The Fashion Statement: Alexander McQueen's Final Show

by Kristin Young (RSS feed)
Mar 11th 2010 at 9:02AM

A handful of fashion editors got a look at Alexander McQueen's last, unfinished collection on Tuesday, making them acutely aware of the genius the industry has lost.

The 16-piece collection, half of what was supposed to have been shown in Paris this week, was 80 percent finished on Feb. 11 when the designer hanged himself at his London apartment at the age of 40. He had been reportedly distraught by his mother's death and there were rumors of a failed love relationship. Sarah Burton, who worked with McQueen for more than a decade, finished his work.

The presentation was set to opera music the designer was listening to when he was working recently. It was "solemn, funereal and even a little spooky," according to Women's Wear Daily.

Editors said the show was difficult to watch because it was soon clear that McQueen was fixated on the afterlife. The clothes had medieval and religious overtones and suggested battles between angels and demons-themes that take on significantly more meaning in light of McQueen's death. With pale faces and wearing bronze skull caps, models glided out in Jacquards and silks on which Old Master paintings by Botticelli, Hieronymus Bosch and Jean Fouquet were digitally transferred. One print portrayed hell and damnation while another featured doves. A skull, a signature of McQueen's, showed up in this collection crushed and broken.

Gallery: Alexander McQueen Fashion

As usual, McQueen's work blows you away. The push-pull between dark and light, anger and love, beauty and ugliness, madness and sanity has the awful power to drive a man to suicide, as we've learned, but it was this that made his work so compelling. You might very well be horrified by one of the pieces, but you can never look away. And when a piece is beautiful, like the Indian princess was a few seasons ago, it is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

I'm sure like many jaded fashion editors, McQueen, was my personal favorite (and I had the good fortune to meet him once). He was technically one of the best, but it was the push-pull that fascinated me. He was never predictable. He was the designer other designers watch.

Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune wrote: "In this collection Alexander - Lee - McQueen showed his sensitivity to history, his powers of research, his imagination, his technical skills and his love of women, often misinterpreted or misunderstood, but here evident in every fold and feather."

A talent gone much too soon.

Tags: afterlife, Alexander McQueen, AlexanderMcqueen, Botticelli, Fashion week Paris, FashionWeekParis, mcqueen, skulls

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

jmudgett6 Mar 12th 2010 10:46AM

His mother had just passed away and his lover left him and moved to Australia, both were his entire life. He was driven into a pit of depression he couldn't escape. He was ILL, so don't say you have no sympathy, when everything in his life was turned into a living hell in the last three years. It was completely ruined.
He was my idol and I would appreciate some respect for the dead, weather you agree with the way he passed or not.

Karen Mar 12th 2010 10:24AM

And as far as shutting my mouth, being that this is a free country and our government will protect the Nazis when they are marching,I guess it is okay for ME to express MY opinion.

jmudgett6 Mar 12th 2010 10:48AM

Spouting "Free country"? Are you 12?

Karen Mar 12th 2010 10:59AM

I guess it doesn't take much to be an idol anymore. Some words are used much too lightly today,words like "hero" and "idol". You need to look up the definition and then repeat that. My only idol is God,not some misogynistic crybaby that doesn't appreciate what God HAS given him. I already told you,yes I believe he was ill,but why the heck didn't anyone help him?

jmudgett6 Mar 12th 2010 6:06PM

You spout god, then speak about the dead like a satanist. "Misogynistic crybaby"? You disgust me! This is true art. sure, you can't hang it in your window, but that doesn't keep it from being art. Ever heard of modern art? most of it can't be hung on a wall ma'am! they're flash performances! And it DOES have a use, other designers take inspirations for their WEARABLE clothes off of the Avant-Garde designs. All they are is a collaboration of all the small ideas put into one piece of over the top clothing. I bet you didn't know that though, because you know NOTHING. Yes, he was my hero, and my idol, "someone who is adored blindly and excessively" is how it is defined in websters...how is that wrong? You're the one who needs a dictionary! He was my Idol, and I hope to be even HALF of the genius he was so I can laugh at you and your small mind.

Alakazam Mar 13th 2010 2:45AM

Karen.
I am very sad for you that you live in such a colourless and insular world.
The massive industry you call "Self indulgent", provides secure employment for thousands of people and their families in just the UK alone. The fact you do not see the point to something and consequently deride it as useless and a "Waste of time" speaks volumes about how closed your mind is to the many creative ways people can improve the world they live in. You use the specious argument, that rather than making these items of clothing, you suggest cannot be worn, people should be better occupied making clothing for the underprivileged.
You only need to do a basic google search to find out just how much the industry already massively supports causes and charities across the globe.
I should like to ask how you imagine you improve the world you live in when you make thoughtless unsubstantiated statements, that only serve to belittle and degrade a world you clearly know very little of. Is that productive?
More to the point you insult a man who had friends and family just like any of us, who cared for him dearly.
Think carefully before you reply.

Pascha Mar 13th 2010 2:58AM

Why are you behaving and commenting as though McQueen is some kind of evil person out to destroy the world?

I seriously wonder whether you have delved into the stories behind McQueen's previous collections or if you even know anything about the history of fashion. B/c if you did know anything about the latter then perhaps you would see (even if you didn't particularly like his style) why McQueen's death is a huge loss for the fashion industry. He was a fashion designer, and a great one at that. Many critics and other designers have acknowledged his talent and he had received many accolades for being good at what he did, even a C.B.E. from the Queen.

Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' was not well-received by everyone when it first came out, does that mean it shouldn't be considered good? Not everyone likes eating seafood, does that mean the overall opinion on seafood should be a negative one? Not everyone likes watching movies, does that mean movies are irrelevant? Miuccia Prada's first collection for Prada was panned, does that make her a bad designer?

Different people are attracted to different types of music, food and fashion. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that other people don't have a right to get pleasure out of it. Art is a celebration of life and people's reactions to art can never be predicted. Opinion is subjective and relies heavily on an individual's apperception.

Yes everyone can be a designer nowadays thanks to companies doing collaborations with singers and movie stars. But that doesn't mean that their designs are any better than a Central Saint Martins graduate. Anyone can be an accountant, a chef, a graphic designer. But not everyone can be a gifted one. Sarah Palin considers herself a politician, which she is, but that doesn't mean she is a great at her job.

Your overall negative attitude reeks of hostility and I'm not entirely sure what you are trying to gain from continuing this spiteful, and self-righteous tirade. It's not as if he was trying to ruin the world with his fashion.

I think you'll find that your 'God' once said something along the lines of 'treat others as your would treat yourself'. I'm not sure verbally attacking the dead will get you anywhere and you really ought to practice what your God preaches. If you are free to voice your opinion then so am I and frankly I think only a person with a cruel streak who's outlook is generally negative attitude towards everything would spout the kind of words that you have.

Your God has the ability to forgive and be empathetic towards others, two qualities you clearly lack. God is watching and if you continue to bite back and make cruel, defensive remarks in order to try and get strangers who like Lee's designs on 'your side' then it will only prove my point.

Lighten up, go out and find a cause that is actually worth fighting for. Your posturing and anger should be directed towards someone like Robert Mugabe or the healthcare issue, not at a designer who was just trying to bring a new kind of beauty into the world and inspired many young (and old) designers. I doubt with your kind of attitude you will be able to leave the same kind of legacy that designers like Hubert de Givenchy, Cristobal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent or Lee Alexander McQueen have.

And btw to answer your one of your questions, yes. People do actually wear his clothes off the runway. Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Sarah Jessica Paker, Michelle Obama and many other famous women have worn his runway looks and his less pricier Pre-Fall/Resort /Target lines were readily available and snapped up by the buying public.

jmudgett6 Mar 13th 2010 11:59AM

I kinda love you.

Alakazam Mar 13th 2010 2:20PM

Pascha.
I think you very eloquently said many things I wish I could have done.
Al.

Pascha Mar 14th 2010 8:56PM

Aw, thanks jmudgett6!

And likewise Alakazam. I find it odd that many people think a designer is solely responsible for creating one collection when, if they actually BOTHERED to dig deeper and find out how collections are created each season, it is clear that many fashion students and hired seamstresses/pattern cutters are employed by designers and numerous mills that employ hundreds of skilled workers around the world are responsible for fabricating designs when pieces are ordered by industry buyers.

And the numerous bags, shoes, brocade, and intricate beadwork doesn't magically fall from the heavens. It is also created by a large team of talented creatives and fabricated in factories which also hire skilled workers by the hundreds/thousands. So I absolutely have to say I agree with your very pertinent point about the fashion industry and the numerous people involved in the creative/fabrication process.

It just goes to show how little Karen actually knows about the industry in general. And I'm sure everyone knows that ASSuming when your opinion is completely uneducated/misinformed hardly ever adds anything substantial to any discussion. If Karen were in a room full of fashion critics (e.g. Suzy Menkes and Hilary Alexander), designers (e.g. Karl Lagerfeld, Nicholas Ghesquiere, and Miuccia Prada), and their employees her baseless remarks wouldn't be taken seriously. Especially if McQueen's family, friends, and designer team were in the room. I'm sure Sarah Burton would have a few choice words for her too.

While many designers this season have been adopting/appropriating (or should I say banking on?) the minimalist approach that designers like Raf Simons and in the past Helmut Lang have perfected McQueen was still pushing his ideal of keeping his unique view of fashion all about about romanticism, craftsmanship, and the fantastical.

If you want wearable chic minimalism for the modern day woman Karen then I suggest you stick to making positive comments on Phobe Philo, Stella McCartney and Hannah MacGibbon's collections. Philo, McCartney and MacGibbon's arguably derivative minimalist style might be more appealing to your conservative sartorial taste, that is if you even know who these designers are and which brands they designer for.

That way you will at least be saying something positive for a change instead of insulting a dead person and an industry you know nothing about. And others will be able to adore and appreciate McQueen's breathtaking archives and final collection in peace.

Lee is gone and Theysken's isn't in the design game anymore. With all the modern minimalist chic making the rounds this season it is clear how much the kind of magic these two brought to the runway is sorely missed. It is always sad to lose someone but when that someone is so gifted it makes the loss even harder. Like Alakazam said Karen, you really ought to think carefully before making more spiteful remarks.

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