The name of the fashion designer himself brings to mind thoughts of both ethereal and haunted beauty -- a mix of danger and romanticism, the beautiful and the bizarre, the natural and the unnatural world.
It was McQueen himself who said: “You’ve got to know the rules to break them. That’s what I’m here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition.”
And, if nothing else McQueen was a notorious rule-breaker.
He was also somewhat of an exhibitionist, a defiant showman and a daring artist.
Yesterday we viewed the big, bold (and sometimes very dark) exhibition of McQueen's creations entitled Savage Beauty at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Lest you thing this show is merely a collection of mannequins decked out in McQueen's clothes, promptly disabuse yourself of that notion. This is a light, sound and visual showcase -- a feast of moods, music, texture and environments; an exhibition that mixes history, heritage and hauntings and invites you to let your imagination run free along with the late designer.
And, as you might imagine this show is as much about death as it is about life.
The exhibition, organized by The Met's Costume Institute, celebrates Alexander McQueen’s extraordinary contributions to fashion.
From his Central Saint Martins postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation, which took place after his death in February 2010, McQueen challenged and expanded the understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity. His iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion.
The exhibition features approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from McQueen’s prolific nineteen-year career. Drawn primarily from the Alexander McQueen Archive in London, with some pieces from the Givenchy Archive in Paris as well as private collections, signature designs including the “bumster” trouser, the kimono jacket, and the three-point “origami” frock coat are on view.
McQueen’s fashions often referenced the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s, but his technical ingenuity always imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at the vanguard.
I must admit that this is one of the most unusual (and sometimes unsettling) exhibitions of its type I've ever seen, due in part to the sexual and sado-masochistic subtext in some of McQueen's work. Constriction seems to play a strong role in his approach to fashion.
And yet, there are softer, even more elegant pieces (largely influenced by Givenchy) and always expert tailoring owing to McQueen's own training and background.
Once again, McQueen himself expressed it best: “People find my things sometimes aggressive. But I don’t see it as aggressive. I see it as romantic, dealing with a dark side of personality.”
The struggle between life and death that seems to have defined much of McQueen's work ended in when he committed suicide just shy of his 41st birthday.
The show is drawing large crowds. It runs through August 7.
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