This event will be live streamed. You can join us in person at NGV International or watch the livestream via the link above.
Alexander McQueen’s impact was profound and far-reaching, influencing creative communities from fashion and design, to visual art, photography and performance.
Celebrating the opening of Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, international guests and local experts join NGV curators in a series of drop-in conversations unpacking Alexander McQueen’s techniques, his many influences, and his unique and innovative approach.
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.
12.00pm – 12.40pm: Making the Exhibition
Learn the story behind the curatorial approach to and the making of the exhibition, exploring what this display contributes to the ongoing examination of Alexander McQueen’s profound impact on the fashion design community.
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 Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022), 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).
1.00pm – 1.40pm: Techniques, Tailoring and Technology
Hear reflections on the specific techniques Alexander McQueen used, his approach to tailoring, use of digital technologies, dressmaking, and pattern making with guests who worked with McQueen in his studio at different stages of his career.
Speakers
Nafisa Tosh is a designer/maker based in London. She was trained by her father in tailoring techniques before studying at Kirklees College. Tosh has worked in London’s fashion industry since 1995, for Andrew Groves, Jessica Ogden, Eley Kishimoto, Preen, Bella Freud, Jaeger, Jasper Conran, Amanda Wakeley, and Alexander McQueen. She now designs and creates exclusively for private clients and works on photo shoots and red carpet/VIP events with Moschino, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Miu Miu and Loewe.
Catherine Brickhill is a British womenswear designer who was spotted by Alexander McQueen at her Saint Martin’s MA graduate show. The first designer employed by McQueen in 1996, she worked on his London collections and on his Givenchy collections in Paris until 2001. She subsequently worked for fashion houses such as Montana, John Richmond and Isabel Marant, as well as creating her own label. Nicknamed ‘The Leather Queen’ by McQueen, she is currently working on her own sustainable leather collection, to be launched in 2023.
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 Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022), 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).
2.00pm – 2.40pm: McQueen’s Many Influences
From cinema, music and nature to references to history and place – discover McQueen’s many influences and explore how these were incorporated into his work.
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.
Professor Jacqueline Millner is Professor of Visual Arts at La Trobe University. She has published widely on Australian and international contemporary art, including the recent Feminist Perspectives on Art: Contemporary Outtakes (2018), co-edited with Dr Catriona Moore. She co-convenes the research group Contemporary Art and Feminism and is leading the project Care: Feminism, Art, Ethics in Neoliberal Times.
Danielle Whitfield is Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Since joining the NGV Danielle has curated numerous exhibitions and spoken and published widely on the history of Australian and international fashion. Recent projects and scholarly contributions include Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022), Collecting Comme (2019), The Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift (2019) and The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture (2017).
3.00pm – 3.40pm: McQueen’s Runways
British photographer Robert Fairer, whose photographs feature in the exhibition, reflects on his experience documenting McQueen’s work and being backstage in the pressurised hours leading up to his iconic runway shows.
Speakers
Robert Fairer is a British photographer who has documented the zeitgeist of the fashion industry since the early 1990s. He has, for over three decades, mastered the art of backstage photography, and his work has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Visionaire, i-D and The New York Times. Spanning celebrity, advertising and editorial, his clients include Fendi, Lanvin, Tom Ford and Versace. His work has been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Design Museum, LACMA and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. In 2021 his first solo exhibition, Robert Fairer: Backstage Pass, was held at SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion. He has published over five monographs including Karl Lagerfeld Unseen: The Chanel Years (2022), John Galliano for Dior (2019), Marc Jacobs: Unseen (2018), John Galliano: Unseen (2017) and Alexander McQueen: Unseen (2016).
Danielle Whitfield is Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Since joining the NGV Danielle has curated numerous exhibitions and spoken and published widely on the history of Australian and international fashion. Recent projects and scholarly contributions include Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022), Collecting Comme (2019), The Krystyna Campbell Pretty Fashion Gift (2019) and The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture (2017).