V&A Exhibtion

Alexander McQueen savage beauty.

I had the privilege of seeing the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Collection at the V&A in London. The collections were overwhelmingly beautiful and striking. There was limited involvement in the exhibition as no photographs were to be taken and no sketching either. The exhibition was also very crowded and you were only allowed to view his work for a limited amount of time. Besides that his themes within his collection were breathtaking and there was an almost magical atmospheric look to his clothes. His earliest work demonstrated a raw and edgy culture to his work.

What I found most striking was his Romantic Nationalism and his Platos Atlantic collection.

His Romantic Nationalism concept came from his Scottish ancestry. The room looked regal and majestic and the classical music in the background complemented his work. I discovered he first used tartan in his Highland Rape collection but soon came back to it 11 years later in his beautiful collection called ‘The Widows Of Culloden’. This collection was a much softer and less aggressive rendering than his Highland Rape collection. 

Platos Atlantic collection was to the end of his exhibition.  I find this work inspiring and creative. The narrative behind this collection was his most fantastical concept. The collection is about if the ice caps melt in the future and the seas have risen.  The dress collection represents what we as a society would look like if man had evolved under water. The dresses are presented as an army of fishlike creatures, a sort of hybrid animal alien form. Within this collection in my opinion he has been able to master the quality of digital printing and there all derived from natural organisms.  From seeing this incredible collection I have been inspired to create narratives in my designs and prints. I think with a narrative to my work it will provide a better understanding and thoughtful process within my collection. I also inforce film within my project so I can identify the narrative with my work though fashion film making.