NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 On a sultry summer day in Brooklyn last year, artist and couture designer Michaela Stark found herself in a studio surrounded by 175 cameras, for a photo shoot unlike any she鈥檇 done before.
Clad only in her signature corsetry that binds the flesh, Stark stood in the midst of a circle as the cameras captured all angles of her body, simultaneously 鈥 part of an intricate process known as photogrammetry. The goal: to scan her body and build a mannequin 鈥 three, actually 鈥 for display in one of the world鈥檚 top museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And , no less.
鈥淚t was definitely a bit nerve-wracking,鈥 recalls Stark of the 鈥渋ntimate and vulnerable鈥 experience. But, she quips, 鈥渟omething about being naked on a 40-degree (Celsius) day in a corset that isn鈥檛 hiding anything kind of takes the awkwardness away from the situation, actually.鈥
The mannequins, and others based on real-life models like Stark, will be featured in at the museum鈥檚 Costume Institute that's launched by the starry May 4 gala. It鈥檚 part of an effort to add an element of body positivity to a show that examines the dressed body in art over the centuries, says curator Andrew Bolton.
Making room for body types that art has ignored
Bolton notes that the classic fashion mannequin is usually around a women鈥檚 size 2. The idea of these new mannequins, which will accompany the more traditional ones, is to stress that in the history of art, certain body types have been ignored or excluded 鈥 the corpulent body, the disabled body or the aging body, for example. But they, too, are part of the story. (The show comprises about 400 items 鈥 half art objects, and half garments from the museum鈥檚 collection, displayed in pairs.)
The aim was 鈥渢o challenge a history of museum mannequin display that鈥檚 very much characterized by thin, abled and standardized bodies,鈥 Bolton says. Rather than simply adapt existing mannequins, curators wanted to base the new mannequins 鈥渙n a diverse range of real bodies with real, lived experiences.鈥
So, along with Stark, Bolton recruited models like Sin茅ad Burke, the Irish disability activist who was born with dwarfism; Aimee Mullins, the athlete, actor, model and activist who wears prosthetic lower legs; and Aariana Rose Philip, a musician and model who uses a wheelchair, among others. Nine real-life models were used to create 18 new mannequins. Seven additional mannequins represent shapes like the pregnant body and the thin male body but aren鈥檛 based on real people.
And these 25 new mannequins will not be consigned 鈥 as some are 鈥 to retirement after the show, which opens to the public May 10. When 鈥淐ostume Art鈥 ends in January 2027, they'll join the museum鈥檚 permanent collection, for future use.
This element of permanence is exciting to Stark, who has created looks for Beyonc茅 and has her own, body-positive line of lingerie called Panty. Her three mannequins will be wearing her own designs, and will appear in the Reclaimed Body and Corpulent Body sections.
Stark has long used corsetry techniques in unconventional ways. While corsets have traditionally been used to mold the body to classic ideas of beauty, Stark uses the same techniques 鈥渢o actually emphasize those parts of the body that we鈥檝e been conditioned to hide. It鈥檚 using the corsets to bring back power to the female form.鈥
Highlighting body positivity while the fashion industry is turning away
The designer feels her participation in the Met鈥檚 exhibit could not come at a more crucial moment 鈥 a time when the industry鈥檚 commitment to body positivity appears to be fading.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really interesting moment in time for the Met to be doing this show because obviously we鈥檝e seen the complete rapid decline of the body positivity industry,鈥 she says. 鈥淒esigners left, right, and center are just starting more and more to refuse to work with plus-size models.鈥 Her own experience is backed up by a which cited a decline in plus sizes on the runways of four major Fashion Week cities for the Fall/Winter 2026 season.
Burke concurs, calling that decline 鈥渟hameful and embarrassing.鈥
Her organization, Tilting the Lens, aims to place disabled people in positions of power and leadership across the industry 鈥 鈥渨hether they are creative directors and designers, whether they鈥檙e CEOs, whether they are chief marketing officers,鈥 she says.
Burke, who will attend the Met Gala as a member of the host committee, modeled for two mannequins, both to be shown in the Disabled Body section 鈥 one in a Burberry trench coat made for her, and the other in a dress by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren.
鈥淵ou stood in this cage of cameras,鈥 she said of the modeling experience. 鈥淚t鈥檚 deeply uncomfortable and really vulnerable in the sense that you are in your skin and in very little else ... your body is photographed, observed, recorded from every angle, angles which you yourself may not even be familiar with.鈥
Nonetheless, she welcomes participation in the show, and especially the opportunity to consult with the museum on ways to present disabled people. That includes the language used. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so many ways in which we could have called the disabled body something else, using euphemisms that create a distance from being disabled,鈥 she said.
Burke is also involved in training the guides and volunteers at the museum, who can help to 鈥渕ake people feel seen, challenge people gently, and have a broader conversation about the connection between embodiment, fashion and art.鈥
Visitors can see themselves in the mannequins
The scanning process for models like Stark and Burke, at a Brooklyn company called New York Capture, was just the beginning. Artist Frank Benson then used the scans to create a sort of digital clay, molded to better display the garments. Then, the digital information went to a company in Italy, Bonaveri, to create the actual mannequins.
And there's another unique aspect to all the mannequins 鈥 just over 200 鈥 in 鈥淐ostume Art鈥: They've been fitted with a polished steel surface akin to a mirror, in which visitors can see themselves.
The idea, Bolton says, is that you鈥檙e looking not only at the person the mannequin is meant to embody, but also yourself.
In addition, about a third of the mannequins are placed on pedestals, with the others at ground level. Burke鈥檚 mannequin is one of those placed on a pedestal, and Bolton says that鈥檚 intentional.
鈥淎ndrew, my entire life, I鈥檝e been looked down on, both literally and metaphorically,鈥 he says the activist told him. She was, he said, very humbled at the idea that people would now 鈥 literally 鈥 look up to her.
The exhibit will include plenty of classical body shapes, of course, and Bolton stresses that the idea 鈥渋s not to reject what came before.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檙e using it as an opportunity to add new voices and new silhouettes and new presences,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he figures don鈥檛 deny the past, but in a way, I suppose they complete the picture.鈥
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For more coverage of the 2026 Met Gala, visit .
