There's always something extraordinary and exciting about live events. Before the pandemic, "experiential" and 'immersive" were every brand's aspirations. Among many things that 2020 changed, it made us rethink the meaning of what we call digital, giving a totally new context for experiential and immersive. But some of the magic of live experiences were lost.
This week I found myself thinking about Alexander McQueen's memorable and highly theatrical fashion shows. I thought about a time when we could witness moments, fleeting as they could be, but still, and perhaps because of it, they could last forever.
Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty 1999's Show was something unique and one of a kind. It captured a moment in time while simultaneously being ahead of its time.
Nature versus machine, fear, exaltation, and sensuality were recurrent themes in McQueen's work, and he always turned it up to 11 with his fully theatrical fashion shows. Combining his famous sophisticated craftsmanship and tailoring with his fearless and experimental artistic expression, he took fashion shows beyond a simple display of clothing.
Savage Beauty show ended with Shalom Harlow standing at the edge of a turntable, her arms above her head, protecting herself from two robot arms spraying paint on her virginal white dress.
That was the show's most emblematic, thrilling, and memorable moment. Even if you only watched it on the news back then, you couldn't help thinking about how it would feel being there when it happened.
22 years later, when fear of automation is a current topic in today's culture and society, Savage Beauty ending is still as relevant and powerful as ever.
Today it became a piece of digital content that you can still watch at any time on YouTube. But it's more than that. It's a memory of a time when we weren't only viewers. A time when we could also witness live and extraordinary moments happening right in front of our eyes. They might happen in just a blink of an eye, but isn't it what magic is all about?