At the 2022 Met Gala, which took its theme from the Met exhibition “In America,” Kim Kardashian wore a dress on loan from the Ripley’s Hollywood Boulevard museum—Marilyn Monroe’s very fragile, one-of-a-kind, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, made for her by Jean Louis and worn in 1962 at a gala celebrating John F. Kennedy’s 45th birthday. It was a moment that sparked a massive controversy online and in the fashion community. Did the powers that be not see the irony? That at a Met event meant to honor fashion, a celebrity wears and inevitably damages a precious historic garment? This year, the Costume Institute takes on the long life and sometimes decay of fashion masterpieces. For instance, 16 pieces in the show are too fragile to even be placed on a mannequin; these “sleeping beauties” will be shown lying down. Using new technologies, the exhibition seeks to reanimate many of the over 200 remaining pieces through the senses of sound, touch, and smell. In fact, themes of nature and its cycles run through this creative exhibition, a collection of designs inspired by life forms of the earth, air, and water. Expect 400 years of fashion, from a 17th-century Elizabethan bodice to mid-20th century Christian Dior ball gowns to Jun Takahashi’s 2024 “terrarium” dress. —Clara Molot