Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen exhibitions: the cultural landmarks of the year

Prêt-à-rapporter: the two impresarios of fashion are commanding important exhibitions in Paris and New York over the summer.

BY Sarah Mower | 13 July 2011

Photo: JEFF GILBERT Photo: Sølve Sundsbø

Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen, the two impresarios of fashion whose astonishing theatrical performances made London Fashion Week so thrilling in the Nineties, are both commanding important exhibitions in Paris and New York over the summer.

Hussein Chalayan goes on show in Paris

Chalayan's uniquely layered, political and technologically astounding body of work, including his coffee table which turned into a skirt, his aeroplane dress with a "refuelling" fuselage, and a wonderful trio of tulle dresses sculpted like topiary, fills two floors of the Louvre in a stunning show which opened last week.

It is the intellectual and imaginative stature of these two former peers - the fact that they drove fashion to reflect difficult realities and push the boundaries of technology - which make their shows a different kettle of fish from the usual lifeless way clothes appear in museums. Although Chalayan and McQueen shared no artistic vision, these exhibitions each prove how compelling it is to able to stand in front of a display and be overwhelmed by meanings and sensations that were never quite comprehensible in the fleeting 15 minutes of a show.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty has become a cultural landmark of the year, smashing records for visitors at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Since May 2, 450,000 people have flowed through its doors, a phenomenon that is still growing as more people speak of the powerful sensations generated by the videos and music which accompany the experience of seeing McQueen's magnificent work in close-up.

'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' in pictures

So inundated has the Met been that it has extended the show to August 7 and, exceptionally, opened on Mondays. Yesterday, it announced that the show will stay open until 9pm for the last week, making it possible that more than a half a million people will have been able to immerse themselves in McQueen's legacy by the end