Savage Beauty Was a Bittersweet Experience. McQueen Will Never Be Forgotten.

Just like McQueen’s runway shows, the Met’s exhibition transported you to an alternate universe. Everything was impeccably presented, from the custom wallpaper, to the wooden curio cabinets displaying garments, to the select music playing in each room. One of the most memorable display cases held pieces from McQueen’s Spring 2001 collection, the collection whose runway show took place inside a mirrored cube, displaying guests’ reflections until the inside was lit. A video of the runway show (specifically, the nude woman laying in a second cube surrounded by moths) was projected onto the back wall of the display case. When the video was over, the case went dark and its seemingly transparent glass walls became mirrors. You found yourself staring back at your reflection, and that of the crowd behind you. Videos of various McQueen runway shows were displayed on the walls, scattered among butterfly headdresses and intricately carved platform heels. In one room, a black case held a 3-D video projection, almost a hologram image, of a model (apparently Kate Moss) wearing a McQueen dress, twisting and turning underwater. The theme from Schindler’s List played in the background and as the song came to an end, the projection faded into misty nothingness. A similar video was played on the ceiling of a subsequent room.

The exhibition was a truly bittersweet experience. Surrounded by McQueen’s art and vision, awe and respect swelled inside of you as you admired every hand-sewn stitch and seam. But at the same time, beholding the garments that McQueen put his heart and soul into enveloped you in melancholy aching, wondering why such an extraordinary man chose to take his life far too soon.

I bought a set of pencils featuring prints from Plato’s Atlantis from the gift store. They were supremely expensive but I needed something to hang onto from the exhibition.

I encourage everyone to see the exhibit. Go during your weekday lunch break, go early on a weekend, go once school is over. It’s worth it. To be exposed to a world in which fantasy comes to life is a priceless experience.

Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?