'Savage Beauty' at the Met was one of the most exquisite shows I've ever seen, mixing fashion, culture and art in an entirely original way. The late Alexander McQueen's work would have been stunning by itself, but the exhibition was put together in a way that will be remembered for generations to come. It was organized after the designer's death in 2010 in order to commemorate his life's work. The galleries are separated not by collection, but by theme. My personal favorite was "Romantic Naturalism", featuring short dresses printed with swirling patterns in silvers, browns and blues which were inspired by the omnipresent force of nature.
"Romantic Naturalism" gallery
Another gallery which caught my (and, it seems, everyone's) eye was the "Romantic Gothic and Cabinet of Curiosities", a dark room whose custom-made cabinets housed many of the more haunting outfits and accessories. While there were clothes in other rooms that I preferred, the "Cabinet of Curiosities" also housed several small screens showing videos of McQueen runway shows. Seeing many of them in their entirety was new to me, and I was struck by how his shows were not just about the fashion, but about the performance. They addressed the concept of fashion shows and fashion itself in new and innovative ways--Alexander McQueen could certainly captivate an audience.
"Cabinet of Curiosities"
I did, for once, take the audio guide, the majority of which is Andrew Bolton speaking, along with friends of McQueen such as Isabella Blow. It was fantastic--while a part of me would recommend forming your own opinion about the clothes, the audio guide was wonderfully informative and definitely heightened the experience. This show truly blew my mind. I walked out of it feeling stunned, sad and bursting with fashion -- and that made me incredibly happy.
- Cream
"Savage Beauty" runs until August 7th 2011 at the Met Museum in New York. Photos courtesy of metmuseum.org.
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