Which designer was honored by the Met’s 2011 exhibition Savage Beauty?

Alexander McQueen was the designer honored by the Met’s 2011 exhibition Savage Beauty.

The exhibition surveyed McQueen’s career from his postgraduate collection through his work at Givenchy and his own fashion label. It highlighted the tension between beauty and menace that characterized many of his collections, including designs inspired by history, nature, technology, and the human body.

Savage Beauty opened shortly after McQueen’s death in February 2010. Its presentation used dramatic galleries and carefully selected runway pieces to show how he combined traditional tailoring with theatrical staging and provocative ideas.

The exhibition became one of the Costume Institute’s most successful shows and later traveled to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2015. It is distinct from the 2011 gala itself, although the gala raised support for the exhibition and drew attention to McQueen’s legacy.