Alexander McQueen dress The Horn of Plenty, autumn/winter 2009–10
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø via The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Go to the Met. Pay what you wish. See Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.
The exhibition of about a hundred ensembles and seventy accessories by the self-described “romantic schizophrenic” is divided into rooms by theme, such as Romantic Historicism, Primitivism, Naturalism, and Exoticism. The distinct architecture, décor, and sound design of each room make Savage Beauty an all-sensory theatrical journey.
Medical slides, duck feathers, flowers, human hair, clam shells, and mud are some of McQueen’s raw materials. While seeing these nearly inhuman displays of precision and ingenuity, it’s no wonder he cites myriad preoccupations and inspirations unrestrained by time, space, or context, such as Flemish painting, Scottish nationalism, Victorian Gothic, China, Japan, India, Turkey, and Darwinism. These often recognizable references draw the eye in, but through distinctly McQueenian combinations, distortions, and silhouettes, they are rendered otherworldly.
The only negative to Savage Beauty is sensory overload. By the end of the exhibit you almost forget that you’re looking at clothing. It’s quite clear that McQueen was above all an artist, and expressed his vision through the medium of fashion. For those who are familiar with McQueen only through Lady Gaga’s famous armadillo boots and Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, this show will hit you in a big way.
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art through July 31, 2011
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