Romantic Naturalism and The McQueen Effect
“ I have always loved the mechanics of nature and to a greater or lesser extent my work is always informed by that.” —Alexander McQueen Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty , at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has now closed. With a total of 661,509 visitors, it's the most visited fashion exhibition in the museum’s history. McQueen’s runway shows were well known for their sense of Victorian theatrical drama with sets that included birdcages, butterflies, feathered wings and antlers. The exhibition, under the direction of curator, Andrew Bolton, successfully captured this spirit of Gothic splendor with its combination of horror and romance. Nature was the greatest, or at least the most enduring, influence upon McQueen. It was also a central theme, if not the central theme of nineteenth century Romanticism. Many artists of the Romantic Movement presented nature itself as a work of art. McQueen both share...