Top left and background: Frans Pourbus II Portrait of Louis XIII, King of France as a boy c. 1616 (detail), The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William May Garland. Photo © Museum Associates / LACMA; Centre: Alexander McQueen Look 30 (detail), from the Dante collection, autumn–winter 1996–97, Christ Church, London, 1996. Photo © Robert Fairer © Alexander McQueen. Model: Kristen McMenamy; Bottom: Alexander McQueen Look 15 (detail), from the Horn of Plenty collection, autumn–winter 2009–10, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, 10 March 2009. Photo © Robert Fairer © Alexander McQueen. Model: Kamila Filipcikova

MUSINGS ON McQUEEN: MAKING THE EXHIBITION, 12PM

Learn the story behind the curatorial approach to and the making of Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, exploring what this display contributes to the ongoing examination of Alexander McQueen’s profound impact on the fashion design community. ​

Host

Glynis Traill-Nash is one of Australia’s most respected and experienced fashion writers and commentators. For two decades, her engaging, informative – and opinionated – writing has endeared her to readers, most recently at The Australian where she was Fashion Editor for 10 years. She has held similar roles at the Sunday Telegraph, In Style, Grazia and The Sun-Herald, and written for titles including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and The Sydney Morning Herald.

With a suitcase always (appropriately) packed, Glynis has traversed the globe in the name of fashion, from Paris haute couture to New York, London and Milan Fashion Weeks, from Copenhagen to Tokyo, Darwin to Dallas, Berlin to Bendigo and beyond. She is a coveted public speaker and facilitator and has worked with many of this country’s leading institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria, Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, the Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Australia, Sydney Writers’ Festival and Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Speakers

Clarissa M. Esguerra is Associate Curator of Costume and Textiles at LACMA, and co-curator of Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022). In 2019 she curated Power of Pattern: Central Asian Ikats from the David and Elizabeth Reisbord Collection, and in 2016 co-curated Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015 (2016). Both exhibitions were awarded the Richard Martin Award for Excellence in the Exhibition of Costume by the Costume Society of America. Esguerra’s curatorial contributions also include Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700–1915 (2010–11) and Undertaking the Making: LACMA Costume and Textiles Pattern Project. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Brenau Women’s College and the University of Georgia.

Michael Schmidt,is a clothing and jewellery designer working primarily in the entertainment industry. Based in Los Angeles, his clients include Beyoncé, Madonna, Cher, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and many others. In 2013 Michael received international attention for his creation of the world’s first fully articulated 3D printed gown, designed and executed for burlesque icon Dita Von Teese. Michael created 15 sculptural headpieces to accompany the recent Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). He conceived an additional 46 pieces to accompany the NGV’s exhibition.

Katie Somerville is Senior Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). She has worked with a range of fashion and textiles collections for close to three decades, including at the National Gallery of Australia and Historic Houses Trust of NSW. During her time at the NGV she has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions including The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture (2017), Making the Australian Quilt: 1800–1950 (2016), Express Yourself: Romance Was Born for Kids (2014–15), Martin Grant, Paris (2005–06) and Akira Isogawa: Printemps-Été (2004–05).