Savage Beauty, Simply Stated.

So, it happened again. The Oscars, Grammys, Espys, Tonys, VS Fashion Show and the White House Correspondents Dinner imploded upon one another at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Annual Met Gala sponsored by the Costume Institute. Hosted by Colin Firth, Stella McCartney and Anna Wintour, the triumphant of Hollywood, Rock and Roll and Fashion is symbolic of the event itself. So here we are almost 3 weeks post mortem of this all holy event and I'm still fascinated by it. For those apt followers to the gods of fashion blogging, this may seem a bit out dated or behind the fray, but I think on the contrary, serves to show the ability of an event to live on. 

The gala acts as the launching point for the museum's most celebrated exhibit each year with this year paying tribute to the late Alexander McQueen. If for nothing else, other than the beauty, the mystery and the delicate rampage the 100 or so pieces of art (spanning his 20+ year career) exude, the exhibit, titled Savage Beauty is a standing ovation to one of fashion's most celebrated yet often besieged designers. "London might have the royal wedding, but we have this, " Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the nearly 1,000 guests. "And this ticket is harder to get." On the heels of the world's other most anticipated dress, the exhibit offers a look behind the creative curtain that often veils a designer's inspiration. 

The exhibit itself is a thing of beauty. As McQueen often pushed the boundaries of the expected, so to do the photographs chronicling his last line. A mix of models dipped in alabaster paint, strings tied to limbs, photoshopped magic and a dash of blurred reality, the images share the designer's often unapologetic pursuit of the different. “You are not certain whether it is real or fake,” said Andrew Bolton, the curator of the McQueen exhibition. “The beauty of McQueen is that simultaneous feeling of awe and wonder mixed with fear and terror,” he said.

“His fashions were an outlet for his emotions, an expression of the deepest, often darkest, aspects of his imagination.  He was a true romantic in the Byronic sense of the word – he channeled the sublime.” - Andrew Bolton, Curator of The Costume Institute

So why did this topic seem blogworthy? Sometimes it's ok just to appreciate something truly special. To stare in awe at something that stops you in tracks and begs you to take notice. Like many of my posts that look to celebrate the misfits among us, those that walk the tedious and exhausting line between laughing and crying in the face of animosity, Savage Beauty is a nod to the very essence of honoring that dedication. I wanted to share a piece of my inspiration and join in the celebration of something that I believe offers so much more than just fashion. Through his dedication to his art, he pushed forward. He was determined, motivated, humble and inquisitive and here's to always hoping those qualities define the new black.