The Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met is closing tomorrow. And I think the collection is being scattered rather than going on tour. Sigh. I often think I don't like high fashion, because it is too weird, and then I see his stuff ---- and a few other select designers ---- and I realize that most runway fashion is not weird enough. He pushed beyond couture into real art.
PS his assistant has replaced him as chief designer and her stuff is good too, as you can see from the fall collection:
The trick of fashion is to follow the old rules and yet say something new and original, to make a connection to all that's been said in the past and still speak to our time. And to say something more than just the-rich-are-always-with-us-and-have-shitloads-of-money. In that way, McQueen reminds me of avant-garde poetry.
1 comment:
I saw it, and it was great, though I'm not sure I liked the way it was curated; way too much emphasis on McQueen's not-very-interesting philosophizing and hazy ideas about "the Romantic" and "the Gothic," and they also oddly reinforced (without ever addressing) the arguably misogynistic elements of his work.
But the work itself is splendid, and I loved being able to see all the tailoring and handcrafted bits up close. I've been to other fashion exhibits at the Met, but this was the first one that really convinced me that couture is art.
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