Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty is one of my favorite coffee table books, because I bought it last year when viewing the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Alexander McQueen exhibit with my Mom. It turned out to be hands down one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life, and we were completely blown away by the incredible creativity  and flawless workmanship on display. The exhibition was one of the Met’s most popular of all time, and they even extended the run because so many people were dying to see it. Here are a few of my favorite images from the book that bring to mind the awe I felt when viewing these items in person:

A very cool hallmark of McQueen’s aesthetic was the way he incorporated nature into his garments, even crafting whole pieces out of materials like clamshells:

On this one below he used microscope specimen slides (remember, from biology class?), dyed red. How amazing is that? I never would’ve realized what they were had it not been pointed out to me:

Some of the materials he used might traditionally be seen as ugly or just boring (like those biology slides), but he turned them into something amazing and beautiful:

Through the exhibit, I learned that McQueen’s designs went a LOT deeper than just being something pretty or shocking to look at. His collections encompassed wide ranging themes, from his Scottish heritage, to nature, life, death, gothic Victorian elements, cultural diversity, and a lot more. It really is a crime that we’ll never again see any new work from this creative genius, and never know what else he was capable of. Sadly, maybe it’s not possible to hold such beauty and imagination inside without also possessing it’s dark opposite.