Fashion Genius Alexander McQueen – "Savage Beauty" Retrospective

Victoria and Albert Museum retrospective site. Images from the official website of Alexander McQueen – "Savage Beauty" Retrospective. By Chen Chi-Hsiang. Venue: Victoria and Albert Museum. Dates: 14 March – 2 August.

This year, I was honored to see two European trendsetting retrospectives by figures who are less fashion designers than avant-garde artists. First, Jean Paul Gaultier, the prankster of Parisian fashion at the Grand Palais; then, in London, the British designer Alexander McQueen’s "Savage Beauty" retrospective. Beyond dazzling visuals and shock, it was a series of aesthetic sighs and a rich feast for the soul, leaving me deeply grateful. "Beauty" takes one's breath away; even that brief encounter becomes an eternal memory of life.

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen (1969–2010) and Jean Paul Gaultier both came from lower-middle-class suburbs of metropolises. McQueen’s father was a taxi driver. Both showed their talent at a young age, leading trends and reaching the pinnacle of European fashion through sheer brilliance and willpower. Their works are dramatic, full of tension and sensibility. They treated fashion design as artistic creation, with a special sensitivity to form, integrating images from past and present. McQueen drew much inspiration from Western classical painting, opera, theatrical costumes, or British folk attire personified. His bold abstraction of shape and color offered unique creativity, embodying a British-style, emotionally charged Baroque splendor.