The first worry I had when I decided to attend the McQueen exhibition was that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. A dangerous thing that positive promotion can do is to build the expectation of the person attending to a point where they feel it doesn’t live up to their initial expectation.
‘Savage Beauty’ has received a lot of hype around it; both from the previous showing in New York. The big apple being it’s original birth place opening on the 4th May, just over a year after McQueen’s death and closing on the 7th August. The buildup to ‘Savage Beauty’ in London was mammoth; promotion for the exhibition dominated newspapers in the weeks leading up to the opening. Luckily my original fear was of it not living up to the hype was quelled two minutes into the exhibition. The aforementioned exhibition would begin showing at the Victoria and Albert exhibition in Kensington from the 12th March until the 2nd August 2015.
The exhibition showcased McQueen’s most fabulous looks form his twenty-plus career. One of its successes is how different each room appears while still capturing the unequivocal style of McQueen. It encapsulates that slightly uncomfortable feeling that many of his catwalk shows created. Most famously one thinks of the show in which the model wearing a white dress is covered in paint sprayed by robotic arms. The image doesn’t read so frightening on paper but watching it highlights the fear the model feels. She recoils away frightened from the robotic, faceless force, which the audience assumes is male. This taps into a criticism that many have of McQueen and his work. Was he anti-feminist? My companion who joined me on the day seemed to believed so. Her reasoning being that catwalk show and the gas-masks which covered some of the models within the exhibition.
You start Savage Beauty by looking at a black screen with a skull, McQueen’s signature, which ultimately morphs into Lee’s head. This helps set the precedent for the whole exhibition; weird and wonderful. You then head into a futuristic like room with catwalk videos playing on a scree in a background while his first works are featured from earlier in his career on models wearing gas masks. I personally did not find the gas masks offensive. However, my companion and another female exhibition goer did. She expressed her unhappiness with a shrug and ‘he hates women.’ This notion that McQueen dislikes women is an interesting one. I for one think he might have just disliked everyone; regardless of sex. His depression was well publicised along with his tumultuous relationship with Isabella Blow; who also suffered from severe depression; along with dependancy on other things.
‘… weird and wonderful…’
A stand out room for all concerned would be at the centre of the exhibition. The room itself had high ceilings with screens of different sizes showing different catwalk shows. The famous paint dress, from 1999, was displayed in the middle of the room. Eery childlike music played along with animal sounds at displaced intervals. There was a futuristic, robotic theme in the room. Something prevalent in Lee’s previous works. The rooms shear size and his creations were absolutely outstanding. This room lead into a tiny dark room with a hologram of an egg which then was transformed to reveal Kate Moss standing in one his floating designs. What really worked about these two sections being placed together was the contrast from such a grandiose, over-the-top room to the black, plain intimate room with Kate Moss. It just worked.
My personal favourite was the second to last room. Again there was a screen which displayed his works and a ticking noise which counted down to reveal a mirror which displayed the people observing the mannequins. It was a very affronting feeling, that feeling of those on display suddenly becoming the displayed. This was the highlight for me. The theme of self reflection was continued in this room where more mannequins were spinning with operatic music. Mirrors were behind the mannequins so the audience had no choice but to view themselves along with the exhibition. I believe this theme of self reflection is a key theme because of the public struggles McQueen went through.
On the negative side one could argue that all of the music, lighting and drama of the exhibition possibly detracted from the reason why we were there; the clothes. Lovers of the detailing of the clothes may be slightly disheartened when viewing Savage Beauty because the lighting and music may detract from some of his pieces. But one could counter that with the idea that Lee’s works have always included spectacle whether it be on the runway or in person. And why should this change now?
Another criticism one could make is again that McQueen’s work is anti-women. As I previously stated there was defiantly a whisper of controversy I picked up on while meandering around the exhibition. But isn’t that always the case in fashion. The fashion industry has always had controversy and will continue to do so. McQueen definitely has the shock factor; gas masks, nudity and women in compromising positions. But I would argue that one of the reasons why Savage Beauty is the one exhibition you must see this month is that it is compelling in its controversy.
‘There was definitely a whisper of controversy I picked up on while meandering around the exhibition.’
While wandering around the Victoria and Albert museum there was a definite sense of the McQueen women; she was strong, powerful and wanted to be noticed. After viewing I could conclude that instead of being misogynistic that McQueen was the opposite; a feminist. McQueen championed strong women, he wanted them to be dressed well and to make a statement. Something Savage Beauty defiantly did.
In conclusion, the exhibition is something which everyone should see. I think the best thing about it is that is makes you feel some type of way and it stays with you. The worst thing an exhibition can do is to leave one feeling nothing. You will have a feeling about it which will stay with you for days after viewing it and in my eyes that is a roaring success.
Voices gives ‘Savage Beauty’ 4 out of 5 stars.
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