Savage Beauty

In your words: Fashion is art.

Friends of the Met responded to the question: When did you first realize that fashion is art? Below are some of the highlights. Take a moment to read them, then feel free to answer the question in your own words.

"I think it was during the Met's 'Treasures of Tutankhamun' exhibition in the 1970s. It was a time of boho-disco, and all of the gold and silver and Egyptian motifs were very much in fashion. I was a teenager at the time and I remember this blockbuster exhibition having a true influence on fashion and art." -Barbara Mangini

"Grace Jones circa the seventies till now! She set trends with her abstract use of shapes, fabrications, make up and hairstyles. As a beautiful black woman, if I do say so myself, she along with my mother and Diana Ross, let me know we can wear any color and style but put our own spin on it and push the envelope past the post office baby!" -Nancy Shinholster

"After seeing Alexander McQueen's exhibition at the Met with my friend Charles, I was blown away, and came to the realization that there's a deeper meaning to fashion." -Kevin Robinson

"When my Mum made me a short orange fur shift dress, which I wore with a black polo neck sweater and black tights (it was not Halloween). I was six, and it was my favorite outfit. I have loved McQueen from the beginning, and would dearly love to see this exhibition. I bought the book from the Met before the exhibition even started. Please send it to California next." -Angie Gochis

"When I was a little girl, I discovered that the clothes you wear allow you to be whatever you want to be. Just as an artist can imagine an entire world on a canvass or see a shape in a piece of marble or wood I see art in shapes on the human form. I watched my mother transform herself in the evening before my father came home especially when they would go out. Now I have a closet full of all the different 'me's' and I design clothes and combinations of clothes using the same principles of design that an artist would use.

I have found that how I dress can affect my mood and those around me in the same way a piece of music can. I am fascinated by how clothes reflect the events in history or the culture of a community. There are so many dimensions to fashion as art." -Nina Davit

Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010)
Dress, Sarabande, spring/summer 2007
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce

The exhibition is made possible by Alexander McQueen™.
Additional support is provided in partnership with American Express and Condé Nast.

Alexander McQueen May 4–August 7, 2011 Savage Beauty

In your words: Fashion is art.

Friends of the Met responded to the question: When did you first realize that fashion is art? Below are some of the highlights. Take a moment to read them, then feel free to answer the question in your own words.