Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Comes to an End

Photo Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been the talk of New York City all summer. If you live in New York but don't know what I'm talking about, you must a) have been sleeping, or b) have no social life.

Today is the final day of the exhibit, and for the first time ever the Met extended its hours this weekend until midnight. Open since May 4 and extended twice due to the high volume of visitors and interest, this show is on track to be one of the most successful exhibits the Met has ever produced.

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

It shattered the Met's attendance records for a fashion exhibit last week, and if you journey up Fifth Ave. this afternoon I can guarantee you the museum's entrance line is snaking around the block. That's not the line to see the exhibit, that's the line just to get into the museum. On Friday the entrance and exhibit wait times together were over four or five hours. I imagine they are more than that today.

Alexander McQueen was a renowned British fashion designer who committed suicide last year at the age of 40. Known for his highly provocative clothing designs and avant-garde fashion shows, he pushed the limits of your imagination and created pieces that were both frightening and awe-inspiring.

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Often using unconventional materials, some of his designs are made of feathers, razor clam shells, simulated human hair, and vulture skulls. Videos of his fashion shows display models playing on a human chess board or acting as if they are patients in an insane asylum.

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met exhibit of his work features 100 ensembles and 70 accessories. Attendees say it inspires curiosity and creativity while at the same invoking fear and horror. Such mixed, strong emotions paired with high publicity means the show has attracted people from all over the country and the world.

For a long time the museum advertised that members had the privilege of bypassing the line and entering the exhibit directly. As a result the (expensive) membership applications skyrocketed. Unfortunately for the final weekend this privilege was revoked, prompting angry outbursts such as "But that was the only reason we bought a membership!!!"

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

In fact by Saturday afternoon the museum was no longer accepting new membership applications, due to the overwhelming volume of requests. A lot of people are kicking themselves for waiting until the last minute to see this exhibit. While I normally procrastinate as well, I got lucky this time around and saw it several weeks ago.

The show was truly what all the reviews have said it was. Startling, eye-opening, inspiring, frightening, and wonderful. It deserved all the praise it received and was worth all the money it raised for the Met. I wish I could have seen it one more time, but I suppose I will have to settle with the pictures from now on.

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

*Update 8 August: The Met announced today that the McQueen exhibit was the eighth most-visited show in The Met's 141-year history. A total of 661, 509 people visited the show, and the museum's membership increased by 23,000.