Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Jumpsuit
Designer Rudi Gernreich American, born Austria
Not on view
OPTIMISM An inclination to anticipate the best possible outcome; a cheerful and hopeful temperament:
Designer Rudi Gernreich envisioned a future in which men and women could dress alike and nudity was stripped of its moral judgments. This ensemble from his unisex collection was conceived to free the figure from sartorial and cultural constraints by embracing the utility of a uniform, including optional thigh-high waterproof boots for winter. Paradoxically, Gernreich imagined the knit jumpsuit would enhance the wearer's individuality, despite disguising the lower half of the face and unifying the figure as a second skin to obfuscate gender signifiers.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
