There are more than 300 pieces on display from 46 architects and designers who are at the top of their game, in an exposition that was six years in the making.

For anyone even remotely interested in either discipline, the exhibition is a must. It has been laid out in a space redesigned by New York architects Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown, opening up the museum's galleries to best showcase the pieces.

Skin + Bones is a multi-medium exhibition that slips between the external and the internal. There are ornate haute couture gowns, as well as more esoteric installations that allude to the synthesis of the two disciplines. The clothing looks especially dramatic on faceless mannequins designed by Ralph Pucci International.

But no matter what your level of interest, it's hard to take your eyes off many of the pieces.

There's a stridently contemporary feel to the exhibition, with most of the exhibits no more than about 20 years old. Japanese designers - among them Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, and Yohji Yamamoto - were at the forefront of the architectural fashion trend, turning out incredibly sculptural pieces that have gone on to become key examples of modern fashion.

Examples on display exhibit the deconstruction that has become a key component of contemporary fashion.

Curator Brooke Hodge has previously worked on an exhibition devoted to Kawakubo's work, and realised not only the stunning 'visual similarities between clothing and buildings, but also by how the garments could be more aptly described using architectural terminology'.

That fashion and architecture have so much in common might come as a surprise to some people, Hodge says.

'Fashion can often be ephemeral and superficial, and uses soft, fluid materials, whereas architecture is considered monumental and permanent and uses strong, rigid materials.' Nonetheless, she says, 'both practices protect and shelter us, while providing a means to express our identities - whether personal, political, religious or cultural'.

Admittedly, spending an hour or so meandering through the galleries housing the exhibition, it's difficult not to be converted to this train of thought. Fashionistas love the opportunity to see up close the incredible workmanship that goes into making clothing from the likes of London designer Hussein Chalayan, Lanvin's Alber Elbaz and Martin Margiela, who has acquired a cult following for his architectural-inspired pieces.

Other designers who worship at the temple of sculpture include Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Oliver Theyskens, Viktor & Rolf and Vivienne Westwood, and each has pieces on display.

The offerings can be whimsical and amusing. There is Viktor & Rolf's noted Russian Doll collection, even more eye-catching because it's one of the first things you see. Moving through, subsequent sections show the co-existence of fashion and architecture in groups given distinct themes: Identity, Shelter, Geometry and Creative Process.

This is less about clothes than about artistic visuals, in the form of patterns, photographs and sketchbooks.

It's a great way to get a glimpse into an architect's mind as well. Visionaries such as Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid have been included. The displays include models of the Seattle Central Library designed by Koolhaas and the Prada Aoyama Epicenter (a six-level, five-sided building housing the Prada emporium) in Tokyo by Herzog & de Meuron.

There's a distinctly futuristic feel to the space as well, showcasing as it does examples such as a line of reversible jeans from Miyake Design Studio.

But most intriguing are the outre fashion designs such as Isabel Toledo's brilliant circular dress and - a personal favourite - Chalayan's lacquered multi-tiered 'skirt' that folds into a sturdy little table. A literal fusion of fashion and architecture if ever there was one.