This is the first major Australian exhibition to explore McQueen’s thought-provoking and singular viewpoint.
Alexander McQueen – one of the most extraordinary and significant fashion designers in recent memory, lauded for his conceptual and technical virtuosity – will be celebrated this summer as the first major Australian exhibition of the late British fashion superstar arrives in Melbourne.
Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse will open at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) on December 11, and is a collaboration between that institution and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where it opened in April.
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Showcasing over 100 garments and accessories alongside more than 70 artworks, including painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper and decorative arts, from a multitude of eras and cultures, Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse offers unprecedented insight into McQueen’s far-reaching sources of inspiration, his creative process and his capacity for story-telling.
Acclaimed collections such as the controversial Highland Rape, autumn-winter 1995-96 and its poignant sequel The Widows of Culloden, autumn-winter 2006-07 highlight the autobiographical nature of McQueen’s work, while dramatic presentations of Deliverance, spring-summer 2004, The Horn of Plenty, autumn-winter 2009-10 and his last, Plato’s Atlantis, spring-summer 2010 traverse existential themes.
“Alexander McQueen is beloved for his boundary-pushing and highly conceptual designs that set him apart from his contemporaries. With meticulous craftsmanship and an intellectual rigour seldom seen on the runways before or since, he created a new vocabulary for fashion design that still resonates today,” said NGV Director Tony Ellwood.
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Organised into four thematic sections, the exhibition considers McQueen’s personal and philosophical design vocabulary.
Mythos investigates McQueen’s use of belief systems, religious doctrines and mythologies as a framework for contemplating human nature and contemporary society; Fashioned Narratives explores the designers penchant for telling stories of imagined worlds via his collections and runway shows; Technique and Innovation highlights McQueen’s masterful technical abilities; while Evolution and Existence examines his fascination with nature and life cycles, especially his view of death – not as an end, but as an opportunity for change.
McQueen devastatingly passed away on February 11, 2010. At the time of his death, an official statement read: “Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand, has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee’s family. Lee’s family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this.”
Alexander McQueen will be launched on Saturday 10 December 2022 with the popular event, the NGV Gala. A celebration of art, fashion, fine food and wine, the NGV Gala was inaugurated in 2017 and has since become an anticipated event on Melbourne’s events calendar.
Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse will take over the NGV International between Sunday, December 11 2022 and Sunday, April 16 2023. Find out more and book tickets here.
