Fashion Weeks, Fashion Events, Fashion Exhibitions : Those ceremonious, frenzied affairs that leave the insatiable salivating for more. They turn conservatives into eccentrics and allow eccentrics to over indulge!
And indulged we have, as a staggering 582,000 of us fashion fanatics have flocked to the 'Alexander McQueen : Savage Beauty' exhibition over the last three months alone! As the exhibition draws to a close this weekend, attendance records for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art have hit sky-high, making this the most popular fashion exhibit to date, further more, leaving the ever popular (rather fun and a little more light-hearted) 'Superhero : Fashion and Fantasy' in a lonely second place with 576,000 visitors. Okay, granted not so lonely - that's still a lot of rouge-lipped leopard-print-wearing, leather-bikered-up, chain-smoking crowd...no...?
'Alexander McQueen : Savage Beauty' has seen fashion eccentrics, artists and creatives alike gather up to soak in some of the greatest fashion creations from the late designer's 19-year career. The exhibition, in many ways reflects McQueen's unique concept of fashion, unconventional ideals of beauty and exceptional talent. And with the exhibition drawing to a close this weekend, this is set to be one of the busiest weekends the MET has ever seen.
So, of course, being prepared as ever and given that it was only supposed to run until 31st July 2011, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will stay open until midnight on the final two days ...that's the Saturday and Sunday just gone.
Being the first ever retrospective after McQueen's death, I'd say the priority given to the artistry of the fashions and the complexities of his runway presentations has been done rather beautifully.