Eighth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium on Textiles and Dress: Lee Alexander McQueen | Cycles of Inspiration in Dance of the Twisted Bull

In conjunction with the exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, renowned scholars will explore imagination, artistic process, and innovation in fashion and art to further examine the interdisciplinary impulse that defined McQueen’s career, legacy, and sources of inspiration. 

The bullfight, or corrida, inspired McQueen’s Spanish-influenced Spring/Summer 2002 collection, The Dance of the Twisted Bull. The costume of the male matador informed the collection’s silhouettes, with accents drawn from the traditional costume of female flamenco dancers. McQueen interpreted the corrida from an outsider’s perspective, but followed in the footsteps of Spanish artists Francisco de Goya and Pablo Picasso, who both drew upon the bullfight in their own practices. Co-curator Clarissa M. Esguerra elaborates on McQueen’s collection, while Britt Salvesen, Curator and Head of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department and the Prints and Drawings Department, discusses Goya and Picasso’s artistic processes in creating their respective La Tauromaquia print series. Donor and collector Regina J. Drucker explores history, cycles of inspiration, and artistic expression that connect McQueen with artists before him while reflecting on how her Mexican-American heritage drew her to collecting the work of McQueen now in LACMA’s permanent collection.

In response to the global pandemic, the Eighth Triennial R.L. Shep Symposium is presented on YouTube as a free video series, released from May through August 2022 on the last Tuesday of each month.

Guests are encouraged to RSVP for a reminder email. 

R.L. Shep Triennial Symposia are supported by the R.L. Shep Symposium Endowment for Costume and Textiles, LACMA.