Alexander Exhibition from the Late “I never conformed to any sort of
fashion ideal. My idea was always to show reality, even though I started at Savile Row and ended up at Givenchy in Paris, to depict the times I live in.” —Alexander McQueen, Harper’s Bazaar, September 2008
McQueen
at the Metropolitan Art Museum & Interview with Current Creative Director Sarah Burton
Exhibition Overview
The spring 2011 Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, is on view May 4 through July 31. The exhibition celebrates the late Mr. McQueen’s extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his Central Saint Martins postgraduate collection in 1992 to his final runway presentation, which took place after his death in February 2010, McQueen challenged and expanded our understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics and identity.
The exhibition is made possible by Alexander McQueen™, and additional support is provided in partnership with American Express and Condé Nast.
“Alexander McQueen’s iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “This landmark exhibition continues the Museum’s tradition of celebrating designers who changed the course of history and culture by creating new possibilities.”
According to Andrew Bolton, curator for The Costume Institute, “Alexander McQueen was best known for his astonishing and extravagant runway presentations, which were given dramatic scenarios and narrative structures that suggested avant-garde installation and performance art. His fashions were an outlet for his emotions, an expression of the deepest, often darkest, aspects of his imagination. He was a true romantic in the Byronic sense of the word — he channeled the sublime.”
The exhibition, located in the Metropolitan Museum’s second-floor Cantor Galleries, features approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from McQueen’s prolific 19-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.
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Galleries showcase recurring themes and concepts in McQueen’s work. “The Romantic Mind” examines his technical ingenuity, which combined the precision of tailoring and patternmaking with the spontaneity of draping and dressmaking.
“Romantic Gothic” highlights McQueen’s historicism, particularly his engagement with the Victorian Gothic, and dichotomies such as life and death. “Romantic Nationalism” looks at McQueen’s patriotic impulses, including his reflections on his Scottish heritage and his fascination with British history. “Romantic Exoticism” explores the influence of other cultures on the designer’s imagination, especially China and Japan. “Romantic Primitivism” captures McQueen’s engagement with the ideal of the “noble savage,” while “Romantic Naturalism” considers his enduring interest in raw materials and forms from nature.