“Camp: Notes On Fashion”

Inspired by Susan Sontag’s seminal 1964 essay, “Notes on ‘Camp,’” The Met Costume Institute examines the spread of the camp aesthetic from its largely gay, subcultural roots to its acceptance by the mainstream. Often characterized by an ironic appropriation of things associated with bad taste (like kitsch), camp was first cited as a term in 1909, when its connotations were decidedly more negative. However, by the 1970s, camp became synonymous with cutting-edge sophistication, and it wasn’t long before fashion designers adapted it for haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing. Examples of both can be found in this show of outfits that reference the more outré reaches of pop culture while also making knowing asides about the nature of fashion itself.