FKA twigs Dressed As A Bird Of Paradise For The Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Gala

FKA twigs paid homage to Alexander McQueen in the most spectacular fashion at Thursday night’s Savage Beauty gala dinner, wearing the striking rainbow-coloured bird of paradise feather dress, which McQueen showed during his Spring/Summer 2008 runway show.

Performing at the event to officially open Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at London’s Victoria And Albert Museum, the singer – real name Tahliah Barnett – teamed the fairytale gown with simple black heeled sandals and her signature septum ring.

While the exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 14th March, celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Salma Hayek, David and Victoria Beckham and Princess Beatrice were all keen for a first look at the retrospective, which MTV Style also had the pleasure of viewing yesterday.

Every bit as magical as you would expect, Savage Beauty opens with a poignant quote from Lee Alexander McQueen himself: “I’m a romantic schizophrenic.” Taking the visitor through some of the most prominent themes in McQueen’s body of work, the 10 rooms are filled with iconic pieces from his earliest shows, including the controversial Highland Rape collection from AW95.

McQueen obsessions with both his home city of London and his much-loved Scotland are clear to see throughout: the ‘Bumster’ trouser that wouldn’t look out of place on the streets of Shoreditch and Soho, the same tartan prints he once dressed Sarah Jessica Parker in for the 2006 Met Ball.

Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Through the darkness comes romance, dresses made of silk and real flowers, while McQueen’s final show collection – Plato’s Atlantis – provides a fitting finale to the exhibition, with its animal prints and armadillo heels that will forever remind us of Lady Gaga.

Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

However, it is perhaps the mid-section of the exhibition that truly allows one inside the mind of McQueen, with The Cabinet Of Curiosities filled from floor to ceiling with treasures. There’s the hats made in conjunction with Philip Treacy, the ‘other’ protégé of Alexander’s discoverer Isabella Blow, who served as his muse until her own death in 2007. More dresses trimmed with feathers. Entire pieces made of lace, including the red dress complete with mask, again worn by Gaga to the 2009 MTV VMAs.

Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The pièce de résistance comes in Pepper’s Ghost, aka the Kate Moss hologram, which McQueen showed at the end of his AW06 catwalk show. Resurrecting Kate from the ashes of her drug scandal, it comes as no surprise that the supermodel was in attendance at the gala, arm-in-arm with husband Jamie Hince.

All-round, a fitting tribute to one of London’s most loved and missed designers, who has finally come home. Visit the V&A website for ticket information and details of further events surrounding Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, which runs from March 14th until August 2nd.