The exhibition, honouring the directional work of the late, great Lee Alexander McQueen, has already sold more than 30,000 tickets. Translation? It’s time to get your skates on!

The London show – which opens on 14 March – will be around a third larger than the original New York Met exhibition and feature 30 additional garments, including pieces lent by the Isabella Blow Collection and the House of Givenchy.

TNT is also excited to learn that the V&A hasacquired 13 behind-the-scenes photographs of the visionary British couturier by Ann Ray from an extraordinary body of work described by McQueen as ‘my life in pictures’. 

McQueen and Ray formed a close friendship in the 1990s and between 1997 and 2010, Ray was granted great freedom to photograph in McQueen’s studio and at his shows with ‘no guidelines’. The resulting photographs capture the frenetic activity behind-the-scenes of every catwalk show, the intense preparations for each spectacular performance as well as portraits of the designer in reflective and joyous moments. In total Ray shot approximately 35,000 photographs, all on film. 

The works acquired by the V&A include a gum bichromate print from 2002, two unique vivid blue cyanotypes from 1998, and 10 gelatin silver prints dating from 1998 to 2010. Four of the photographs were purchased by the V&A through the Cecil Beaton Fund, a further nine were given to the Museum by Ann Ray. Three of the photographs have never before been published. 

The photographs are available to view by appointment in the V&A’s Prints and Drawings Study Room. The details of all 13 photographs can be found on the V&A’s online collection database http://collections.vam.ac.uk. 

The genius designer died in 2010 at his home in Mayfair, following a suicide attempt.