Alexander McQueen

“Life to me is a bit of a Brothers Grimm fairytale,” – Lee Alexander McQueen (1969 – 2010)

The British designer has certainly lived a life of a fairytale if we look at his rag to riches story, but unlike most fairytale, we read bout he never made it to a happy ending as the designer tragically died in 2010. McQueen’s meticulously crafted designs and theatrical catwalk shows pushed the boundaries of fashion into art, making him one of the most visionary designers of his generation.

McQueen worked as chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 and founded his own fort Alexander McQueen label in 1992. Many of McQueen’s designs were imbued with a strong Gothic sensibility. He loved the Victorian era and its attendant melancholia. And it’s no surprise that McQueen felt a kinship with American film-maker Tim Burton, who is also known for his works of dark fantasy.

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Alexander McQueen changed how the runway was presented, he introduced theatre, and he let you experience every breath, every song, everything there was always poetry and it all meant something. He found inspirations everywhere like his Scottish ancestry, Historical events, Alfred Hitchcock music, Yoruba Mythology, his friends, and the destruction of the environment.

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McQueen’s shows caused a shift in how fashion shows are presented; he inspired the entire fashion world. His artistic view on clothes inspired some of his fellow designers including John Galliano, Isaac Mizrahi and Vivienne Westwood, Dolce and Gabbana and Avril Lavigne all created renditions of McQueen trends.

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Although McQueen’s aesthetic is dark in places, and it was sometimes laced with references to mortality, he had a very positive attitude toward death. He once commented that, although death is sad and melancholy, it is a natural part of the cycle of life that leaves room for new things to follow.

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