Alexander McQueen at the Met
http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/blog/museums/alexander-mcqueen-tailor-turned-visionary/1251/
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969-2010) Dress, autumn/winter 2010 Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce.
To those outside the orbit of haute couture, the industry may seem trite—a lot of bluster and blather about incredibly expensive clothes that are generally impractical, designed for scarecrows, and doomed for obsolescence in a season. But a trip through the Met’s “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty“ exhibition (through July 31) is a reminder of how fashion design can combine unfettered imagination and trends of the moment with the body’s limits, tradition, and mad sewing skills (notably, his “Oyster” dress). McQueen’s passing last year makes this show of his bravura talent all the more tragic while celebrating him.
Curator Andrew Bolton has organized the exhibition into several rooms, each with its own theme/collection and design motif. “The Cabinet of Curiosities,” built of what appears to be charred wood, houses many head/neck/body pieces crafted of metal, feathers, wood, shells, as well as shoes and other items. One room looks to be from a decaying Versailles; another (where his “Highland Rape” collection, a commentary on England’s “raping” of Scotland, is shown), destroyed wooden planks and siding. Also included are a hologram projection, videos of runway shows and related footage, and a re-creation of an installation/runway show inspired by Joel Peter Witkin. His romantic streak is evident in the collection titles which often included the word “romantic.”
