The Costume Institute’s “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations” exhibition at the Met closed on Sunday to disappointing numbers. According to The New York Times, total attendance at the exhibit came to 339,838. Last year’s “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” exhibit attracted nearly double that number: 661,509. So what did “Savage Beauty” have to offer that “Impossible Read more →
Given the record-breaking success of this year’s Alexander McQueen retrospective at the Met, museums would be smart to put more fashion in their halls. And if today’s piece in WWD on museums “getting fashionable” is any indication, they are. Harold Koda, curator in charge of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, told the trade, “Clearly the critical as well as popular success of the McQueen show suggests that fashion design has a more secure place in the precincts of an art museum.”
While any museum would be hard-pressed to recreate the magic that was “Savage Beauty,” more fashion exhibits are popping up all over the world and several big ones are already on track to debut next year.
Rumor: McQueen: Savage Beauty Going To London? A McQueen spokesperson said there have been tentative talks with some London venues but an official announcement will be made if/when they reach a decision. Though there’s no comment from the Met, this sounds like something, if not the exact exhibit, is in the works! {Telegraph}
Elle and H&M One-Day-Only E-Commerce: Starting at noon today you can buy four looks from H&M’s fall collection on Elle’s website. An H&M spokesperson said it’s a preview of their full e-commerce launching next spring. Don’t worry if it sells out though–the full fall collection hit stores in two days. {WWD}
Models In Film: Gemma Ward and Dree Hemingway Cast In Films: Ward was recently cast in the upcoming production of The Great Gatsby (fingers crossed for her as Jordan), and now there are reports that Hemingway will star in the film adaptation of Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You alongside Lucy Liu. The fall cinema lineup is looking good! {Modelinia}
Rei Kawakubo Isn’t Excited About Fashion Anymore: She told the Wall Street Journal that “there are not enough of us believing in the same thing, that there is a kind of burnout, that people just want cheap fast clothes and are happy to look like everyone else.” I somewhat agree. {The Cut}
Behind-The-Scenes Of A Vogue Nippon Photo Shoot: Editor Anna Dello Russo posted a great series of photos from a very Dolce and Gabbana-heavy shoot. Sequined pants, anyone? {Anna Dello Russo}
Waiting online this weekend for the final days of the wildly popular McQueen exhibit at the Met turned into something of a sport: there were packed lunches to rival any tailgate (sans the Bud Lite), costumes and plenty of live Tweeting (see: Joe Zee). I know because I was one of those people.
15,000 people came to see the exhibit on Saturday alone and at midnight the line was still 1500 deep, according to the New York Times. According to the latest figures from the Met, all total 661,509 people came to see the McQueen retrospective, making Savage Beauty the eighth most popular exhibit in the museum’s history and the most popular ever from the Costume Institute.
A terrible procrastinator myself, I left my visit to the last week. It definitely wasn’t due to lack of interest… I just got really…busy. And who could have predicted that in the exhibit’s final days there would be a line to get into the line to get into the museum and waits would exceed three hours?
Want to know what it was like? Don’t worry, I chronicled the whole thing minute by minute:
Kristen Cavallari Shot A Wedding Spread And Then Ended Her Engagement: The Hills star shot this Life&Style wedding spread and then broke off her engagement with Jay Cutler two days after the photos were released (presumably not because of said photoshoot). The pictures are gorgeous but that’s probably no consolation; bet she’s having a really not fun Sex and the City movie moment right about now. {MTV Style}
Karlie Kloss Covers September Harper’s Bazaar Australia: Excuse my Tyra phrasing, but this is FIERCE. Victor Demarchelier captured Kloss’ signature stare head-on. I feel she’s boring into my soul. I like it. {Fashion Gone Rogue}
The McQueen Exhibit Is Open Until Midnight On It’s Last Two Nights: On Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty will be open to the public until midnight, the latest the museum has ever kept an exhibit open. A spokesperson remarked, “These midnight hours will mark a fitting conclusion to this powerful exploration of McQueen’s work.” We couldn’t agree more. {Met Museum}
The final days of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” are creeping up, so the met is giving us a little more time with it, and allowing people who have jobs a chance to view the retrospective without the aggravating tourist-heavy weekend crowd. After already extending the exhibit an extra week to August 7, the museum just announced they’re adding extended hours for the celebrated exhibit’s last four days.
Karl Lagerfeld Is a Busy Man: The Chanel designer just finished his cruise collection and has been hawking Magnum Ice Cream and now, Lagerfeld has made plans to release Nietzsche’s writings in their entirety. Only 3,000 copies will be published and it will only be available in German. He also directed a short film, The Tale of a Fairy starring Chanel’s usual suspects (Freja, Babtiste, etc.,) as a companion to the cruise collection. The short launches on Chanel.com today. {ELLE and Chanel.com}
Fashion Mags Take Home Honors at the National Magazine Awards: Many of Condé Nast’s titles were among last night’s big winners. GQ won the Ellie award for design while W took one for photography. {WWD, subscription required}
Listen to Abbey Lee Kershaw Sing: The model’s band, Our Mountain, has debuted their first single, “Wooden Hearts.” In addition to vocals, Kershaw also lends her talents to the tambourine. {Modelinia}
Here are some trends and interesting tidbits that we took note of as the celebs, models, and designers made their way up the Metropolitan Museum’s steps at last night’s Met Ball honoring the the work of the late Alexander McQueen and celebrating the Costume Institute’s retrospective of his work.
13:
McQueen gowns spotted on the red carpet
16:
Guests wearing event co-chair Stella McCartney’s designs
4:
Pro-athletes who traded in their jerseys for tuxedos (or, in Serena Williams’ case, Oscar de la Renta–the others were Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tom Brady)
Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.
One of the 100 dresses featured in “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” the Met’s Costume Institute retrospective of designer Alexander McQueen, is an ice blue and khaki lace dress, sliced to reveal nude underwear below the waist. It’s a dress I’ve always remembered from my first exposure to Mr. McQueen’s work.
In March 1995, during my first year as a magazine editor, I went to London to attend London Fashion week. Late in the afternoon, on the third day of fashion week, I ducked into a tent to see the collection of a recent Central Saint Martins graduate who had been making waves.
Dov Charney Wants to Recreate Hugh Hefner’s Lifestyle Circa 1970: The New York Times‘ piece on Charney is full of interesting tidbits. Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association and friend of Charney, says that the controversial CEO of American Apparel’s 20-room home is like a “dormitory.” On his front yard? A sculpture of a hand giving the middle finger. How fitting. {NY Times}
The World’s Most Expensive Shoe: Your Louboutins got nothing on these solid gold heels that are encrusted with 2,000 diamonds. The shoe, created by jewelry designer Michael Shellis, are going for a little over $200,000. {Telegraph}
J.Crew is Heading Overseas: The all-American brand plans to open shop in the UK at the end of the summer. {Elle UK}
Models as Mannequins: In the catalog of the upcoming exhibit, “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” at the Met, the photographs of white mannequins in the designer’s creations are actually…real live models. Photographer Solve Sundsbo was able to create the illusion thanks to Photoshop, makeup, and lighting. {Racked}
