Met unveils diverse, 3D‑printed mannequins ahead of 2026 Gala and 'Costume Art' show

Ahead of the May 4 Met Gala, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has introduced custom 3D‑printed mannequins that reflect a wide range of real body types for its new exhibition, Costume Art. The figures—some larger, some pregnant, some trans, some with disabilities—feature mirrored faces, inviting visitors to see themselves in the display.

Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator in charge, said the exhibition is organized around a typology of bodies seen throughout the museum’s collections. The show pairs roughly 400 artworks with garments, reversing the usual dynamic that casts fashion as an accessory to art.

Instead, visitors are encouraged to view artworks through the lens of dress. One pairing places Georges Seurat’s 1884 study for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte alongside a walking dress from the 1880s.

The mannequins were created using scans of real models, among them artist Michaela Stark, known for binding her own flesh; model Antwan Tolliver, who became paraplegic as a result of gun violence; and activist Sinéad Burke, who was born with a form of dwarfism.

Each posed in little to no clothing before 175 cameras that captured their forms in a single moment. The figures were then designed digitally, 3D‑printed and hand‑finished. Aariana Rose Philip, a Black trans model who served as one of the references, described the project as meaningful.

She said her work in fashion has focused on pressing for disability to be recognized and accepted rather than hidden, and seeing herself represented at the museum felt surreal and joyful. Nine models served as the basis for 18 mannequins, while seven additional forms were not modeled on specific individuals but aim to reflect underrepresented experiences in fashion, such as pregnancy.

Other figures in the show depict body types more commonly seen in both fashion and art. Bolton said the goal is not to reject the past but to add new voices, silhouettes and presences that “complete the picture.” Costume Art is the inaugural exhibition in the museum’s new Condé M.

Nast galleries, a nearly 12,000‑square‑foot space. It runs in New York City from May 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027. After the exhibition closes in January 2027, the mannequins will enter the museum’s permanent collection for future use. As Stark put it, the project “institutionalizes the idea that bodies are different.”