The late Charles James, the subject of this year’s Costume Institute exhibition and Met Gala, shouldn’t need any sort of introduction.

Christian Dior once called him  “the greatest talent of my generation.” Cristobal Balenciaga also showered him with similar praise. Dali once called his ivory satin puffer evening jacket a “soft sculpture.” He made clothes for famous actresses like Jennifer Jones, Marlene Dietrich, and Gypsy Rose Lee. He dressed Schiaparelli and Chanel. He had close relationships with the likes of Cecil Beaton, Halston, Andy Warhol, and Diana Vreeland. (Vreeland famously met him on a beach in the Hamptons, where he was dancing around on the beach in one of his women’s hats.) He’s the man behind popular silhouettes of today, including the infinity scarf, spiral-cut dresses, and wrap-over trousers.

And yet, he doesn’t have the legacy of the great Alexander McQueen or the mass appeal of a theme like Punk. When it was announced the Charles James would be the centerpiece of this year’s exhibition, everyone was asking, “Charles who?”

Excellent question. The Costume Institute’s Harold Koda and Jan Glier Reeder, the exhibition’s curators, have spent years rescuing and demystifying James’ life story. The Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition is the largest James retrospective ever and perhaps, it will be the show that finally gives James the credit he deserves as an avant-garde and revolutionary designer who changed the face of women's fashion as we know it.

There is James the failure—he had to shut down his business in 1958 due to financial ruin. Many fashion insiders of his time knew him as the mad man. He had a wild temper that ended up ruining many of his relationships. He was also a perfectionist—he famously reworked the sleeve of one dress so many times, it cost him nearly $20,0000. And, of course, there are those famous photos by Cecil Beaton, depicting beautiful women in enormous ball gowns made of tulle, taffeta, and silk.

At tonight’s big reveal, it’s the great couturier’s dresses that will be in the spotlight. “Any woman at a difficult moment can imagine herself a Duchess,” he once said about wearing his dresses. The key to understanding a James gown, however, is knowing that there is a lot more than meets the eye. More than a few fashion historians have been known to dissect his heavyweight dresses (his famous 'Clover Leaf' dress weighed over 10 pounds) so that they can see that details of the cut, the tailoring, and the bare bones of his work. His background in architecture and millinery certainly played a role in the complexity and technicality of his work. 

Simply put, he was a sheer master of the art form. Perhaps no one has summed it up better than Bill Cunningham of The New York Times. “You went into Charles James deformed, and you came out a Venus de Milo,” he said.

Charles James died September 23, 1978 in New York City.

See more of his stunning work in this feature from Vogue.

If you're in New York you can see the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 8th - August 10th.

Images courtesy of Cecil Beaton/Metropolitan Museum of Art and vogue.com.