When I attended the fledgling fashion show of the provocative Alexander McQueen at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the lower east side one snowy evening, little did I know that he would become one of the world's most renowned designers.

Sadly, McQueen recently took his life at age 40, leaving behind endless radical creations. Run, do not walk, to the Met's Costume Institute to view over 100 works and mind-altering accessories from the the early 1990's to his very last collection. While his London fashion house is in the capable hands of the very private Sarah Burton, few will ever forget such masterpieces as a glass-vitrine encased gown covered with silk and fresh flowers (that are slowly disintegrating) or a flowing silk taffeta cape or a hat of butterflies.

As his fellow design student Stella McCartney remarked at the Met's press conference, "Who would have thought?"

The exhibition closes on July 31st.

Design by Alexander McQueen, photo by Rose Hartman

Sarah Burton, photo by Rose Hartman

Anna Wintour, photo by Rose Hartman

Stella McCartney, photo by Rose Hartman

Design by Alexander McQueen, photo by Rose Hartman