A perfect venue was created to celebrate Alexander McQueen’s extraordinary talent, vision, and creativity. The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York organized an exhibit dedicated to Alexander McQueen. It will showcase about 100 designs, which will include many rare creations from Alexander McQueen’s Archive in London.The exhibition will also include his iconic designs from postgraduate collection of 1992 to his last runway presentation, which was showcased after his tragic death in February 2010. Alexander McQueen expanded the fashion concept beyond his time. The galleries will feature the designer’s work starting with “Romantic Mind”, which will present his displacement and deconstruction by subverting traditional tailoring and dressmaking. The next gallery “Romantic Gothic” will highlight McQueen’s approach to fashion and relationship with Romantic Literature’s traditions such as death, decay and darkness. The following galleries will display his themes of Romantic Naturalism, Romantic Primitivism, Romantic Nationalism, Romantic Exoticism and Cabinet of Curiosities. The collections of Dante (fall/winter 1996-97), #13 (spring/summer 1999), VOSS (spring/summer 2001), Irere (spring/summer 2003), and Plato’s Atlantis (spring/summer 2010) will explore his relationship with Romantic sublime, arguments, concept of beauty and fascination with horror. Alexander McQueen’s signature pieces like the kimono jacket, the Origami frock coat, and the bumster pants will be available for public viewing at the museum. The pieces in 8 pictures were photographed by Sølve Sundsbø, for which the models were transformed to look like mannequins by using makeup and technology. Alexander McQueen’s artistry is spectacular and breathtaking. The exhibit will run from May 4th 2011 until the 31st of July at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. ©
Ensemble, Dante, Fall/Winter 1996-97
Dress, Sarabande, Spring/Summer 2007
Dress, Fall/Winter 2010-11
Dress, Widows of Cullodon, Fall/Winter 2006-2007
Dress, #13, Spring/Summer 1999
Dress, VOSS, Spring/Summer 2001
Dress, Fall/Winter 2010
Ensemble, Plato’s Atlantis, Spring/Summer 2010
Andrew Bolton: This particular dress came from a collection called VOSS, which was all about beauty. And I think one of McQueen’s greatest legacies was how he would challenge normative conventions of beauty and challenge your expectations of beauty — what we mean by beauty. This particular one is made out of ostrich feathers dyed red. And the glass slides are actually microscope slides that have been painted red to give the idea of blood underneath. And there’s a wonderful quote in association with this dress, where he talks about how there’s blood beneath every layer of skin. And it’s an incredible, again, very powerful, powerful piece.
In McQueen’s Words
“There’s blood beneath every layer of skin.”
The Observer Magazine, October 7, 2001
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) Dress
Plato’s Atlantis, spring/summer 2010
Gray wool and silk/synthetic knit printed in jellyfish pattern
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
Andrew Bolton: As you can see here, McQueen designed many permutations of the frock coat. He made this one for the 2010 collection, Plato’s Atlantis. Here we have Sarah Burton—who was McQueen’s head designer for fourteen years—talk about the collection.
Sarah Burton: He was interested in this concept of hybrid. With those tailored pieces, specifically; they had tailored arms, but the body was jersey. So there’s this weird sort of hybrid and juxtapositioning of different fabrics and how would they react together.
So he took these jersey shifts, put them on the mannequin, and then cut into all of these tailored pieces and morphed the two together. When you watched him cut on the stand, it gave you goose bumps because he had a sort of bravery. He was never afraid of anything. It was never, “Oh, this is not going to work.” He was so confident and so clear about the way that he was doing things, and that was, I think . . . part of his genius is his knowledge of every single level of making clothes.
I remember on the last collection he did, he actually—on a piece of felt with a piece of chalk—chalked out a frock coat by eye, cut it out, and pinned it on a dummy and it was a perfect fit. That’s how familiar he was with that piece of clothing.
In McQueen’s Words
“I like to think of myself as a plastic surgeon with a knife.”
Wynn, Winter 2007/08
“With me, metamorphosis is a bit like plastic surgery, but less drastic. I try to have the same effect with my clothes. But ultimately I do this to transform mentalities more than the body. I try and modify fashion like a scientist by offering what is relevant to today and what will continue to be so tomorrow.”
Numéro, December 2007
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) Jacket
Joan, autumn/winter 1998–99
Black cashmere
Courtesy of Janet Fischgrund
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
In McQueen’s Words
“My designing is done mainly during fittings. I change the cut.”
Self Service, Spring/Summer 2002
“[Through cutting, I try] to draw attention to our unrelenting desire for perfection. The body parts that I focus on change depending on the inspirations and references for the collection and what silhouettes they demand.”
Muse, December 2008
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) Jacket
It’s a Jungle Out There, autumn/winter 1997–98
Silk/cotton twill printed in Hieronymus Bosch pattern
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
In McQueen’s Words
“When you see a woman wearing McQueen, there’s a certain hardness to the clothes that makes her look powerful. It kind of fends people off.”
The Guardian, September 19, 2005
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) “Bumster” Skirt
Highland Rape, autumn/winter 1995–96 (re-edition from original pattern)
Black silk taffeta
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
Andrew Bolton: One of his most iconic designs in this particular gallery is the “bumster.” And there’s a lot of mythology around the bumster—that he was inspired by the builder’s bum. In McQueen’s mind, it was an experiment in elongating the body. For McQueen, the most exciting part of anybody’s body, male or female, was the bottom of the spine. And the bumsters is really about showcasing that part of the body.
Mira Hyde: My name is Mira Hyde, and I was living in the East End in an area called Hoxton Square, and Lee had moved into my building. He found out that I was a male groomer—I did hair and makeup for men—and invited me to do his next show. And that was how I first met Lee.
I was given a lot of the bumsters because I was quite small and I could wear them. It made you feel taller, especially when you wore them with heels, because then all of a sudden, you just look incredibly long legged and very long torsoed. The bumcrack . . . sometimes you could see a bit of it, and sometimes it was just above it, but normally you would see just a touch. It was like a bum cleavage, and depending where I went, I would expose it, or I would wear a long shirt, depending on where I was. But I always got commented on it, everywhere. Andrew Bolton: The bumster trouser caused a sensation when it was launched in the early nineties. I think what’s interesting about McQueen is how he would harness the attitude in the street. He was very much about anarchy and about the anarchy of the British street, the anarchy of British music, and trying to, again, harness that into his clothes. And the bumster was one of the garments that, very early on, would make his reputation as this provocateur.
In McQueen’s Words
“[With 'bumsters'] I wanted to elongate the body, not just show the bum. To me, that part of the body—not so much the buttocks, but the bottom of the spine—that’s the most erotic part of anyone’s body, man or woman.” The Guardian Weekend, July 6, 1996
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) Coat
Dante, autumn/winter 1996–97
Black wool felt embroidered with gold bullion cord
From the collection of Isabella Blow courtesy of the Hon. Daphne Guinness
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
In McQueen’s Words “I spent a long time learning how to construct clothes, which is important to do before you can deconstruct them.” Self Service, Spring/Summer 2002
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) Dress
The Horn of Plenty, autumn/winter 2009–10
Black duck feathers
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
Andrew Bolton: One of the most compelling items in this particular gallery is an ensemble that’s made out of duck feathers dyed black, which gives the impression of a raven. A raven was a Romantic symbol of death. It’s an item that’s very melancholic but also very romantic at the same time. It came from a collection called The Horn of Plenty. And The Horn of Plenty was a collection that was very much inspired by the 1950s haute couture. And you even see the silhouette here; you see the very nipped-in waist, the huge shoulders. McQueen loved a very hard shoulder and a very small waist. So even in this particular garment—even though it seems so extreme—he’s still referencing 1950s couture. He’s still playing with the proportions that he loved so much. And feathers play such an important role in McQueen’s work. He loved birds. And feathers was a material that he would revisit again and again in his work.
In McQueen’s Words
“It is important to look at death because it is a part of life. It is a sad thing, melancholy but romantic at the same time. It is the end of a cycle—everything has to end. The cycle of life is positive because it gives room for new things.” Drapers, February 20, 2010
House of Givenchy Haute Couture Ensemble
Eclect Dissect, autumn/winter 1997–98
Dress of black leather; collar of red pheasant feathers and resin vulture skulls; gloves of black leather
Courtesy of Givenchy Haute Couture
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
In McQueen’s Words “[In this collection] my idea was this mad scientist who cut all these women up and mixed them all back together.” Numéro, July/August 2002 “I don’t think like the average person on the street. I think quite perversely sometimes.” Dazed and Confused, September 1998
Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010) Corset
Dante, autumn/winter 1996–97
Lilac silk faille appliquéd with black silk lace and embroidered with jet beads
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø
strong>Andrew Bolton: In the Victorian era, each stage of mourning demanded a different color, one of which was lilac. This corset’s jet beading is also associated with mourning. Here, we see McQueen finding poetry and beauty in death.
The corset comes from his autumn/winter 1996–7 collection, called Dante. By this time, McQueen had gained an international reputation, but he was also still struggling to make a living. Louise Wilson, director of the MA program at Central Saint Martins, talks about those early years for McQueen—or Lee, as he is known to his friends:
Louise Wilson: There’s one thing you could say about Lee: he deserves every credit for what he did because it was incredibly hard when he left, and they had absolutely no money, and it was a very different time to now. And they lived in a squat. And although that all sounds very romantic, it was hell. And because of not having any money they took risks. And it sat outside of a fashion system.
Andrew Bolton: McQueen’s skill at making clothing helped him to succeed.
Louise Wilson: An architect doesn’t build the house for you; they employ the builders, whereas, Lee, in effect, built the house because he cut the patterns and he sewed the jackets. Basically, he didn’t need to depend on anybody. He didn’t have to employ a machinist. He didn’t have to employ a pattern-cutter at the very beginning. You know, if he had nothing he could still create.
In McQueen’s Words “People find my things sometimes aggressive. But I don’t see it as aggressive. I see it as romantic, dealing with a dark side of personality.”
W, July 2002
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