ALEXANDER MCQUEEN… (March 16th, 1969- Febraury 11th, 2010)

15 Feb

On Thursday February 11th I was inspired to wite a post on Lee McQueen’s Spring 2010 Ready- to- Wear collection after watching the movie Avator.. I was comparing the trailblazing projects of James Cameron and McQueen.. and then I saw the headline… I am sooo not ready for this.. first Michael Jackson and now Mr. McQueen.. WHYYY?!!

I’ve always said that John Galliano and Lee McQueen made me really fall in love with fashion.. I remember being in Uganda; my father had just insatalled the satelite dish and the first I did was turn on the fashion channel..

I was used to seeing models clip clopping down the runway like ponies in the latest designs.. and then one day I saw a show that stretched the imagination to new heights.. the Givenchy Autumn 1997 runway show.. It was the first time (besides Galliano and YSL) in awhile that I’d seen a designer go beyond just showcasing their clothes on waif models and nothing more.. it was ART.. from the twisted braids, to the make up and the cut of the clothes..I wasn’t in love yet, but I was intruiged.. so I started doing what little research I could at that time.. I found out that years earlier while taking an apprenticeship at the Savile Row tailors he reportedly embroidered a suit for the Prince of Wales with the words “I am a c**t” (in the lining).. and then next I saw the Givenchy Autumn 1998 show which included car-robots spraying paint over white cotton dresses and double amputee model Aimee Mullins striding down the catwalk on intricately carved wooden legs.. I WAS IN LOVE..!!

Mr McQueen, I will miss the drama and extravagance that you brought to the catwalk, your original, brutally sharp style and wicked sense of humour..

Below are some of my favourite looks from different shows over the years..

Here’s what he had to say in an interview with Sarah Mower On the “Asylum collection,” where he forced the audience to sit and confront its reflection in a mirrored box for an hour before the show:

“Ha! I was really pleased about that. I was looking at it on the monitor, watching everyone trying not to look at themselves. It was a great thing to do in the fashion industry—turn it back on them! God, I’ve had some freaky shows.”

The Asylum Collection The Asylum Collection 2001The Dance of the Twisted Bull"You know how everyone is doing the "underwear as Outer wear" lately? Well McQueen and Gaultier were way ahead of time..