The Met Costume Institute’s spring 2019 exhibition, Camp: Notes on Fashion, explores the origins of camp’s exuberant aesthetic and how the sensibility evolved from the margins of society to become an important influence on mainstream culture. Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay, “Notes on ‘Camp’,” provides the framework for the exhibition by examining how fashion designers have used their métier to engage with camp in a myriad of compelling, humorous, and sometimes incongruous ways. The exhibition features approximately 250 objects, including womenswear and menswear, as well as sculptures, paintings, and drawings dating from the 17th century to the present.

Camp: Notes on Fashion is on view through September 8 at The Met Fifth Avenue 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY. photographs courtesy of The Met Costume Institute