The Alexander McQueen Show at the Met Was a Record-Breaker
Unless you’ve been a hermit and shunning all media, you know full well that the sensational exhibit Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Met’s Costume Institute finished its twice-extended run on Sunday evening with lines that snaked for blocks.
If you somehow committed the worst possible fashion offense and missed the show, consider yourself one of the unlucky few. Savage Beauty attracted a whopping 661,509 visitors since opening in May, making it the eighth most-visited show in the Met’s 141-year history and the most-visited for the Costume Institute. Nearly 80,000 museum-goers took it in just during the final week, with 15,000 of those on Saturday alone, making it almost as popular as the museum’s Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh exhibits. Even Anna Wintour, on the museum’s board of trustees, made an appearance Sunday night, signing copies of the catalog.
McQueen’s collections were often inspired by history and delved into strange, surrealistic worlds. From dresses made entirely from feathers to jackets with horns, his creations transcended the world of fashion, limited only by his imagination. Among his recent marvels were designer shoes; we all remember those armadillo heels.
And so, if you’re one of those unlucky few, while the show isn’t officially scheduled to travel, there has been the tiniest of rumors that a trip to London might be in its future.