Authorship Dispute Erupts Over ‘Hair Dress’ at the Met’s Costume Institute
British artist Anouska Samms says the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrongly credited New York-based Israeli designer Yoav Hadari as the sole author of Corpus Nervina 0.0 (2023–24), a hair-based dress shown in the Costume Institute’s “Costume Art” exhibition connected to the 2026 Met Gala season. In a May 11 Instagram reel, Samms said she learned the garment was on view after being tagged by Alexander McQueen’s Sarabande Foundation, where she and Hadari were residents in 2023 and collaborated on a “Hair Dress” she says the Met display resembles. Samms stated that an October 2023 contract, reportedly drawn up by Sarabande head Trino Verkade, declared her the sole owner of the fabric’s intellectual property and limited the license term to one year. The Met said the dispute is between Samms and Hadari, not the museum.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Blue Pools, Stolen Jewels, and Museum Power Plays