Alexander McQueen never designed clothing simply to be worn — he created unforgettable experiences. This dramatic evening gown from his Spring/Summer 2001 collection perfectly captures the British designer’s gift for transforming fashion into performance art, blending meticulous craftsmanship with theatrical storytelling.
Currently on view in Costume Art, the inaugural exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s expansive new 12,000-square-foot Condé Nast Galleries, the striking ensemble immediately commands attention. This exhibition explores how fashion and fine art have long inspired one another, pairing nearly 400 historical and contemporary garments from The Costume Institute with artworks drawn from across the Museum’s remarkable collections. Continue reading Eye On Design: Alexander McQueen’s Fiery Vision Still Burns Bright→
George Morrison (1919–2000) was one of the most significant yet often underrecognized figures in twentieth-century American art. A member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe), Morrison became known for his richly textured abstract paintings and later for his celebrated wood collages inspired by the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior. After studying at the Art Students League in New York, he became part of the city’s vibrant postwar art scene, exhibiting alongside many of the leading Abstract Expressionists. While his Indigenous heritage informed his deep appreciation for the natural world, Morrison resisted being defined solely as a Native American artist, preferring to be recognized first and foremost for the strength and originality of his modernist vision. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: George Morrison, The Antagonist→
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848 – 1933) made a series of jewelry designs composed of moonstones and Montana sapphires set in platinum. This necklace (circa 1910), one of the most elaborate, features moonstones of irregular sizes and shapes intersperse with the design of twisted scrolls, each enclosing four tiny sapphires. The piece could be worn as one large elaborate necklace with pendant, as seen here, or it could be separated into discrete items and worn as a choker or a bracelet with the pendent wearable as an independent brooch.
Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
“Clothes that will stun the crowds in museum exhibitions in the future,” was how New York Times fashion critic Bernadine Morris summarized Yves Saint Laurent’s spring /summer 1988 haute couture collection. A highlight of the collection was the Irises jacket shown here, a simulacrum of Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 painting. The jacket echoes the original’s cropped composition, zooming in even further on the curved and twisting lines of the irises. More remarkably, the embroidery amplifies the luminosity of Van Gogh’s colors, and enhances the materiality of his thick, short, wavy brushstrokes. Continue reading Eye On Design: Van Gogh’s Irises On Bead Embroidered Jacket→
This black, heavily embellished dress from House of Balmain, designed by Olivier Rousteing for the Fall/Winter 2012–13 collection, feels less like a garment and more like a moment preserved in time. An unapologetic show-stopper, it reads as both armor and ornament —structured, deliberate, and unapologetically intricate. Continue reading Eye On Design: Balmain’s Beaded Time Capsule→
