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“This is the most spectacular museum costume exhibition ever mounted, anywhere.” Thomas P. Campbell, Director The Metropolitain Museum of Art

It was a fashion editor’s dream come true at the Alexander McQueen “Savage Beauty” opening breakfast at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Being escorted into the museum’s Costume Institute with some of the world’s top editors (Suzy Menkes and Hilary Alexander were casually chatting over croissants and tea while Hamish Bowles and Phillip Treacy were gliding through the museum displays) I was not ready for the fashion-gasm that I was about to experience.

 

“The mind , the hand, the artistry is truly breathtaking.”  -Stella McCartney, speaking at the breakfast

I have never personally been so emotionally reactive to a fashion collection than I was this morning at McQueen.  Room after room was filled with his imaginative and inventive creations.

 

Ominous music played as I walked past gowns sculpted from thousands of feathers, vests made of a human like bones, head pieces made of metal thorns, shoes that seemed to topple over, and gowns made from oyster shells.  There was even a glass prism displaying the famous Kate Moss hologram that came at the end of a McQueen runway show.

We all know about the genius behind his designs– his historical references, complexity of textiles, and fascination with the grotesque– but never would I have imagined a curation of his pieces as powerful as this.  Anna Wintour herself (looking perfect in a beige Chanel skirt suit) seemed speechless at the exhibit she so relentlessly supported.

 

Photos of the collection do not nearly do it justice, so FashionIndie highly recommends you take a trip to the Met and see it live yourself.  For more details or questions, tweet at me @iamsamlim

Collection curated by Andrew Bolton