Following the success of the New York exhibition, fashion’s enfant terrible extensive archive is on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London

©Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Savage Beauty is the first and largest retrospective of the late British fashion designer’s work to be presented in Europe, with exhibits spanning from his 1992 MA Central Saint Martins graduate presentation to his unfinished Autumn Winter 2010 collection. Essentially, Savage Beauty is a narrative telling the story of McQueen’s fearlessness and how his disregard for conventional fashion norms, and willingness to not only push the boundaries, but also break them helped facilitate his success to date.

Between the signature skulls or the bold tartan print, his many animalistic references with touches of romanticism, Savage Beauty is a journey through McQueen’s diverse collections charting his creative pursuits. McQueen’s innovative designs are presented in a dramatic manner, with a sense of spectacle synonymous with his renowned runway shows. With reference to his meticulous tailoring, hailing back to his early days on Saville Row, or the reach of his explorations when dreaming up a collection, that earned him the label of being a ‘visionary’ within fashion circles, associated with the likes of his peers such as John Galliano.

Divided into multiple themes, the exhibit shows how McQueen’s influences varied vacillating from romantic, gothic, nationalistic, and futuristic elements featuring over one hundred pieces from his extensive archives.

Notable pieces are from his Autumn Winter 1997 show titled It’s A Jungle Out There featured beautifully tailored jackets with pointed shoulder pads adorned with a portrait of Jesus Christ across the back, demonstrating his originality through his ideas but also through the construction of his garments. His design aesthetic was refined from the beginning evident from the form and silhouettes of his early collections.

©Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Additionally, the historical references are a recurring feature – particularly the Victorian Gothic era of the nineteenth century such as the duck feather dress from The Horn of Plenty collection if Autumn Winter 2009, with feathers and other animalistic references playing a pivotal role throughout his collections, embodying a combination of horror and romance, a hybrid of animal and human, melancholy and beauty, reflecting the paradoxical relationship of his collections.

Similarly a defining feature of McQueen’s work was his staunch nationalism and patriotism tied to his Scottish heritage. His controversial Highland Rape Collection of 1995 illustrates how McQueen used the Scottish tartan print to create an optical, geometric effect, giving a classic print a modern reinterpretation. 

©Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The most dynamic aspect of the exhibit was the large room aptly entitled Cabinet of Curiosities, showing off a range of beautifully designed artisanal pieces such as the famed “armadillo” shoes and the remarkable butterfly headpieces designed by Philip Treacy, or a reproduction of model Shalom Harlow being sprayed with paint by robots all demonstrating the diversity of McQueen’s creativity.   

The final stages of the exhibit demonstrate the theatrics of McQueen’s shows evident from It’s Only A Game, of Spring Summer 2005 where he reconfigured the kimono, a consistent feature of his collections, in a show staged as a chess game which pitched the East against the West. Additionally, VOSS from Spring Summer 2001 was staged inside a vast two-way mirrored box made to somewhat resemble an asylum.

©Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The exhibit ends with a fitting tribute to the designer’s innovative spirit with a display of his last fully realised collection, from Spring Summer 2010 titled Plato’s Atlantis. The show’s futuristic element, from the complex, digitally altered prints inspired by sea creatures to his iconic, gravity defying armadillo boots that trotted down the runway. The final collection’s combination of technology, craft, and showmanship was considered to be one of McQueen’s greatest achievements offering a poignant vision towards the future of fashion.

©Victoria and Albert Museum, London

For ticketing information, please visit the Victoria & Albert Museum's website  

Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty
Date: March 14 to August 2, 2015
Time: 10:00am to 5:45 daily, 10:00am to 10:00pm on Fridays
Venue: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London

 

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