#ALEXANDERMCQUEEN @V_and_A #SAVAGEBEAUTY A MUST SEE!

So, I managed to get in, into the most sought after exhibition in London, or even Europe, right now. The Alexander McQueen at the V&A. I have a press id but I had company of a very good friend of mine that did not. We got there at 10 am and queued up. And success! They have 200 tickets with slots over the day to sell in the morning. So be there early and you will have a good chance of getting in. We were there the first day and was lucky. This exhibition was partly first shown in New York's Metropolitan Museum in 2011 and has now been re curated by Claire Wilcox. I think that fashion is always hard to exhibit, it ends up with clothes on mannequins or dolls and feels stale and "dead". Some parts of this exhibition is just that, but has been put alive by adding more or less manipulated footage from catwalks. Impressive.
I missed more info etc about Lee himself, his background, inspiration, sketched etc. Voices about him from family, friends, colleagues etc. I kept comparing with the David Bowie exhibition where you got a lot of background (not enough) material and info that gave a more deep understanding of the artist. 

In one of the last rooms (with very high ceiling) the fashion was mixed with catwalk shows and the music used. The very same room is where the David Bowie concerts were shown (with the right music following you in the headphones provided) with a very similar exhibit solution. It would have been a good idea to have done something similar here... room for improvements.

 

Video footage from catwalks gave the mannequins more life!

Unfortunately this happy Lee did not come through in the Savage Beauty exhibition. I had a very dark and secretive feel with strong influences to bondage and "dangerous" sex. I compared it with Jean-Paul Gaultier who also create very sexy and "dark" fashion. JPG:s love for life and happy outlook of life shines through. I am sorry to have to say that McQueen´s fashion leave you with a sense of sorrow and unease... Not all of it. He, like JPG was a tremendous tailor and took fashion to new heights and places.

I think the poster for the exhibition says it all. A bit scary and with a mask on...a cynical view of life and fashion...but oh, so extraordinary excellent...until 2 August 2015, www.vam.ac.uk/savagebeauty.