Bittersweet symphony - MET honors Alexander Lee McQueen with a retrospective

Last night, May 2nd 2011, the annual Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was all about a bittersweet farewell. The gala was the opening event to the annual exhibition of the Costume Institute, which this year is dedicated to Alexander Lee McQueen. From May 4 until July 31st, the MET will be hosting "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" - a tribute to the late designer extraordinaire and his prolific career.
From his graduation from Central Saint Martins in 1992, where his long lasting confidante Isabelle Blow bought his entire first collection to his final one, which was shown posthumously in March 2010, the exhibition shows a careful selection of his magnum opus.

The exhibits were primarily selected from the Alexander McQueen archives in London and complemented by pieces of private collections and the Givenchy archive in Paris. Two production designers of his fashion shows - namely Sam Gainsbury and Joseph Bennett - have been serving as creative director and production designer for the exhibit, which clearly suggests that the setting of the exposition will not only display the remarkable garments but also the poetic narrative behind every collection.

Also, the setting of the Costume Institute gala was fit for McQueen. Scottish bagpipes paid tribute to the designer's Scottish origin, while a replica of an oak tree in the Great Hall of the MET referenced to the ones on McQueen's property in Sussex, England.

Just as the title, which already epitomises the designers inner conflict and his subsequent perception of aesthetics, "Savage Beauty" is an exhibition which displays the omnipresent duality Alexander McQueen has mastered to build his collections around like no other. Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute, tells that Lee McQueen sometimes referred to himself as the Edgar Allan Poe of fashion, yet besides the strong narrative, the craftsmanship and creative mind of McQueen are highlighted throughout the exhibition. The exhibition is fragmented into themes - The Romantic Mind, Romantic Gothic, Cabinet of Curiosities, Romantic Nationalism, Romantic Exoticism, Romantic Primitivism and Romantic Naturalism - and takes the visitor through the different stages in the designers career. His different inspirations and fervours like art, painting, history, literature are paid tribute throughout every theme. Also, the staging of the garments is accompanied by footage of his ten most iconic fashion show moments, which again underline his talent as a storyteller, his sense for a grand entrance and his - in the fashion world- unmatched cinematic showmanship.
The MET's blog offers a beautiful selection of video excerpts of Alexander McQueen's fashion shows and a brief illustration of the exhibit by curator Andrew Bolton.

The MET gala - which marked the opening of the exhibit devoted to the British designer usually has a lot of gloriously glamorous fashion moments to offer...this year however, the priviliged attendees excelled by flaunting a ravishing array of Alexander McQueens late designs. Also, some other spectactular robes - i.e. Zac Posen, Givenchy, Pucci & Stella McCartney supplied that extra dose of glamour and drama. My personal favorites - and this time it was truly hard to pick were: Karolina Kurkova in Jean Paul Gaultier, Christina Ricci in Zac Posen, Crystal Renn in Zac Posen, Giselle Bündchen in Alexander McQueen and Salma Hayek in Alexander McQueen.

Quote of the evening: When asked how McQueen would have reacted on a gala and exhibition hosted in his honour, Philip Treacy, one of the designers confidants dryly responded "He would not have come".


xoxo
Glamazone

Source: blog.metmuseum.org, www.style.com, WWD.com, www.wmagazine.com
Picture Source: blog.metmuseum.org, www.wmagazine.com

Doing her mentor proud - Sarah Burton shines with her Alexander McQueen fall 2011 RTW collection

“The Ice Queen and Her Court” was the magical title of Alexander McQueen's fall 2011 collection and the show did not fall short of giving us every single ounce of drama we have been craving to see on the catwalks of this year's fashion weeks and instead got so plenty adjacent to them.

Sarah Burton combined the duality of Romanticism - the delicate, light and fragile world of beauty and innocence with the dark, twisted and dangerous side of mysticism.
The venue of the show was La Conciergerie, former royal palace - and prison of crowned heads like Marie Antoinette before her execution- whose gloomy medieval halls had already hosted one of Alexander McQueen's spectacular shows in 2002.

Classic McQueen silhouettes - which Sarah Burton called the "heritage silhouettes" of the brand dominated the collection, yet, their execution was exquisite and had plenty of nouveau elements.
Inuit influenced fur details in stone grey or black that were sewn along hems and cowls, numerous zippers that were carefully integrated into the structure of garments, or alternatively lacing that was enhancing both the cut as well as catering as eye catchers.
Flowy dresses paired with leather harnesses that reminded of a Viking goddess and various types of fur and feathers combined to a harmonious structure of a dress.

The real spectacle of the show however were the skillful honeycomb structures that had been carefully crafted of organza and silk, forming exquisite flouncy skirts and dresses. Another ravishing detail were the elaborate fitted bodices made of mosaic china fragments.

The intricate fabrics and  the blending of soft and hard textures - leather elements were combined with feathers or fur, chiffon was ornated with rivets and a stiff surface of china fragments was combined with the most fragile looking trail of tulle and silk.

The styling comprised of a mixture between Tilda Swinton's appearance as Jadis, the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia with her mythical and theatrical beauty and a modern day warrior, which was complemented by the up-does that looked like a helmet formed of barrettes.
Chokers, collars and over knee laced platform boots mitigated the delicate look and gave it some edge of the real world.
A collection that would be fit for a costume designer and one that convinced the last skeptic that Sarah Burton was an excellent choice to perpetuate the challenge in succeeding Alexander Lee McQueen's reign at his eponymous brand.

The exquisite garments with their dark romantic touch that would have done Hans Christian Andersen - author of the fairy tale "The Snow Queen" proud.


xoxo
Glamazone


Source: style.com, WWD.com
Picture Source: style.com, WWD.com

The Future is...

...contrast.

This season, British designer Gareth Pugh - famous for his preference of goth-influenced looks - made a statement by completely relinquishing to have a catwalk show for his spring/summer '11 collection. He replaced his live show with a 11-minute film that was shown yesterday, 29th September 2010 in Paris. Let me rephrase that - "film" does not quite do it justice. We are talking about an artistic masterpiece displaying his collection in a virtual framework that would put a considerable number of sci-fi films and music videos into place.

Director Ruth Hobgen, who, as part of Nick Knight's SHOWstudio - also in charge of imagery of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball World Tour - created this stimulating short film, featuring supermodel Kristen McMenamy and male dancer Jonathan Baker.

The film conveys the emotion and the vision of Gareth Pugh, which is habitually sinister and slightly outlandish. The captivating piece of virtual artistry, which was created in collaboration with ingenious SHOWstudio was projected on a gargantuan screen in the Parc de Bercy sports stadium in Paris instead of a classic runway show.
By abandoning the catwalk for a virtual spectacle instead of merely complementing his show by film material, Gareth Pugh is taking the virtual marketing efforts of fellow designers and fashion brands one step further. Clearly taking sides of advocates for immediacy and overall accessability of fashion, the video was simultaneously accessible on the SHOWstudio website and youtube for thousands of aficionados worldwide.

The elaborate black and white video displayed an alienating yet beautiful composition of Japanese-inspired sharply tailored clothing, some androgynous futuristic shapes as well as some rather unexpected soft and delicate flowing garments. Also, the shades of this season were dominated by silver, grey and white, some monochrome graphic prints but still featured some of the designer's signature dark goth/fetish-inspired looks. 

Following - of what feels to be - the footprints of Alexander McQueen, who smoothed out the way with his cross over show "Plato's Atlantis" on year ago in his last show for spring/summer '10, Gareth Pugh took over the sceptre of virtual fashion showmanship. Certainly as resource consuming as any fashion show, the designer took full control of the representations of his designs.

It feels like this season, we are clearly witnessing a shift towards both ends of the spectrum.
Fashion accessibility, immediacy and ubiquity versus intimacy, luxury and elitism.

xoxo
Glamazone

Sources: showstudio.com
Picture Sources: style.com