cabinet of curiosity - alexander mcqueen

Consisting of approximately 100 pieces, Alexander McQueen's exhibition: Savage Beauty was exhilarating. It's only fitting that the Met would organize such an exhibition of this magnitude for a genius that is sorely missed in the fashion industry. The exhibition is divided into six different themes that sum up the icon's work. As I walked through each theme I took in every intricate detail of his extraordinary work. A man that is so passionate not just for fashion but history, art and humanity has created masterpieces that is a resistance to modern fashion...intriguing, considering one of the greatest compliments in fashion is to call something modern.  McQueen set himself apart by using controversial, biographical and historical references to build a collection. With 1 hour to spare before I caught a flight back to San Francisco I managed to relive McQueen's sick fantasy of Gothic obsessions and romantic exoticism. I could feel his presence billowing through me as I closely examined his craftsmanship. An eerie, dark emotional vibe weighed heavily throughout the whole experience. My journey through the Met will be one I will never forget. Leaving the exhibition I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming love for a man that spent his whole career alone suffering from pain, societies scrutiny and yet he was able to change the worlds views through his works of fashion.

"When you see a woman wearing McQueen, there's a certain hardness to the clothes that make her look powerful. It kind of fends people off" - Alexander McQueen 

"I'm about what goes through people's minds, the stuff people don't want to admit or face up to. The shows are about what's buried in people's psyches." - Alexander McQueen

"I'm a romantic schizophrenic. Some people think I've become softer with this spring collection, but it's always been in my work. There may be an Edgar Allan Poe romance to it - it's not a heart-on-your-sleeve type thing - but that's just my personality. I've always been very sensitive, very romantic, but not everyone has seen that." - Alexander McQueen 

"These beautiful models were walking around in the room, and then suddenly this woman who wouldn't be considered beautiful was revealed. It was about trying to trap something that wasn't conventionally beautiful to show that beauty comes from within." - Alexander McQueen 

"Beauty can come from the strangest of places, even the most disgusting of place" - Alexander McQueen 

"For me, what I do is an artistic expression which is channeled through me. Fashion is just the medium." - Alexander McQueen 

"It's the ugly things I notice more, because other people tend to ignore the ugly things." - Alexander McQueen 

"You've got to know the rules to break them. That's what I'm here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition" - Alexander McQueen 

"It's important to look at death because it's a part of life. It is a sad thing, melancholic but romantic at the same time. It is the end of a cycle - everything has to end. The cycle of life is positive because it gives room for new things." - Alexander McQueen 

"There is no way back for me now. I am going to take you on journeys you've never dreamed were possible." - Alexander McQueen 

{images: the huffington post}