Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty retrospective exhibition can only be described as phenomenal. He was a genius, there is no doubt about it. The fashion pieces/costumes were nothing else but a wonder to behold.
On arrival, we were ushered into a sort of industrial airport hanger room, with a disjointed video playing of one of McQueen’s notorious catwalk shows and creepy looking mannequins lining the back wall. This lead onto a gentle exploration of his earlier work and his mastery of tailoring.
The next room allowed us an insight into his dark and at times twisted mind as the audience were plunged into a dramatic dimly lit room with gilded mirrors hung up to accentuate the foreboding creations. This particular gallery highlighted some of Alexander’s most disturbing and unnerving work, forcusing on elements of sado-masichism and bondage. His obsession with the female as a bird, a gothic, supernatural creature inspired from Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ is prominent here. The fact that these collections were designed a year before he took his own life are particularly poignant.
The next two rooms were heavily themed which appealed to my soul as a theatrical, creative lover. The first being a life-like cave festooned with animal skeletons and skins which complimented McQueen’s tribal offering along with jungle beats drumming away through the speakers.
We exited into one of my favourite parts of the exhibition. A dining hall which looked like it had just been transported straight out of a Castle in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. Faceless dummies stood to attention, draped in McQueen’s iconic tartan fabric looking powerfully regal. At the end of the hall, a devil creature was dressed in a billowing red coat which gave the atmosphere of the room a cult-ish feel.
The piece-de-resistance of the entire spectacle was the surreal, gaga-esque installation room in which the visitors entered and were immediately surrounded by wall to wall TV screens and shelves housing all sorts of artefacts. This immersive experience showcased a dizzying array of all things McQueen, from barbed wire arm pieces to silicone body moulds. The effect was stunning. Literally.
Other highlights included a superb Chinese print box hat ( an actual rectangular box with a hole for the head) and a Chinese school girl meets American baseball player outfit. An ingenious display of imagination.
The finale was simply breathtaking even though the staging of this was fairly stripped back. His final collection before his untimely death stood powerfully against the back wall on the most freakish of mannequins with horns protruding from their heads. The designs themselves were showstoppers, jewel-bright animal prints teamed with the infamous armadillo shoe (if you’re not sure what they are then you need to google them now.) Rapid heartbeat music pounded away in the background ensuring that you were glued to the spot. The results were overwhelming and captivating as you were aware that this was his grand exit. It was emotional. You couldn’t help but stand there, awestruck, mouth agape whilst the mind struggled to take it all in.
I could’ve stood there for hours just staring at that final, wondrous collection but my senses were in overdrive and my head spinning. Time to recover in the grand old tearoom at the V&A.
This was a once in a lifetime chance to experience McQueen’s finest, most mind-blowing works of art all at the same time. I’m now clutching the commemorative book from the gift shop, never wanting those images to leave my mind. If you get the chance, go, this is not something you would want to miss out on.
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