The Costume Council of LACMA and members of the Los Angeles fashion community got a high-fashion treat when Metropolitan Museum of Art Curator Andrew Bolton visited LACMA. The renowned curator gave a behind-the-scenes look at the now-legendary “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” exhibition, which debuted at the Met in New York earlier this year. The lecture, followed by a luncheon at LACMA’s Times Mirror Court Plaza, opened the Costume Council’s program season.

“The Met’s Costume Institute was kind enough to allow the Costume Council to present an intimate look at their sold-out, landmark retrospective of design genius Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty,” said Elizabeth Matthews, chair of communications on LACMA’s Costume Council Board of Directors. “The Costume Council of LACMA is proud to be the organization in Los Angeles to showcase such distinctive, revealing, behind-the-scenes fashion and style programming,” she added. The lecture was as exciting for those who didn’t see the exhibition as well as those who stood in line for hours to see it.

Bolton has been the tour-de-force behind many of the Met’s successful fashion exhibitions, including “Poiret: King of Fashion” and “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy,” as well as the upcoming exhibition “Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion.”

“Savage Beauty” reached a record-setting 661,509 visitors, making it the eighth-largest show at the Met. McQueen’s provocative and influential design legacy and the high level of execution of the exhibition all play into its unparalleled success. Bolton attributes much of its success to the close collaboration with McQueen’s team in London and having access to the designer’s archives, which were fully intact.

Sarah Burton, McQueen’s longtime assistant and current designer of the brand, provided critical insights into McQueen’s working process. According to Burton, McQueen could never design a collection before he developed a concept for his runway shows, which were much like highly theatric art installations. To add McQueen’s artistic flair to the exhibition, Bolton culled the talents of McQueen’s fashion show collaborators to create everything from the sets and the music for “Savage Beauty,” which featured approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories.

The exhibition spanned McQueen’s nearly 20-year body of work, incorporating videos of his runway shows and signature pieces illustrating the designer’s innovative use of materials, defining silhouettes and darkly romantic narratives.

The mission of the Costume Council of LACMA is to expand public awareness of fashion, style, design, costume and textiles as art through behind-the-scenes programming and events including exhibitions, lectures, book signings, red-carpet galas and film premieres. Recent events have included “Cirque DuSoleil,” “Mad Men,” “Bill Cunningham New York,” “Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston” and “Valentino: The Last Emperor.”—N. Jayne Seward