Hello Beauties,
I've wanted to do a blog post on Alexander McQueen, since the day I started my blog but, there's noo way I can squeeze all I want to say into 1 post, so over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be doing a few McQueen inspired posts, which hopefully you'll all enjoy!
Firstly, I discovered Alexander McQueen when I was 12/13 year olds, it was when I was going though of phase of being OBSESSED with the 90's and I started looking into 90's fashions. The era in which supermodels were born, punk was discovered and when rock 'n' roll become fashion. The leaders of the pack were of course.. the legend that is Vivienne Westwood and my icon Mr McQueen. As, I started looking into McQueen's designs, I began to find out more about his personal life, his inspirations and the lady that discovered him, Isabella Blow. Here's what I know of his story...
A Brief History Of McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen lived in Lewisham in London and grew up in a council flat. He started off designing and making his own clothes at the age of 13. He had a very unique taste when it came to fashion and a fascination with birds, which you can see in his earlier collections, from feathers he used, to the silhouette of a skirt. He was extremely creative, as well as talented. When McQueen finished school, he dived straight into the wonderful world of fashion by doing an apprenticeship, at Anderson & Sheppard on Savile Row. He built up a great rapport in the tailoring industry his top clients included Mikhail Gorbachev and Prince Charles. He also spent a brief time attending a Rosetta Studio workshops and worked with theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans. Then one day he rocked up to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, with samples of his work and his trusty sketchbook, he asked the headteacher for a job as a pattern cutter tutor but, he was the same age as the students, so instead he was offered a scholarship and he ended up getting his masters degree in Fashion Design by 1992, which is when he met Isabella Blow.
Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow for Vanity Fair 1997
Isabella Blow was a fashion journalist and had a keen eye, for finding the next best thing in fashion, which included going to the Saint Martins graduate show, where McQueen debut his collection. She fell in love with his designs and bought his whole collection for £5,000! McQueen was thrilled and gained a mentor, as well as a friend.
An outfit from McQueen's graduate show
McQueen started off by renting a cheap office, where he could be as creative as he liked and then went onto to holding fashion shows in alley ways and other cheap location, just to get people to come out and see his designs. Then in the mid-90's he held his debut runway show 'Highland Rape'. The place where the 'bumsters' were born and McQueen made his name. His shock tactics, wowed the audience and created controversy in the media but, at least they were talking about his designs and the questions on their mind was, what's next for McQueen? He went from strength to strength, his edgy designs made the headlines, as well as his show stopping performances and his client list began to grow, adding some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll, from David Bowie to Bjork.
Iconic images from his debut show 'Highland Rape'
The bumsters were born!
The idea of the 'bumsters' was to elongate the womens silhouette, as they were worn just below the hips. These were a massive trend in the 90's and worn by men, women, gay, straight and trans. Anyone and everyone wore them, they were seen to be punk but, still high fashion!
Between 1996-2001 McQueen signed a deal with Givenchy as head designer. His first collection however was a total flop (even thought I thought it was genius!) , he even said himself it was 'crap' but, he wasn't one to let criticism get to him, in fact it encouraged him to be more himself and come up with something more outrageous and rebellious. After his first show, he found himself settling into his Givenchy image and decided to take old Givenchy designs, recreate them, give them a younger, edgier, British look and it was a total success!
Alexander McQueen for Givenchy
Then in 2000/2001, McQueen signed his fashion house over to Gucci. He would be given creative rights when it came to the runway but, he needed something pretty to put in flagship stores, which worked well for McQueen, as he loved to put on a show.
"The shows I didn't see but, will never forget" - MHN
'VOSS', which entailed a naked lady sitting in the middle of a glass box, were the audience could see in but, the models couldn't see out. A theme of romance, nature and birds ran throughout the show.
'It's Only A Game', a live chess match with models acting as chess pieces. Another example of McQueen's great showmanship.
'Widows of Culloden' Kate Moss featured as a full size hologram, dressed in ripped pieces of fabrics. McQueen's Scottish roots shone through in this collection, from his signature tartan, to his childhood inspiration for birds.
'La Dame Bleue' a tribute show to Isabella Blow who sadly took her own life the year before, McQueen paired up with Philip Treacy (a talented hat designer, who was another one of Blow's discovery's) to work on the collection filled with romance, drama, colour and some beautiful silhouettes as well as paying tribute to Blow's trade mark head wear.
'The Horn Of Plenty', this show gave off gothic circus vibes, models wore bold make-up, like a clown would and the set included parts of broken black carousals.
The one show that will ALWAYS stand out to me is 'Plato Atlantis'. McQueens last bow. I remember when this show came out in 2010, it was streamed online and I watched it as it was happening live, the show was ground breaking, his best work yet! Finally McQueen had pleased his critics and was in his prime, he broke down the barriers between art and fashion. Whenever I see pictures from that show, I get goosebumps and a funny feeling down my spine, to me, this show is fashion, this show is art, this show is beauty, this show inspires me, this is McQueen, my McQueen. Everything about this show is perfect, there's a right balance between theatrical and romance, mystery and wonder; From the models make-up, to the prints of the dresses, to the ridiculously brilliant lobster claw heels, I can't put into words, how this show made me feel when I first saw it, all I can say is inspire.
Unfortunately, 'Plato Atlantis' was his last ever show. McQueen committed suicide on 11th February 2010, following his mothers death on the day of her funeral. His mum was his everything, she stood by him from day 1 and watched every single one of his shows, she use to help out backstage and make sandwiches for his models, she was extremely supportive of his fashion career.
R.I.P Lee Alexander McQueen
As, I said at the beginning of this post, I will be doing a couple of follow up posts, as I feel there's so much more I want to share with you on my idol! I hope you enjoyed this little insight on McQueen's career and I hope that this has maybe inspired you, to take a look at his past shows or check out his current website, either way it's definitely worth it!
Lots of Love, Hugs and Kisses,
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