Costume Institute 2011 + Alexander McQueen

So.... the announcement for the Spring Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been made and this year's gala and exhibition will be dedicated to the work of the late Alexander Lee McQueen.  Whether they had been planning on doing an exhibition solely dedicated to McQueen's work or whether his sudden passing was a catalyst for the presentation, is unknown. As McQueen's work is intensely theatrical and over the top not only in design but scale, it will be interesting to see how the curators will execute an effective exhibition on his body of work.  The exhibition will span McQueen's career beginning with his Senior Collection for Central Saint Martins from 1992 until his death in February 2010.  It will also feature garments from his time as head of Givenchy.  The exhibition will open on May 4th, with its annual Gala, known ("Party of the Year") taking place on Monday, May 2nd.  This year's exhibition is chaired by Francois-Henri Pinault of the Gucci Group and his wife, Salma Hayek and co-chairs for the event are Colin Firth, Stella McCartney and Anna Wintour.