"Savage Beauty" becomes most-visited V&A show ever

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Aug 4, 2015

During the 21 weeks that the iconic British Victoria & Albert museum showed the Alexander McQueen retrospective, 493,043 visitors came to see it. That's the highest number the museum has ever had for a show.

Visitors came from 87 countries, mainly the US and Europe, but also from East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, among others. Celebrities to come see the show included Lady Gaga, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West.

Martin Roth, Director of the V&A said: “We are absolutely delighted that nearly half a million people have visited the V&A to see Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty which is, I am proud to say, one of the most unpredictable, dramatic and spectacular exhibitions we have ever staged. The response has been phenomenal and has exceeded our expectations in so many ways. We have had visitors attending from every corner of the globe and it’s been a remarkable experience to stay open around the clock for the first time ever to give even more people the opportunity to see this special show in McQueen’s home city. I am immensely grateful to the many staff across the Museum who have each contributed to the success of the exhibition, in particular our V&A curator Claire Wilcox. ”

The online audience totaled 3.5 million, including some 2.95 million visits to the exhibition webpages, and the exhibition also boosted membership applications to the V&A, as that guaranteed entry. V&A received 18,000 new members during the exhibition run.

It is fitting that the show was such a success at the V&A, which was one of the first museums to show McQueen’s work in 1997.