Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen clothing reflects the personality of its creator - the eccentric and genius Lee Alexander McQueen.

After the designer’s sudden death, the brand continues to maintain its style, delighting with extravagant clothes and bold defiant images.

Alexander McQueen is a luxury brand name founded by London-based designer Alexander McQueen. This is the most shocking and scandalous fashion house in England.

The founder of the brand is a unique personality, a talented fashion designer, who was awarded the title “British Designer of the Year” three times at a fairly young age - in 1997, 1998 and 2002.

One of the few who expertly defined and instantly picked up fashion trends at the turn of the century. In his hands, even the most faceless colors came to life, they began to “play and sing,” gaining unprecedented strength.

Absolute opposites harmoniously combined in Alexander's collections, it was this incredible feature that made his brand so unique.

The biography of the designer is not much different from his other contemporaries. Being a native of a poor London family, he could hardly have imagined that he would be able to achieve such success, and his brand would become popular all over the world.

• Lee McQueen was born March 17, 1969 in London. He was fond of fashion from childhood, drawing sketches of women's dresses, but the family was against his hobby.
• In 1985, he dropped out of school and left his parental home, working in the Anderson & Shepherd atelier. He was later invited to the role of a costume designer in a theater workshop, where he sewed stage costumes.

• In 1989, he became an assistant to Japanese fashion designer Koji Tatsuno and enrolled at St. Martins Central College.
• In 1992, he received a master's degree with a design specialty. The master’s diploma collection attracted public attention, but a special impression was made on the stylist Isabella Blow, who bought all the ready-made outfits. Later, she had a great influence on the promotion of the young designer, advised him to change his name to Alexander, and he considered her his muse.
• In 1994, the fashion designer registered his own brand, Alexander McQueen.
• In 1996, he became the art director of Givenchy, replacing John Galliano at his post, and worked in this post until 2001.
• In 1997, the Alexander McQueen brand was transferred to the Gucci Group.
• In 2001, the Gucci brand became the owner of half of McQueen's shares. Then Alexander broke up with Givenchy, and completely focused on his brand, having received complete creative freedom. From that moment on, the success story of Alexander McQueen began.

• In 2003, the first female fragrance Kingdom was introduced, four years later its male version was released.
• October 29, 2003 was awarded the Order of the British Empire from the hands of Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace.
• In 2005, cooperation began with the sports company Puma, the designer released a collection of shoes.
• In 2006, the democratic line of McQ was created, which over time began to be positioned as a separate youth brand McQ by Alexander McQueen.
• In 2007, the Samsonite brand launched suitcases resembling a human chest, designed by Alexander.
• In 2009, McQueen created costumes for the play "Eonagata", which was dedicated to the riddle of the Frenchman Chevalier d’Eona.
• February 11, 2010 was found hanged in his own house in London. The reasons why the designer committed suicide are not known for certain. His sudden death affected many people and was actively discussed at the coming Fashion Week.

A month later, the post of creative director of the brand was taken by McQueen's assistant - Sarah Burton, who is still in this position.

Over his life, Alexander McQueen managed to release 35 collections of clothing from 1992 to 2010. Each is worthy of a separate mention, but we will get to know the most interesting and provocative of them.

• St Martins MA Graduate collection, Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims (1992)

The final collection of the designer, which is dedicated to Jack the Ripper. Unfortunately, there are no photos from the debut show, and Isabella Blow, which we mentioned above, became the owner of the collection.

However, several items from that collection recently participated in the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition, which was held at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Among the exhibits - a dress of silk with a pattern of barbed wire, which is decorated with human hair. This is a reference to women of easy virtue during the Victorian era. They sold their hair, from which they later made wigs with curls.

Initially, their own curls, packed in plastic bags, were attached to all the clothes of the designer.

• Highland Rape (Rape Scotland) Fall / Winter 1995

A provocative title was given to a collection dedicated to the conflict of Scotland and England. Models went to the podium, depicting sadness on the verge of hysteria, and put on them was a plaid clothing with cutouts.

Then, mistaking the collection, critics accused Alexander of hatred of women.

• The Hunger ("Hunger"), spring / summer 1996

The collection praised the beauty of vampires before it became mainstream. In the mid-90s, the designer used tops resembling blood bags, asymmetrical black silk blouses and trousers with cutouts on the hips.

Some skirts were decorated with deer horns, and the fragment of the horn turned into a landmark fang earring, which was powerful and sophisticated at the same time.

• Dante ("Dante"), fall / winter 1996

The show was dedicated to parishioners of the Huguenot church, parishioners of which were the descendants of Alexander.Models appeared on the catwalk accompanied by organ music; they themselves were with pale skin and bloody lips. The atmosphere in the hall was to remind the audience and the approaching death.

The collection is particularly noteworthy in that the dresses were printed with photographs of people made by the famous military photographer Don Makkalin.

• Voss, spring / summer 2001

The show has become one of the most ambitious performances not only for the brand, but also for the fashion industry as a whole. The Mirror Club and many other decorations were designed to mimic a psychiatric hospital.

The models that portrayed the mentally ill were wearing flowing dresses decorated with embroidery, feathers, and mussel shells. The heads of some were bandaged; for others, they were decorated with hats in the form of a stuffed bird.

The collection also included office pantsuits, plastic tops, asymmetric jackets. It was a game of contrasts - simple lines were complemented by hyperbolic images.

Since McQueen adored birds since childhood, this was not the only collection in which he used feathers - they were constant material for creativity and creation of incredible masterpieces.

• La Dame Bleue ("Lady in Blue"), spring / summer 2008

The suicide of Isabella Blow's girlfriend and muse in 2007 was a big blow for Alexander. To cope with the accumulated emotions, the designer dedicated the following collection to his mentor, based on her style.

These were Asian-style clothes, dresses with stuffed birds, hats imitating fencing masks, and, of course, the famous headdresses from the flock of butterflies that Philip Tracy helped to create.

• The Widows of Culloden (Fallow Widows) Fall / Winter 2006

Another collection that is dedicated to the turbulent bloody history of Scotland, from which his ancestors were born. According to the recollections of friends, he was literally obsessed with this country.

In the collection, McQueen used mainly polysyllabic textured fabrics, tartan, feathers and fur. The headdresses were played by antlers, nests, wings of butterflies and birds. The show ended with a hovering hologram of Kate Moss in a weightless organza dress.

• The Horn of Plenty (Cornucopia), Fall / Winter 2009

This show today remains one of the most spectacular and memorable in the history of the fashion industry. The designer again turned to the theme of birds, this time surpassing himself.

The theme of the collection is dedicated to the age of consumption in which we live. Models took to the catwalk in very high heels, dressed in clothes in contrasting colors.

The show was completed by two models that came out in cocoon dresses in white and black. The outfits were completely made of feathers - now they can be safely considered one of the most recognizable masterpieces of the designer.

• Plato’s Atlantis (Atlantis of Plato), Spring / Summer 2010

The latest collection of the designer, which demonstrated the flight of his boundless imagination. She calls it a kind of "end of the world" from Alexander McQueen.

The designer was inspired by the problems of global warming and life after the apocalypse. The show became the embodiment of Alexander’s fantasies, in which reptilians who adapted to life on land and under water inhabit the planet.

The collection includes airy dresses, outfits of an unusual shape with a snake print and an image of iridescent butterfly wings. On the head of the models were high hairstyles that were designed to complete the image of alien creatures.

The collection is especially recognizable thanks to the legendary Armadillo shoes (from the English “armadillo”). These shoes are of unusual shape with a high platform and a 30-centimeter heel.

They gained special popularity thanks to Lady Gaga, who appeared in them in her video, and then bought up most of the presented models.

In his work, Alexander McQueen cultivated death itself and life after death.For example, the 1996 Dante collection was dedicated to precisely this topic.

Not surprisingly, one of the characters that is associated with the work of the designer is skulls. For example, they can be found on T-shirts, as well as skeletons and images of feathers, which also played a large role in the work of Alexander.

T-shirts, as a rule, are made in neutral tones - white, black, dark blue, gray. They are great for everyday wear, and differ only in provocative prints.

Sarah Burton continues to skillfully work on the Alexander McQueen brand. In general, her collections have become more feminine and tender, one might even say more “wearable”.

In the assortment you can find coats for every taste - loose and fitted, long and asymmetrical. They delight with a wide variety of shapes, textures and styles.

Perhaps the most iconic wedding dress for the Alexander McQueen fashion house is the outfit created for Kate Middleton in 2011 by Sarah Burton. This is a gorgeous wedding dress that people will remember for a very long time.

Made of satin, it was fastened on the back with 58 buttons, and its train was 2.7 meters long. The upper part of the dress was sewn from lace decorated with patterns of flowers - symbols of Great Britain. There was also lace trim on the hem of the dress, in general, the outfit totaled more than 200 applications. He was valued at $ 50,000.

For some, McQueen’s shoes are disgusting, for others it is a delight, but she leaves no one indifferent.

For example, in 2009, he introduced a collection of 30-centimeter high-heeled shoes that resembled hooves. Some models even refused to participate in the show, considering the shoes too extreme.

As part of various collections, he came out with shoes resembling an alien alien jaw, fantasy platform sandals decorated with butterflies, and Japanese-style shoes with two heels.

After his death, delirium shoes became more restrained and concise. Sarah Burton presents collections that include fairly ordinary shoes and sandals, but they are more suitable for everyday wear.

In 2005, the German sports brand Puma entered into a multi-year contract with the designer. His house began to develop capsule shoe collections that included sneakers and sneakers with a stunning design.

For sewing shoes, only high-quality materials were used that made sports shoes especially unique - these were Italian leather, leather of sheep nappa, goats, calf, leather mixed with suede, pony fur. Of course, the design of the sneakers can be traced to the unique style of McQueen.

The collaboration of these two brands allowed us to realize incredible design, convenience and practicality, which is especially important when sneakers and sneakers went beyond the gym, becoming everyday shoes.

In 2006, the brand signed a contract to create a collection of bags and suitcases with Samsonite. Suitcases made a splash - on the lid of one model human ribs were supplanted, and the other imitated a tortoise shell.

Iconic clutches for the fashion house appeared after the death of the designer. Continuing the traditions created by the designer, Sarah created a collection of clutches decorated with skulls, which Alexander adored.

This clutch is recognizable thanks to the knuckle-shaped handle, which at the same time serves as a spectacular decoration. The design used floral and floral motifs, and the handbags themselves are made of metal and thick leather.m

Alexander McQueen glasses are diversity and freedom, combined with laconic expressiveness. All models are manufactured by Italian Safilo, so they boast excellent quality and excellent technical characteristics.

The shapes and appearance of the glasses are diverse, especially fashionistas love models with skulls that look bright and shocking.

From 1996 to 2001, the brand collaborated with jeweler Sean Lin, who created jewelry for shows.During their hard work, the world saw such incredible things as a corset-backbone, an earring-cool, a porcupine feather cuff, jewelry made of brass, copper and other unusual metals.

Later, the designer released a collection of jewelry with skulls - a symbol of the brand. It included large leather and metal bracelets and rings.

Currently, the brand Alexander McQueen has released 11 fragrances, the earliest of which is Kingdom, was released in 2003. It belongs to the group of oriental spicy aromas and contains notes of citruses, spices and flowers.

The bottle of perfume is unusual in shape, at a certain angle it looks like a half of a heart.

Several female limited versions have also been released. Kingdom Limited Edition and Kingdom Summer - lighter oriental perfume with floral notes.

In 2005, the fragrance My Queen, which belongs to the group of oriental florals, was released. It includes violet, almond, iris and other floral notes.

Judging by the reviews, the perfume can be called powdery, with a slight admixture of spices. Persistence, as in the previous case, is very high, the fragrance lasts for a long time on the skin and gives a good plume.

Several versions of this fragrance have also been released: My Queen Deluxe Edition and My Queen Light Mist.

In 2016, two more women's fragrances were released - McQueen Parfum and McQueen Eau de Parfum. Both belong to a group of oriental floral fragrances.

In 2017, another version of the fragrance was released - McQueen Eau Blanche, which belongs to the group of floral woody musk. It combines jasmine, tuberose and violet.

It cannot be denied that the departure of Alexander McQueen from life led to a change in the collections of the brand. However, being a student of genius, Sarah Burton manages to preserve the unique design and unique cut, which even today makes Alexander McQueen clothes desirable and loved around the world.