So, last night I had the very great pleasure of going to the Alexander McQueen At The V&A exhibition. I know the tickets are all sold out so I won’t bang on about it, but it is amazing. (NB: It’s apparently NOT sold out so go, go, go! Thanks to everyone who flagged this up.)
However, I had a little bit of a revelation and it’s something I actually feel quite guilty about. In the image for this post, which is Look 42 from the Alexander McQueen The Horn Of Plenty show, you’ll see that the make up look is extreme. At the time of this show, I remember writing about how ridiculous it was; how stupid and basically, how ugly. I’m not especially a fashion follower and have never been caught on the fan tide for Alexander McQueen. But seeing the exhibition, of a representation of the body of his work, I feel stupid now that I didn’t see in that extreme make up look what he was trying to say with it. Far from being ridiculous, the looks are amplified, different and challenging – like his clothing and his attitude to fashion in general. Taking make up to its boundaries and edges of possiblity and probability, it was as statement making as the man himself. In context with the body of work I saw, those lips stopped looking silly and began to be something magnificent and graceful.
It was quite emotional really. I wish and wish that I’d seen in it then what I can see now. I guess you could say that Alexander McQueen had visions about form and face that were well beyond what even the make-up industry could bring to the party.
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11 comments
Interesting post Jane. Reminded me of this article from yesterday in which Cathy Horyn (esteemed NY fashion critic) revisits her harsh review of Marc Jacobs’ 1992 grunge collection: http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/03/changing-my-mind-about-marc-jacobss-grunge-show.html
Funny how sometimes things don’t become apparent until way after the moment. I really am kicking myself for not getting it at the time – it all seems so obvious now.
I have tickets for May and I’m really excited. There seems to be lots of availability for June left through the V&A site?
He certainly was a visionary. Who knows where his talent could have taken him? I’m reading Andrew Wilson’s ‘Blood Beneath the Skin’ the moment.
He was an artist who happened to work primarily through the medium of clothes but he was a great deal more than a fashion designer. The exhibition does justice to the range and complexity of his talents and vision.
Hi Jane, I have been to see it twice now. Firstly with a friend, and yesterday with my 13 year old daughter. On my second visit, I couldn’t believe how much I had missed the first time. And I think that speaks volumes about him. He took everything to a whole new level – remember the jewellery? I can well understand your initial reaction to the makeup, but it is like anything that we see out of context. At least you had the ladyballs to say it! x
I feel like I need to go again, that’s for sure.
It’s not sold out! There’s thousands of tickets.
Thank goodness its not all sold out as I really want to visit the exhibition when I am in London in July.
I’m going to the exhibition tomorrow, SO excited!! My friend and I booked tickets last year when they were first released so I’ve been waiting ages to actually be able to see it!
Hi Jane, there’s another exhibition you might want to check out then, its focus is on McQueen’s catwalk make-up: http://www.fashionspacegallery.com/exhibition/warpaint_mcqueen/