Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty promotional image from Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Following its heavily attended appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” now has something new to brag about, as the most visited paid-for exhibit in London this year.
Similarly to its run at the Met, the retrospective on the late designer was the most popular exhibit in the Victoria & Albert museum's 163-year history, selling 493,043 tickets, according to rankings from London Exhibitions. This shows the interest in the subject matter is not limited to one city.
Taking attendance
The V&A also had the second and third most attended exhibits, with “Disobedient Objects” and “What is Luxury?” respectively.
“What is Luxury?” displayed more than 100 objects meant to investigate the understanding of luxury within physical, theoretical and sociological constructs. Luxury has traditionally stood for craftsmanship and design, but this made consumers stop to think what it will look like in the future (see story).
Item on display during What is Luxury?
When Savage Beauty was in New York in 2011, 661,509 fans of the brand flocked to the display, making it one of the Met’s top 10 most visited exhibits (see story).
Only recently was that record for the Costume Institute shattered, with more than 800,000 visitors to “China Through the Looking Glass,” landing that exhibit within the top five most attended exhibits in the Met’s history.
These rankings show a strong appetite for fashion exhibits, giving brands an opportunity to tell their stories with a wide audience.