As March approaches, London prepares for a season of exhibitions and events celebrating the creative genius of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
There are two major museum exhibitions and two gallery shows celebrating McQueen, as well as a theatre production at the St James Theatre. Last week ‘McQueen: Backstage – the Early shows’ by Gary Wallis opened at Proud Gallery Chelsea and tomorrow is the opening of ‘Nick Waplington/Alexander McQueen: Working Process’ at Tate Britain. Next Saturday the wildly popular retrospective initially exhibited at the MOMA in 2011 returns to the Victoria & Albert Museum: ‘Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty‘ announces itself as the most successful exhibition of the year.
Another tribute to the McQueen season, the next Futurecity show at the Gallery at Foyles is ‘Inferno: Alexander McQueen‘ featuring a selection of previously unseen, backstage photographs taken by Kent Baker during the seminal show ‘Dante’ in 1996.
Co-curated by Olly Walker and Futurecity, the exhibition takes place at the Gallery at Foyles on Charing Cross Road from 20 March – 3 May 2015, presenting a selection of striking images are taken from Kent Baker’s new book, ‘Inferno: Alexander McQueen’, published by Laurence King Publishing.
Alexander McQueen applied to Central St. Martin’s School of Art and Design in 1994 to work as a pattern cutter tutor. Due to the strength of his portfolio, McQueen was persuaded by Bobby Hilson – the Head of the Masters course, to enrol as a student. The school famously once occupied the building Foyles Bookstore now occupies on Charing Cross Road.
In 1996 McQueen, a recent Central St Martin’s graduate, showcased an early collection ‘Dante’ at Nicholas Hawksmoor’s architectural masterpiece Christchurch in Spitalfields. The audience was treated to an evening of theatrical spectacle. Photographer Kent Baker, a member of McQueen’s intimate circle of friends, was in a unique position to capture a singular moment: the emergence of a radical and visionary force in contemporary fashion.
Kent Baker’s exceptional photography featured in ‘Inferno: Alexander McQueen’ perfectly captures an emerging creative force caught in an electric moment, revealing just how much one man’s singular vision was destined to challenge and fundamentally alter notions of beauty through the lens of contemporary fashion.
Inferno: Alexander McQueen at the Gallery at Foyles
The Gallery at Foyles | 20 March – 3 May 2015
An intimate photographic portrait of his seminal show ‘Dante’
Autumn/Winter 1996/97
Photography by Kent Baker
Curated by Olly Walker & Futurecity
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