His talent and ability to capture and redefine beauty has moved thousands while his biannual fashion spectacles repeatedly left his audience wondering if, just like in the verses of the Romantic poet Edgar Alan Poe whom McQueen frequently referenced: ‘Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?’ So when the tragic news about his death broke in February 2010, just weeks before the eagerly awaited Autumn/Winter défilé, hordes of fans of his indisputable creative genius were left harrowed and shocked and tributes came pouring from both inside and outside of the fashion world.

Now, to commemorate the artistry and finesse of the enfant terrible of British fashion, The Costume Institute of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened the first posthumous exhibition in honour of the late British designer. Entitled ‘Savage Beauty’ the exhibition examines 19 years of McQueen’s astonishing creative career.

The show, which opened on 4 May and will remain on view until 31 July, showcases around 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from Alexander McQueen Archive as well as pieces from the Archive of the famous Parisian fashion house Givenchy, where McQueen held a head designer position between the years 1996 – 2001. Build around the ‘recurring themes and concepts in McQueen’s work’, the exhibition explores the technical skills, inspirations and fascinations which led to creation of some of the most complex and spectacular fashion designs of the 21st century.

Photos courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

http://www.dailytonic.com/alexander-mcqueen-savage-beauty-at-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-new-york/