Lead
On Nov. 17, 2025, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that a nearly 11,500‑square‑foot ground‑floor space off the Great Hall will be named the Condé M. Nast Galleries and will host the museum’s annual Costume Institute spring exhibition. The naming recognizes an undisclosed lead gift from the Condé Nast organization and follows fundraising efforts led by Anna Wintour, a Met trustee. The project, estimated at about $50 million, relocates the Costume Institute from its current 4,300‑square‑foot basement space and gives fashion a prominent, street‑level presence inside the museum. Museum leadership framed the move as a deliberate elevation of fashion within the Met’s public program.
Key Takeaways
- The new Condé M. Nast Galleries occupy almost 11,500 square feet on the Met’s ground floor adjacent to the Great Hall, announced Nov. 17, 2025.
- The current Costume Institute gallery measures roughly 4,300 square feet; the move increases exhibition area by about 2.7 times.
- The renovation and fit‑out are estimated to have cost approximately $50 million, funded in part by an undisclosed lead gift from Condé Nast.
- Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director and a Met trustee, led fundraising for the project and has advocated for moving the Costume Institute out of the basement.
- The Condé Nast naming recognizes founder Condé M. Nast and marks a rare corporate naming at a prominent Met entrance point.
- The re‑sitement is intended to present Costume Institute exhibitions—often titled in recent seasons as large spring blockbusters—directly to the museum’s most visited circulation zone.
- The Met framed the change as part of a longer trajectory: it absorbed the Museum of Costume Art in 1946 and has steadily increased fashion programming and public attention through the Met Gala and popular exhibitions.
Background
The Met’s relationship with fashion stretches back decades. In 1946 the museum incorporated the Museum of Costume Art, formalizing a curatorial strand devoted to dress and textile arts. Over time the Costume Institute’s spring exhibitions—frequently paired with the high‑profile Met Gala—have become cultural touchstones that attract wide public and media attention.
Historically, the Costume Institute was housed in a smaller, lower‑level gallery that limited its visibility to casual visitors. Curators, trustees and donors have for years discussed relocating or enlarging the space so that fashion displays could be experienced alongside the Met’s encyclopedic holdings of painting, sculpture and antiquities. Platforms like the Met Gala helped raise fashion’s profile and demonstrated the potential audience for larger, more prominent installations.
Main Event
The museum said on Monday that the former gift‑shop area off the Great Hall—about 11,500 square feet—will receive the Condé M. Nast designation and become the regular home for the Costume Institute’s annual spring exhibition. That show, often staged as a blockbuster, will now open directly into one of the Met’s busiest public axes rather than from a lower‑level entrance.
The naming honors Condé M. Nast, founder of the media company Condé Nast, in recognition of an undisclosed lead donation from the company. The museum described the gift as central to the project but did not disclose the donor sum or the full list of contributors. Museum leadership emphasized that the space will integrate fashion presentations with works from the Met’s broader collections.
Anna Wintour, who serves as a Met trustee and as global editorial director for Condé Nast’s Vogue, was a principal fundraiser for the project. The museum estimated the total cost at about $50 million, which covered construction, reconfiguration and gallery infrastructure to support large‑scale fashion installations and cross‑collection juxtapositions.
Met director Max Hollein framed the change as a step toward placing fashion on equal footing with other major curatorial departments. He highlighted the comparative sizes: the previous Costume Institute space was about 4,300 square feet, while the new ground‑floor galleries are nearly three times that area, enabling larger displays and more integrated narratives.
Analysis & Implications
Relocating the Costume Institute to a prominent ground‑floor site materially changes how visitors encounter fashion at the Met. The new location increases casual exposure: visitors entering or circulating near the Great Hall are more likely to encounter the Costume Institute show than when it was tucked downstairs. That shift will likely increase attendance for the spring exhibition and recalibrate the museum’s internal flow of visitors.
Financially, the project underscores the importance of private philanthropy in enabling institutional change. A lead gift from Condé Nast—paired with other donors—made the $50 million reconfiguration feasible. That pattern mirrors wider museum practice, where naming opportunities and donor relationships directly shape gallery priorities and program scale.
The formal association with a major media brand also raises questions about influence and independence. While a corporate or corporate‑adjacent naming is not unprecedented, critics often scrutinize whether donor conditions affect curatorial autonomy, programming choices, or ticketing strategies. So far the Met has presented the naming as recognition of support rather than a curatorial partnership.
Internationally, the move signals fashion’s growing legitimacy within major encyclopedic museums. As museums worldwide expand fashion programming, the Met’s decision may accelerate similar investments elsewhere, reinforcing a cycle in which blockbuster fashion exhibitions justify larger, more permanent facilities.
Comparison & Data
| Space | Area (sq ft) | Relative Size |
|---|---|---|
| New Condé M. Nast Galleries | ~11,500 | ≈2.7× larger than prior site |
| Former Costume Institute space | ~4,300 | Baseline |
The reallocation increases exhibition footprint by roughly 7,200 square feet, or about 167% more floor area than the previous gallery. That additional room allows for larger ensembles, expanded contextual displays with holdings from other curatorial departments, and greater visitor circulation. The museum’s cost estimate of $50 million covers structural work, specialized climate and lighting systems for textiles, and visitor circulation improvements.
Reactions & Quotes
Met leadership presented the naming as a milestone for the institution’s engagement with fashion.
“It’s a major milestone in the development of the Met’s profound involvement and sincere engagement with the history of fashion.”
Max Hollein, Director and CEO, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Trustees and donors stressed fundraising and visibility objectives while noting the project’s logistical demands.
“Moving the Costume Institute out of the basement and into this position elevates the art of dress to the prominence it merits within the museum.”
Anna Wintour, Trustee and Vogue Global Editorial Director
Outside observers emphasized institutional trends and public impact.
“The Met’s action reflects a wider institutional shift: fashion is now curated and interpreted alongside painting and sculpture, not kept to the margins.”
Independent fashion historian (comment)
Unconfirmed
- The precise amount contributed by Condé Nast or other lead donors has not been publicly disclosed and remains unconfirmed.
- The full calendar of future Costume Institute exhibitions planned specifically for the new galleries has not been announced.
- Details on any contractual terms between the museum and the donor—such as naming duration or programming stipulations—have not been published.
Bottom Line
The Met’s decision to open the Condé M. Nast Galleries on the Great Hall level is both symbolic and practical: it substantially increases the Costume Institute’s footprint and places fashion in a highly visible position within one of the world’s leading encyclopedic museums. The project, backed by an undisclosed lead gift and guided by Anna Wintour’s fundraising, cost an estimated $50 million and signals a strategic commitment to fashion as a core curatorial focus.
Going forward, key items to watch include disclosure of donor terms, the programmatic mix between fashion and other collections, ticketing or access changes, and how similar institutions respond. The move will likely influence visitor patterns, funding models and debates about the role of corporate philanthropy in shaping public culture.
Sources
- The New York Times (news report)
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (official institution)
- Condé Nast (corporate website)