RIP McQueen

Though this post is coming about four days late and I am probably the last blogger in the US who has blogged about this, this post is completely dedicated to Lee Alexander McQueen who passed away last thursday morning in his London home. I am taking a fashion design class at Parsons: The New School, and our homework the other night was to research a designer and look at what their design mission is and to see if they portray that in their collections. In light of Alexander McQueen's death, and considering I did not know too much about him, I decided to research him...

photocred: Rathaus

Lee Alexander McQueen

1969-2010

Lee Alexander McQueen was born in London and came from a very modest background. His Father was a taxi driver, and his mother was a social science teacher. His father wanted him to be an electrician or a plumber, but Lee always knew he wanted to work in the fashion industry. At age 16, McQueen decided to devote his life to fashion. He dropped out of school and became a trainee at Savile Row Tailors. This experience gave him the opportunity to work on his technical skills and tailoring which is what he is greatly known for. McQueen had an interest in futuristic tones, which he incorporated in his designs as well as soft draping and molding. He found great inspiration in technology and: “just months ago he was fantasizing to the NYTimes about holograms that would allow anyone anywhere to see his collections in three dimension.”

He liked to alter the shape of the body using corsets and reoccurring breastplate shapes. “He was famous for razor-sharp tailoring,” and in most, if not all of his collections he incorporated a dark side or gothic look but also very detailed and colorful pieces. When he worked on a line, he always followed one theme, usually something very extravagant though, such as portraying numerous elements of nature. In fall of 2009 he reacted the recession by exaggerating versions of all his past work on the runway, accented with props that looked like garbage piles from previous sets. Here, he wanted to portray fashion in ruins. In October of 1993, models walked the runway with their middle fingers pointing outwards and their dresses were hand-printed in the design of blood. In March of 1995, models walked the runway looking as though they had been beaten, wearing lacy dresses with hems and bodices riped open, and their hair in tangles and their eyes blanked out with contacts. Finally, his last show in October 2009, models wore platform heels that looked like aliens, sea-creatures and the hulls of ships. McQueen was always very creative and intelligent and “he felt that the buttons of fashion had to be pushed,” and throughout his work, we can easily see that he strived to do so.

You will be missed McQueen.

-Sj