Images are starting to trickle in from the upcoming Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute (the catalogue of the exhibit was recently distributed). The exhibit will kick off on May 2 with the annual Met Ball and open to the public two days later through July 31. Titled “Savage Beauty”, the exhibit is a retrospective of more than two decades of McQueen’s work and will include pieces from his MA graduate collection from Central St Martins College of Art, couture pieces from his years as Givenchy‘s creative director, as well as pieces from his namesake collection up to his final one, which was shown posthumously in Paris just a few weeks after his suicide.
The catalogue has an extensive interview conducted by Tim Blanks with McQueen successor, Sarah Burton, and she tells Blanks that shoes were of extreme importance to McQueen, saying “they anchored the look.” Shoes, as well as other accessories and clothing will all be featured in the exhibition, which has been curated by Andrew Bolton. Pieces were taken from private collections, archives, and from the late Isabella Blow‘s personal collection, which was bought by Daphne Guinness. On a side note, anyone who would like to see what it takes to get ready for the Met Ball, stop by Barneys New York on Madison Avenue as Daphne Guinness will be getting ready for the A-list event in the department store’s windows.
The Met Ball will be chaired this year by PPR’s chief executive Francois-Henri Pinault (PPR owns the McQueen label) and Pinault’s wife Salma Hayek, who has frequently been wearing McQueen as of late. Vogue‘s Anna Wintour, actor Colin Firth, and designer Stella McCartney will serve as co-chairs.
