The knowledge we have about public figures is subjected to what the media decides to portray them as and to what said figure decides to share about themselves. In the fashion world, the minds behind the biggest names in the industry are usually very private and reserved, which makes the mystery that surrounds them and the necessity to know about them even bigger. When it comes to Alexander McQueen, this curiosity grows exponentially, not only by everything that surrounds his personal life but mainly due to the immense legacy his genius mind left for the fashion world. French photographer Ann Ray witnessed his life firsthand as a close friend who documented every step of his journey. Now, thanks to The Frist Art Museum and the exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen & Ann Ray: Rendez-Vous from May 30 through August 25, we can get to know the human behind the legend.
The impact of Lee McQueen not only on the fashion industry but on the world is undeniable and widely recognised; his creations and the way they came to be are a loyal reflection of the craft and care he worked with, but they are also a testament of some deeper meanings: the intricate personality of the designer and the troubled mind that gave birth to a creative vision never seen before. All of the different sides of McQueen have contributed to the construction of the legend persona we have of him nowadays, but there has always been a desire to know more about what the real Alexander was like, not the icon but the human.
Photographer Ann Ray is a contemporary to Alexander, who met him at Givenchy, where McQueen was appointed as creative director in 1996, and since then became his friend, confident, and trusted work partner. Capturing thirteen years of work and life, from his most known moments like the transcendental robots performance with Shalom Harlow beng sprayed with paint during the Spring/Summer 1999 show, No. 13, to backstages and more raw and vulnerable instants. The Frist Art Museum has curated an exhibition where selected pieces from McQueen’s career, including ready-to-wear, one-off samples, and examples of Haute Couture, coexist with sixty-five photographs hand-selected by Ray from her archive.
“While there have been other exhibitions of McQueen’s work, including the record-breaking Savage Beauty project at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2011, one year after his death, the unprecedented inclusion of Ray’s photographs creates a rendez-vous in which new and perhaps more truthful narratives emerge,” says Frist Art Museum senior curator Katie Delmez. The exhibition, divided into five chronological sections that trace from his early career days at Givenchy, his moves under his own brand, iconic collections, and runway shows, to his final years, is now open to the public and will be until August 25. An unmissable chance to see the life of a genius through the eyes of someone who loved him.
