Alexander McQueen
Exhibition
The Met Museum
Alexander McQueen at The Met Museum - Savage Beauty - Preview
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
The exhibition at The Met Museum organised by The Costume Institute, will celebrate the late Lee McQueen’s extraordinary contributions to fashion. Documenting 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 diversified the understanding of fashion beyond utility and the wearable to create conceptual pieces of culture, politics, and identity. His iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium was fashion. The exhibition will feature approximately one hundred ensembles and seventy accessories from McQueen’s prolific nineteen-year career. The exhibits are taken primarily from the Alexander McQueen Archive in London. Some pieces will be from the Givenchy Archive in Paris, as well as private collections, such as signature designs including the “bumster” trouser, the kimono jacket, and the three-point “origami” frock coat.
McQueen was influenced by the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s and 1950s and his technical ingenuity always imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at the vanguard.
The exhibition is organised by Andrew Bolton, curator, with the support of Harold Koda, curator in charge, both of The Costume Institute. Sam Gainsbury and Joseph Bennett, the production designers for Alexander McQueen’s fashion shows, will serve as the exhibition’s creative director and production designer, respectively.“When we put the antlers on the model and then draped over it the lace embroidery that we had made, we had to poke them through a £2,000 piece of work. But then it worked because it looks like she’s rammed the piece of lace with her antlers. There’s always spontaneity. You've got to allow for that in my shows.”Lee Alexander McQueen
For more information take a look at the Met Museum’s website here and for iPad users download a special Vogue's special app.
Click here to watch iconic McQueen moments.
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