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savage beauty

  • Writer: qwueerd
    qwueerd
  • Sep 27, 2021
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jan 24, 2022

Savage Beauty is an exhibition held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011, paying homage to the late designer Alexander McQueen, one year after his death. The exhibition offers a detailed look into the ingenious mind of the designer through his extraordinary chefs-d'oeuvre in his prime.

Image by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images via Fashionista

THE HOOLIGAN OF FASHION

During the late 90s and early 2000s, while trying to be profited by fitting in the mold of the wearisome and practical but high-fashion-imitating “fast fashion”, the fashion world itself got the first taste and witnessed the rise of a fashion disruptor named Alexander McQueen. McQueen was, indeed, a game-changer when it came to channeling the sublime of high fashion. He took an odd turn and dared to challenge and redefine the very essence of avant-garde haute couture by creating art for art's sake and dipping each and every one of his many masterpiece designs in great political and historical influences and concepts. They could rank from intrepidly modern interpretations of events of the past in Highland’s Rape and It’s Only A Game, or caricaturistic portrayals of contemporary subjects mixed with an inventive touch of his futuristic visions about a post-apocalyptic world in Plato’s Atlantis and The Horn of Plenty, to as simple as the "c'est-la-vie"-ness of nature in It’s A Jungle Out There. McQueen had the audacity and the nerve to do what others couldn’t think of. Every time the fruits of his labor were introduced on the runway, he made a bold and iconic statement that could create bones of contention. His works might appear vulgar and controversial to some people, yet the artistry of his arts was still exquisitely preserved, perceived, and treasured by many.


Despite all the criticisms and controversies around his fashion, Alexander McQueen was deservingly named as one of the utmost influential and gifted fashion designers of his time. His arts are still highly referential in today’s avant-garde fashion as it is not very difficult to notice McQueen’s influence or a reference to his works in an avant-garde or unconventional-material challenge in any fashion design competition, e.g, Project Runway.

When contemplating the exhibition, one thing to bear in mind is to try not to question the practicality of McQueen’s works as they are pure and fine art created for the sake of artistry. Instead, they should be treated as an experimental experience. Even when the stories and notions behind them can hardly be interpreted, the feeling of being inspired by great art can still be found.


Aesthetically, if appropriately appreciated, the exhibition can truly be a feast of beauty for the eyes of the arty-soul beholders and an eternal source of inspiration for the avant-garde enthusiasts.

FURTHER INFO:

- A brief look into the exhibition: https://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/about/

- More about Alexander McQueen: https://the-widows-of-culloden.tumblr.com

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