Culture Shock: ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: MIND, MYTHOS, MUSE

The National Gallery of Victoria’s latest exhibition pays tribute to the late British genius like never before

Say the moniker Alexander McQueen and legions of creatives and style aficionados will launch into a tirade of the genius that was. But that wasn’t always the case—the press often mocked the British designer for his vulgar theatrics and disturbing runway shows, shunning his work as overly theatrical and avant-garde.

Image courtesy: National Gallery of Victoria

Though, over time, McQueen gained a foothold in the industry with a successful stint at Givenchy and, later, a posthumous MET exhibition—becoming one of the institution’s most visited to date. Now, McQueen’s boundary-breaking work is once again taking center stage, this time at the National Gallery of Victoria. Organized in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the exhibition is divided into four parts that explore the key themes of McQueen’s magnum opus: “Mythos,” “Fashioned Narratives,” “Technique and Innovation,” and “Evolution and Existence.”

“The exhibition provides the opportunity to look at the detail of McQueen’s work and marvel at his remarkable technical virtuosity,” exhibition co-curators Katie Somerville and Danielle Whitfield explain. “But it also [helps us] understand it as a way of seeing the world and his place within it.”

Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse is on view at the National Gallery of Victoria December 11, 2022 through April 16, 2023.

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