Arrive Magazine - May/June, 2011

First Class

ARTS

now, more than a year after his suicide, revelers finally will have the chance to immerse themselves in this renegade mastermind’s head and his haute couture at this massive exhibit. opening May 4, just two days after the costume institute’s red-carpet gala event—which will be chaired by, among others, Salma hayek, and Mc Queen’s fello w brits colin firth, Stella Mccartney and anna Wintour—“alexander McQueen: Savage beauty” traces the designer’s life and work from his postgraduate collection at central Saint Martins in 1992 to his final collection, which debuted after his death. Spanning McQueen’s subversion of classical english tailoring and dressmaking as well as his affection for romantic gothic and primitivism, the exhibit is not only a mesmerizing and worthy celebration of a true rebel genius but also a window on fashion history that should not be missed. May 4–July 31. metmuseum.org —Christene Barberich

Clockwise from above: Dress, Sarabande, spring/summer 2007; Ensemble, Plato’s Atlantis, spring/summer 2010; photo from left: Thomas P. Campbell (Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Anna Wintour, Stella McCartney, Sarah Burton and Andrew Bolton (Curator, the Costume Institute) attend the exhibit’s press presentation; Dress, autumn/ winter 2010.