Gallery View Title Gallery
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art“There is no way back for me now. I am going to take you on journeys you’ve never dreamed possible.” -- Alexander McQueen.
Tomorrow marks the opening of the exhibit
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on view until July 31, 2011. It features approximately 100 pieces from the 19-year career of the British fashion designer who died last year at the age of 40.
The above quote by McQueen, selected by Curator Andrew Bolton as an overall theme of the show, appears halfway through the exhibit, fittingly in the same room as a tiny 3-D hologram of Kate Moss, in an undulating dress, floats in a prism, in the similar way it first wowed guests at the 2006 runway show in which it appeared.
Andrew Bolton, in his remarks to the press yesterday morning, described the exhibit as a “Gothic fairytale” with each room set up “like chapters in a book.”
Gallery View - The Romantic Mind
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of ArtAnd what a story it is, showcasing as above, McQueen’s early days when he was known for the precision of his tailoring, having apprenticed on London’s Savile Row, before moving on to his darker and more disturbing visions. In the “Romantic Gothic” room, surrounded by distressed gilt-frame mirrors, look for the swooping coat of black parachute silk being blown behind the mannequin with the masked tricorn hat, shown below on Isabella Blow, Mr. McQueen’s mentor, as well as the stunning corset of lilac silk faille overlaid with black silk lace and embroidered with jet beads, with collars that slice upwards, partially obscuring the wearer’s face. There is also a case featuring some of the final dresses Mr. McQueen created, such as the coat of duck feathers painted gold and skirt of white tulle embroidered with gold thread.
In a 2003 photo, Isabella Blow wears an Alexander McQueen coat of black parachute silk and black silk satin hat by Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen. Photo by Donald McPherson.
Ensemble, Dante, autumn/winter 1996-97
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + Commerce
Dress, autumn/winter 2010
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + CommerceIn the wild “Cabinet of Curiosities,” hats and accessories McQueen made in collaboration with the milliner Philip Treacy and jeweler Shaun Leane, among others, will stop you in your tracks with their inventiveness and craftsmanship, as well as their juxtaposition of beauty and horror. The Butterfly hat I selected as my “May Inspiration,” above right, is one of the many pieces on display, as is the “Chinese Garden” Hat of carved cork, shown below on Isabella Blow. Multiple screens display some of McQueen’s famously over-the-top runway presentations, including the 1999 show where model Shalom Harlow had her white dress splattered with paint by two menacing robots as she slowly revolved on a turntable, and models as human chess pieces from the 2005 show
It’s Only a Game. As you try to take it all in you may very well feel like you’re on a human chessboard yourself as you position and reposition amongst other museum goers.
“Chinese Garden” Hat, It’s Only a Game, spring/summer 2005, carved cork. Photo by Richard Saker.
Other galleries like “Romantic Nationalism,” “Romantic Exoticism,” and “Romantic Naturalism,” will startle you with McQueen’s sartorial takes on Scottish history, the influence of China, Japan and India, and his interest in the raw materials found in nature. He was an artist who had both the vision and the skill to realize the most outrageous, the most beautiful and terrifying of fashion dreams.
Gallery View - Romantic Nationalism
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ensemble, Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 2006-7
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + Commerce
Dress, Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 1996-7
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + Commerce
Ensemble, VOSS, spring/summer 2001
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + CommerceIn my exclusive interview with the Costume Institute’s Curator in Charge, Harold Koda, he noted that even within “a short span of time, McQueen had a mature career, with a highly-evolved vision.” He felt McQueen’s spring/summer 2010 presentation,
Plato’s Atlantis, was a high point in fashion. “When you see the detailing, the layering of textiles, engineered to perfection, you think, Where can he go from here?”
Ensemble, Plato's Atlantis, spring/summer 2010
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + CommerceIt was the last show McQueen himself presented, and one ensemble from it, above, which you may recognize from Lady Gaga’s video “Bad Romance,” is part of the exhibition’s finale.
Mr. Koda’s favorite part of the show? The “Cabinet of Curiosities.” “It’s seeing McQueen’s imagination feeding off others’ imaginations,” he says, “like love letters of a very intense affair.”
And like a very intense affair, and the music that plays throughout each of the galleries, the total effect of all that is on view is haunting and unforgettable.
Dress, autumn/winter 2010
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + CommerceThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street)
New York NY 10028
212-535-7710
www.metmuseum.org
Cynthia Smith carries a mini Chanel bag and a Céline tote. Photo by Marko MacPherson.
My tote is from openhousenewyork, part of the swag my husband received when he attended their annual benefit last week. openhousenewyork promotes all the great architecture and design in New York City. I like this tote because it's roomy and its bold graphic works great with my black and white Chanel. I'm taking this combo for a road test next time I head into the city.
