-->

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

About a month ago my mother and I migrated to NY for a temporary stay. She suggested we go on a whim, and considering this city always serves me well I took up her sudden offer. I'm not one for all the touristy bullshit that comes along with NY; my mother's approach to traveling however strongly contradicts mine. So we split during the afternoons. Therefore, I got a chance to go around where I wanted to, without interruptions.





Frankly, there were only three things I was desperate in making it out to: the Chelsea Hotel, the Comme des Garcons boutique, and the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan. The Chelsea closed three days before I arrived in NY, which was a complete bust (I did get to step foot in El Quijote however). On the second day I took the subway to the West Village and went to the CdG boutique (among other stores, eg. Balenciaga, where I just shamelessly pet everything). The graffiti of Mao in drag was the perfect welcome, as was the entrance itself; it was as if I was walking into a spacecraft. The staff and fellow customers were incredibly kind, even complimenting my collared shirt with the gold beading. The doorless change room was such a mind fuck too (see picture below), and completely mesmerized by it all I caved and bought a Play tee, the most inexpensive article of clothing in the store. The happy go lucky middle aged woman beside me at the check out counter spent over three grand. Must be nice.

Finally, as tenacious and patient as ever, I pulled through a monotonous four and a half hour long wait to enter the McQueen exhibit. Anticipation trumped frustration, and looking back, there is absolutely nothing negative to say about the experience, even as a whole. As you entered the first room, you recognize the attention paid to every part of the exhibition. For one, the pieces were placed in unbelievable atmospheric settings; the mood of each room worked in perfect conjunction with the collections that were situated in them. And there was something about seeing everything in person that even the most perverse of McQueen's work became delicate in their intricacies; I don't mean simply craftmanship, but the details involved in his design process. i.e. The sculptural quality of his work in that each angle mattered was obvious. When he said he designed from the side and worked his way to the front and back, he wasn't fucking around. Seeing it in person made me appreciate him even more, and subsequently pained me even more. I got all sappy by the end and for the following few hours I was especially fragile.

Proving that fashion and art can be hybrid and no longer mutually exclusive was definitely Lee's speciality. Grateful I got to see his brilliance up close.

4 comments:

Emma Orlow said...

The entrance to the Comme des Garcons boutique in Chelsea always looks like a magical passage way beaconing me in...I'm so happy you went :)
- Emma
http://theemmaedition.blogspot.com

Isabel said...

This is wonderful!! I truly wish I could've seen the McQueen exhibit - instead I bought the Savage Beauty book and decided to write my undergraduate thesis on his work.

Kailey said...

Your blog is beautiful! Lovely post - your pictures are gorgeous xo

miriam said...

oh amazing NY<3 love all of your outfits so much