From May 4–August 7, 2011, Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty is on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A friend of mine went to see it and said it brought her to tears. I would love to get the chance to see it before it comes down.
In the meantime, The MET has a great blog up about the show with videos, commentary, photos, explanations and words from models, friends, designers and McQueen himself.
Separated into 6 different galleries, the exhibition includes approximately one hundred ensembles and seventy accessories from McQueen’s prolific nineteen-year career.
While I have included a selection of some of my favorite pieces shown on the blog, I highly suggest taking a trip through the pages and videos yourself. You won't be disappointed.
White cotton muslin spray-painted black and yellow with underskirt of white synthetic tulle.
This dress was created live with 2 robots spraying a white dress while model Shalom Harlow spun like a music box dancer.... A must watch video!
Ensemble, It's Only a Game, spring/summer 2005
Dress and obi-style sash of lilac and silver brocade; jacket of lilac silk faille embroidered with silk thread; top of nude synthetic net embroidered with silk thread.
Inspired by Peter Weir’s film Picnic at Hanging Rock, the collection itself was staged as a live chess game (see video), and the inspiration for the chess game came from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
I love how the the mannequin in this particular dress has a helmet of hair covering her face. Most of the other pieces have armor or fabric covering the mannequin's face.
Dress, Sarabande, spring/summer 2007
Nude silk organza embroidered with silk flowers and fresh flowers
“Jellyfish” Ensemble
Plato’s Atlantis, spring/summer 2010
Dress, leggings, and “Armadillo” boots embroidered with iridescent enamel paillettes.
Part of the Romantic Naturalism gallery, Plato's Atlantis was the last fully realized collection the designer presented before his death in February 2010. Inspired by Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859), it presented a narrative that centered not on the evolution of humankind but on its devolution.
Ensemble, No. 13, spring/summer 1999
Prosthetic legs of carved elm wood.
Prosthetic legs of carved elm wood.
Part of a beautiful ensemble that included, a brown leather corset and cream silk lace skirt, these gorgeous prosthetic legs were carved specifically for Aimee Mullins. Mullins is a world-class Paralympic athlete, and she actually modeled the boots for his 1999 show. Most people viewing the show assumed they were wooden boots, but in reality, they were the model's legs!
The “Coiled” Corset was created by casting the model’s torso in concrete to get an exact form, and then literally formed coil by coil, front and back. The model was placed into the corset, and then it’s screwed all along the side, and up the arms, and beside the neck. There are tiny, little bolts, so the model’s actually screwed into the piece.
Inspired by the coiled necklaces of the Ndebele people of southern Africa, McQueen gave jeweler Shaun Leane the daunting task of transforming the necklace into a corset, pushing the boundaries of how jewelry should be perceived and how it should be worn.“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.”
—Alexander McQueen
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