Tortured Soul

 This review has been a long time coming. I've already discussed my issues with the set up of the Alexander McQueen exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but logistics notwithstanding the clothes, the clothes, the clothes. Like Gaultier, McQueen's collections can also be traced to childhood and family. Scottish tartans and heather and bracken used in his Highland Rape (autumn/winter 95-96) collection are a nod to his Scottish roots. And his love of England, the country he grew up in, is also evident in his collections like The Girl Who Lives in the Tree (autumn/winter 2008-09). But it's McQueen's flair for fantasy and the dramatic which makes him an inspiration and stand out in the fashion world.

A Tale of Two Exhibits

During my travels, I was lucky enough to end up near two major fashion exhibits. The first was the Jean-Paul Gaultier exhibit at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal and the second was the Alexander McQueen exhibit at The Met in New York. Both were incredible representations of the fashion designers' art and my hat off to the curators of the exhibits. Each created a world and incredible back drop to take in the artist's work. But the feel of each was very different and I think a lot of that had to do with the museums themselves.