Four of the most prominent designers in today's fashion are Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs. The work of these designers compelled me--the most indifferent of observers, for whom fashion was little more than a commercial enterprise that traded in images of sexuality and promoted anorexia--to think about fashion design perhaps not as Art with a capital "A", but at the very least a permutation of pop art. They made clothes that commented on the culture we live in now just as their precursors did in their time (eg. Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Versace).
Although I would never be able to afford the creations of Alexander McQueen, I never failed to catch up on his latest couture designs. There was a substance to his work that provoked one. So it is deeply disheartening to learn of his passing. I read it in the news today and was shocked.
"Throughout Thursday, reports of the suicide of Alexander McQueen, the dark star of international fashion, had swirled across the Internet, a medium that the brilliant British creator had embraced with vigor.
The death of the iconoclastic designer, known by his first name, Lee, shocked the world of fashion and the arts as the autumn/winter 2010 fashion season opened in New York. The runway show for his McQ by Alexander McQueen line, scheduled for Thursday night in New York, was canceled.
His death at age 40 also may force the industry to examine the current environment in which a generation of young designers is under unprecedented pressure to expand each fledgling brand.
Mr. McQueen’s most recent Twitter messages, which were removed after news of his death, were filled with foreboding. On Feb. 3 he had announced the death one day earlier of his mother, Joyce, who was front row at all his shows. Then, on Feb. 7, using an expletive, he said it had been an “awful week...but now I have to some how pull myself together....”
Rising to fame in the 1990s, Mr. McQueen was unique in his raw vision combined with intricate craftsmanship. Skulls, bones and images of death were embedded in his work, as was a sense of the evil, smoky, Victorian history of London’s East End, where he was born in 1969, the son of a cab driver.
An irreverent and upstart attitude was part of his character, evidenced by the cheeky comments he embroidered inside a jacket made for Prince Charles while he was apprenticed to a tailor in Savile Row.
The early McQueen shows were a wild roller coaster of imagination and showmanship that went from the designer pulling his pants down to “moon” the audience, to stage effects like spraying ink jets of paint onto his models or covering the catwalk with storms of snowflakes.
Inspired by nature, from predatory birds to writhing snakes, the designer skillfully folded exotic prints or fanciful feathers into a fashion lexicon that included plaid and tweed from his family’s Scottish heritage."
From Suzy Menkes' article on The New York Times site here.
Fashion TV interview
In conversation with photographer, Nick Knight
Alexander McQueen Interview from SHOWstudio on Vimeo.
No comments:
Post a Comment