: Andy Morell, Fynn Lithgow
Senior Motion Graphics Designer: Samuel Fuller
Post Production Coordinator: Holly Frew
Supervising Editor: Kameron Key
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch

Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy
Global Talent Casting Directors: Ignacio Murillo, Morgan Senesi
Executive Producer: Rahel Gebreyes
Senior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke
Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson
VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri

Florist: London Blooming Haus
Photography By Paul Westlake
Images Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Special Thanks: The Metropolitan Museum of Art