Met Museum’s Costume Institute Names New Leadership

Harold Koda, who has been curator-in-charge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute since 2000, is stepping down from the role, effective Jan. 8, 2016. The New York museum announced that Andrew Bolton will take over next year.

During his tenure at the Costume Institute, Koda has created many memorable and successful exhibitions, including “Goddess” (2003), “Dangerous Liaisons” (2004), “Poiret: King of Fashion” (2007), “Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations” (2012), “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” (May 2014) and the upcoming “Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style.”

He also spearheaded a number of initiatives to grow and improve the organization, according to Thomas Campbell, director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum. “During his time at the Met, Harold has brought great change to the department, including the transfer of the Brooklyn Museum’s costume collection to the museum and the two-year renovation and reopening of its space as the Anna Wintour Costume Center last year,” he said.

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“I am certain that Andrew, known for his extraordinary creativity and scholarship, will carry on Harold’s tradition of curatorial excellence,” Campbell added.

Bolton, who was born in Britain, joined the Costume Institute in 2002 as an associate curator and was promoted to curator in 2006. Previously, he was with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

At the Costume Institute, Bolton has worked on some the organization’s most highly praised exhibitions, including “AngloMania: Tradition & Transgression in British Fashion” (2006), “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” (2011), “Punk: Chaos to Couture” (2013) and “China: Through the Looking Glass.”

Bolton curated “China: Through the Looking Glass,” which closed earlier this week. It was the Costume Institute’s most popular exhibition — and the Met Museum’s fifth-most-visited show — with a total of 815,992 guests. That surpassed even the Alexander McQueen exhibition, which attracted 661,509 visitors.