Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen is a London-based fashion design house named after its founder. The designer's impact upon the world of fashion is aptly summed up by Vogue editor Alexandra Shulmen's comment to the Washington Post: "McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/11/AR2010021101929.html http://www.alexandermcqueen.com

In June 2010, Sarah Burton was hired to be the new creative director for the Alexander McQueen label. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060402179.html

Designer Lee Alexander McQueen was well known for his unique style of juxtaposing seemingly contrary visual elements (softness and severity, fragility and strength, retro charm and sci-fi futurism) to make passionate and innovative statements with his designs. He was also widely popular for the theatricality of his runway shows, where unique staging and dramatic special effects created a spectacular experience for those fortunate enough to attend.

McQueen knew at an early age that he wanted to be a fashion designer, and left school at the age of 16 to pursue his passion. He apprenticed with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, and then went on to learn techniques of theatrical costuming while working at Angels and Bermans. At age 21 he worked as a design assistant in Milan, and then returned to London in 1994 to earn a Masters degree in Fashion Design at St. Martins. In October 1996 he was appointed Chief Designer at Givenchy, a French Haute Couture House where he worked until March of 2001. In December 2000, McQueen became Creative Director at the Gucci Group when the company acquired 51% of the McQueen label. Alexander McQueen collections are now distributed in over 39 countries through specialty shops and upscale department stores.

He was one of the youngest designers ever to win the honor of "British Designer of the Year", a title he won four times between 1996 and 2003. He has also been honored as International Designer of the Year by The Council of Fashion Designer's of America (CFDA) in 2003, a Most Excellent Commander of The British Empire (CBE) by her Majesty the Queen in 2003, and Menswear designer of the Year by GQ in September 2007. http://www.vogue.co.uk/biographies/080422-alexander-mcqueen-biography.aspx http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/int/en/servicePages/aboutMcQueen.aspx

McQueen committed suicide on February 11, 2010. His death occurred just days after the death of his mother, and only days before the start of London Fashion Week.

"When I started out in '92, I had nothing — there was nothing really in London. But it was a good time, actually, because people were collaborating. Since we had no money, no way of producing things - music, fashion, art, whatever - we all knew that we had to work together. People would produce your show for free, they'd do the music for free. Today, people have become very selfish." (Index magazine, 2003) http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/alexander_mcqueen.shtml

"I grew up with three older sisters, and I saw them go through a lot of shit, I always wanted to be able to protect them. They would call me up to their room and I'd help them pick out clothes for work. Just, you know, what skirt with what cardigan, but I was always trying to make them look strong and sheltered." (UK Guardian, 2010) http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/11/alexander-mcqueen-death-cartner-morley

"People who move in (fashion) circles never have anything to say. You know it's hard enough doing this job, I don't have to f*cking live it as well. I'd rather sit at home watching Coronation Street." (Interview with Philip Utz, 2009) http://www.trumansays.com/2009/03/alexander-mcqueen-sounds-off.html

"Migratory birds always come back to the same partner to breed. I have always been a monogamous person. I don't' have the time and energy for more than one partner. Promiscuity is partially responsible for the proliferation of HIV and AIDS.I have a very idealistic idea of what my life should be about. The road I've chosen is a clean path of monogamy." (Index Magazine, 2003) http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/alexander_mcqueen.shtml

"There are designers that I admire, but I don't look up to them. I don't really look at what everybody else is doing. That's a studio mentality. There comes a time in your life when you focus solely on what you believe is right, regardless of what everybody else is doing." (Interview with Philip Utz, 2009) http://www.trumansays.com/2009/03/alexander-mcqueen-sounds-off.html

"I’m 40 now, but I want this to be a company that lives way beyond me, and I believe that customers are more important to making that happen than press. When I’m dead, hopefully this house will still be going. On a spaceship. Hopping up and down above earth." (Love magazine interview, 2010) http://www.thefashiontime.com/2010/02/alexander-mcqueen%E2%80%99s-last-magazine-interview-love-springsummer-2010-issue/

"I think there is beauty in everything. What 'normal' people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it." (ShowStudio interview, 2009) http://www.showstudio.com/projects/mcqin/mcqin_transcript.html

"Then the models came out, dressed in short, reptile-patterned, digitally printed dresses, their gangly legs sunk in grotesque shoes that looked like the armored heads of a fantastical breed of antediluvian sea monster. McQueen, according to an internal logic detailed in a press release, was casting an apocalyptic forecast of the future ecological meltdown of the world: Humankind is made up of creatures that evolved from the sea, and we may be heading back to an underwater future as the ice cap dissolves.

"The consequences, in fashion terms? Well, it was a one-note, unmissable formula of the kind several other designers have decided is the way to communicate this season. McQueen's message throughout was essentially sunk into the short dress—a steady development of his engineered sea-reptile prints, worked into a nipped-waist, belled-skirt silhouette. The colors—first green and brown, moving to aqua and blue—were exceptionally executed and swagged, and molded across panniered structures. Each dress was a work of computer-generated art crossbred with McQueen's couture-based signature cut."

Sarah Mower - style.com

"Familiar, yet alien. Beautiful, yet at times disturbing because it is so different, and one can't look away.

"The shoes are hoof like, yet they are not mere shoes. These are more like the feet of the children of submerged goddesses and warriors who must now trod on earth. Conceptual? Right here.The detailing is intricate, as though these modern day sirens were emerging from a lost city below the sea. The fabric was digitally printed on silk, hence the ability to get sharp, clear lines, and the kaleidoscope effect when it came to mirror imaging. "

Literary Fashionista Blogspot

"McQueen did not range very far when it came to his organic silhouette. The collection was principally composed of dresses with rounded shoulders, cinched waist, molded torsos and short lengths ... But as the fabrics were so fantastical, this was probably a smart decision. These were some of the most innovative materials seen at a McQueen show. The fused fabrics looked like they been grown biologically in some lab, while praying mantis and deep sea animal imagery prints were pretty remarkable. It was biotechnology chic."

Girlawhirl.com