In America: A Lexicon of Fashion

Book Synopsis: Articulating eight decades of American style through the emotive language of clothing—from celebrated designers that established the modern legacy of sportswear to emerging creatives shaping the future of fashion in the United States.

“The design of the exhibition and the catalog is straightforward and compartmentalized, allowing the clothes to speak for themselves and contain their own narratives.”—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue.com

This new presentation of American fashion features a revised vocabulary that emphasizes its expressive qualities. Stunning new photography showcases over 100 garments from the 1940s to the present that offer a timely new perspective on the diverse and multifaceted nature of American fashion. The catalogue features works that display qualities such as belonging, comfort, desire, exuberance, fellowship, joy, nostalgia, optimism, reverence, spontaneity, strength, and sweetness by designers, from the pioneers who established the nation’s style to the up-and-coming creatives shaping its future.

In America: A Lexicon of Fashion includes designs by Gilbert Adrian, Geoffrey Beene, Thom Browne, Bonnie Cashin, Willy Chavarria, Telfar Clemens, Dauphinette (Olivia Cheng), Oscar de la Renta (Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim), Denim Tears (Tremaine Emory), Perry Ellis, Tom Ford, Rudi Gernreich, Halston, Elizabeth Hawes, Carolina Herrera, Conner Ives, Charles James, Donna Karan, KidSuper (Colm Dillane), Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, LRS (Raul Solís), Vera Maxwell, Claire McCardell, Norman Norell, Heron Preston, Pyer Moss (Kerby Jean-Raymond), Christopher John Rogers, Collina Strada (Hillary Taymour), Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, and many more.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (September 18, 2021–September 5, 2022)

Read more