Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Iconic designs
This landmark exhibition shows the work of an artist, whose medium of expression was fashion, featuring approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from Alexander McQueen’s (1969-2010) prolific 19-year career in fashion and design. His iconic designs on display include signature designs such as the bumster trouser, the kimono jacket and the three-point “origami” frock coat. 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
Romantic sublime
Six McQueen collections explore his engagement with the Romantic Sublime and the dialectics of beauty and horror. ”The Romantic Mind” examines his technical ingenuity, which combines the precision of tailoring and dressmaking. ”Romantic Gothic” highlights McQueen’s historicism, particularly his engagement with Victorian Gotic, and dicotomies such as life and death. “Romantic Nationalism” looks at his patriotic impulses, including his reflections on his Scottish heritage and British history. “Romantic Exoticism” explores the influence of other cultures, especially China and Japan. “Romantic Primitivism” captures McQueen’s engagement with the ideal of the “Noble Savage”, while “Romantic Naturalism” shows his interest in raw materials and forms from nature.
Cabinet of Curiosities
Next to the six collections on display the exhibition features a “Cabinet of Curiosities”, including various atavistic and fetishised accessories produced in collaboration with the milliners Dai Rees and Philip Treacy, and jewellers Shaun Leane, Erik Halley and Sarah Harmanee. The Cabinet also displays video highlights from ten of McQueen’s runway presentations, often extravagant, with dramatic scenarios turning it into an avant-garde installation and performance art.
