To start it off. An assignment I had to do for school, a profile on Alexander McQueen, one of my favorite designers.
Who he was:
Name: (Lee) Alexander McQueen
DoB/DoD: 17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010
Nationality: British
Education: Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Influence: Stylist Isabella Blow, who purchased his entire graduation collection, and suggested he use his middle name Alexander rather than Lee
Brand Names: Givenchy, Alexander McQueen
Signature Images/designs: Skulls, “Bumsters”
What he did:
Completely changed the way a fashion show is presented. Fashion shows became another form of performance art. He incorporated choreography, art, video, lights and many other exciting aspects of performance art into his shows. His shows were energetic, and his audiences left his shows full of emotion (alexandermcqueen.com).
Examples of his most creative shows: having a double amputee model Aimee Mullins walk down the runway on wooden carved legs, having a model in a white dress spray painted by robots (Milligan, 2010), having his models play human sized chess on the runway, and having a hologram of Kate Moss appear at the beginning of a show (Knox, 2010).
Aimee Mullins with her wooden legs:
Aimee Mullins with her wooden legs:
McQueen’s designs were like no other. His clothing was by no means ‘ready to wear’, but rather a display of his uninhibited imagination and creativity. Some of his designs were very sexual, using elements of S&M such as chainmail, bondage and corsets (Knox, 2010).
His clothing also reflected history and culture, such as his Fall/Winter 2003 collection, which was reminiscent of Samurai armour, or his Spring/Summer 2007 which had a look inspired by a Victorian Bride, or his Fall/Winter 2008 collection that portrayed his vision of the British Empire (Knox, 2010).
Fall/Winter 2003
Fall/Winter 2008
Fall/Winter 2003
Sarah Jessica Parker in McQueen; a butterfly printed dress at the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards
Camilla Belle in McQueen; a dress that was named in the 100 Best Dresses of the Decade by instyle.com
Gwyneth Paltrow in McQueen at the 2002 Academy Awards; a dress that caused a stir in the media
Pop superstar Lady Gaga brought his “Armadillo hoof” shoes to public attention by wearing the 12 inch stilettos in her music video for her hit song “Bad Romance.” The shoes were said to have “stolen the show” in his Spring/Summer 2010 collection, and many model were afraid to walk the runway in these shoes in fear of breaking their legs (Knox, 2010). This same collection which was futuristic and alien inspired was said to be his best by the fashion press (vogue.co.uk).
Lady Gaga Bad Romance
Spring/Summer 2010 Looks:
One of the most well known fashion trends to come from McQueen’s influence was his use of the “bumster” pants. The pants were so low that they showed the crack of the models bum, and quickly blew up into one of the most controversial trends of streetwear in the 1990s right into the 2000’s (Knox, 2010).
McQueen was often inspired by animals and based many of his designs on them.
Alexander McQueen’s creativity and imagination on the runway has yet to be matched by any other designer in the fashion industry. His clothing was works of art, and that was why he became one of the most well respected fashion designers in the world (alexandermcqueen.com). He was not the first designer to have extravagant looks on the runway, but he brought the art to a whole new level, revolutionizing the way the public looked at fashion.
Sources:
Websites:
Milligan, Lauren. (April 12th 2010). Vogue.com.
Official Alexander McQueen
Official Alexander McQueen
Taken from Alexander McQueen’s official website
Books:
Knox, Kristin. (2010). Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation. London: A&C Black Publishers Limited.
Some images for you to enjoy:
this info you have provided on alexander is well interesting. im currently at uni and im struggling to find books that dont cost an arm and a leg to gain refernces from, please could you tell me the full name of the knox author you have used and perhaps the book title? would be much help thanks
ReplyDeleteYep, I posted it above, but here it is again
ReplyDeleteKnox, Kristin. (2010). Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation. London: A&C Black Publishers Limited.
I bought it at Urban Outfitters, I have also seen it in Chapters and online at amazon.com