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"  Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Before we even see the first steps on the spring 2014 runways at New York Fashion Week (kicking off today!), we can make one prediction: The warm-weather season will be romantic. This statement comes after learning The Metropolitan Museum of Art&amp;#039;s official theme for its annual May exhibit and gala (a.k.a., the biggest fashion event of the year), and it will be dedicated to the famed 20th-century Anglo-American couturier Charles James (1906\u20131978). This is a huge stray from last year&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Punk: Chaos to Couture,&amp;quot; which exemplified all things edgy and rocker. &amp;quot;Charles James: Beyond Fashion&amp;quot; will, instead, spotlight the more traditional glamour experienced in the 1930s through 1950s. Expect grand ball gowns from his top clients (like Millicent Rogers and Dominique de Menil), as well as sketches, pattern pieces, swatches, and partially completed works from his last studio at the Chelsea Hotel.  &amp;quot;James was an artist who chose fabric and its relationship to the human body as his medium of expression,&amp;quot; said Jan Glier Reeder, co-organizer and consulting curator in The Costume Institute. &amp;quot;In fact, a devoted James client once said, &amp;#039;\u2026his work went beyond fashion and was a fine art.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; Added Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art: &amp;quot;Charles James considered himself an artist, and approached fashion with a sculptor&amp;#039;s eye and a scientist&amp;#039;s logic.&amp;quot; Starting May 8 and running though August 10, the exhibit will be open at The Costume Institute&amp;#039;s new galleries and special exhibitions galleries on the Museum&amp;#039;s first floor. Does this mean we&amp;#039;ll be seeing some of our favorite celebs and models at the Met gala in jaw-dropping vintage couture gowns? Fingers crossed!  Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/art-design/news/a18677/met-exhibit-spring-2014-charles-james-beyond-fashion/>