Alexander McQueen

Clothing Alexander McQueen carries a reflection of the personality of its creator - eccentric and brilliant Lee Alexander McQueen.

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

Alexander McQueen is the brand name for the luxury segment, founded by London-based designer Alexander McQueen. This is the most outrageous 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 rather young age - in 1997, 1998 and 2002.

One of the few who masterfully determined and instantly picked up fashion trends at the turn of two centuries. In his hands, even the most impersonal colors came to life, they began to "play and sing," gaining unprecedented power.

The collections of Alexander harmoniously combined absolute opposites, it was this incredible feature that made his brand so unique.

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

• Lee McQueen was born on March 17, 1969 in London. He was fond of fashion since childhood, drawing sketches of women's dresses, but the family was against his hobbies.
• In 1985, he dropped out of school and left his parents' house, having settled in to work in the Anderson & Shepherd studio. Later he was invited to play the costume for the theater workshop where he sew stage costumes.

• In 1989, he became an assistant to the Japanese fashion designer Koji Tatsuno and entered the Central Martins College of St. Martins.
• In 1992 he received a master's degree with a design specialty. The graduation collection of the master attracted public attention, but a particular 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 designer registered his own brand Alexander McQueen.
• In 1996, he became the art director of Givenchy, succeeding John Galliano and working in this position until 2001.
• In 1997, the Alexander McQueen brand passed into the possession of the Gucci Group.
• In 2001, Gucci became the owner of half of McQueen's shares. At the same time, Alexander broke up with Givenchy, and fully focused on his brand, getting full 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 McQ was created, which eventually became positioned as a separate youth brand McQ by Alexander McQueen.
• In 2007, the Samsonite brand released luggage resembling the human chest, designed by Alexander.
• In 2009, McQueen created costumes for the play "Eonagata", which was devoted to the riddle of the French Chevalier d'Eona.
• February 11, 2010 was found hanged in his own house in London.The reasons for which the designer committed suicide are not known. His sudden death touched many people and was actively discussed at the nearest 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.

During his life, Alexander McQueen managed to release 35 collections of clothes from 1992 to 2010. Each is worth a separate mention, but we will get acquainted with the most interesting and provocative of them.

• St Martins MA Graduate collection, Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims ("Jack the Ripper lurking for the 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 the owner of the collection is Isabella Blow, whom we mentioned above.

Nevertheless, several things from that collection recently took part in the exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, which was held in the New York Metropolitan Museum.

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 light behavior of the Victorian era. They sold their hair, from which they then made wigs with curls.

Initially, your own curls, packed in plastic bags, were attached to all designer clothes.

• Highland Rape (“raped Scotland”), autumn / winter 1995

The provocative name was given to a collection dedicated to the conflict between Scotland and England. Models went to the podium, depicting sadness on the verge of hysterics, and wearing plaid clothing with cutouts.

Then, having misunderstood the collection, critics accused Alexander of hating women.

• The Hunger, Spring / Summer 1996

The collection glorified the beauty of vampires before it became mainstream. In the mid-90s, the designer used tops that resemble blood bags, black asymmetrical silk blouses and hip-cut pants.

Some skirts were decorated with reindeer horns, and a fragment of the horn turned into a sign earring-canine, which was powerful and sophisticated at the same time.

• Dante (Dante), Fall / Winter 1996

The show was dedicated to the parishioners of the Huguenot church, whose members were the descendants of Alexander. Models went to the podium accompanied by organ music, they themselves were with pale skin and bloody lips. The atmosphere in the hall was supposed to remind those gathered and approaching death.

The collection is particularly notable for the fact that the dresses were printed with photographs of people taken by the famous military photographer Don McCalin.

• 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 imitate a psychiatric hospital.

The models, which depicted the mentally ill, wore flowing dresses, decorated with embroidery, feathers and mussel shells. The heads of some were bandaged, while others were decorated with hats in the shape of a stuffed bird.

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

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

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

The suicide of a friend and the muse of Isabella Blow 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.

It was clothes in Asian motifs, dresses with stuffed birds, hats, imitating fencing masks and, of course, famous hats from a gathering of butterflies that Philippe Tracy helped create.

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

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

In the collection, McQueen used mainly polysyllabic textured fabrics, tartan, feathers and fur. Ol headwear played deer horns, 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, 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 devoted to the age of consumption in which we live. Models took to the podium in very high heels, dressed in clothing contrasts of colors.

The show was completed by two models that came out in cocoon dresses in white and black. The dresses were completely made of feathers - now they can be safely considered as 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 global warming issues and life after the apocalypse. The show became the embodiment of Alexander's fantasies, in which the planet is inhabited by reptile people who have adapted to life on land and under water.

The collection includes airy dresses, dresses of unusual shape with a snake print and a picture of the iridescent butterfly wings. On the head, the models had high hairstyles, which were designed to complete the image of alien beings.

The collection is especially recognizable, thanks to the legendary Armadillo shoes (with the English "battleship"). These are shoes 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 clip, and then bought most of the models presented.

In his work, Alexander McQueen cultivated death itself and life after death. For example, the 1996 Dante collection was devoted to this very theme.

Not surprisingly, one of the characters that is associated with the work of the designer is the skull. 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 work skillfully on the Alexander McQueen brand. In general, her collections have become more feminine and tender, one can even say more “wearable”.

In the assortment you can find a coat for every taste - loose and fitted, long and asymmetrical. They are pleased with a large variety of shapes, textures and styles.

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

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

For some, McQueen's shoes are disgusting, for someone - delight, but she leaves almost no one indifferent.

For example, in 2009, he presented a collection of shoes on 30-centimental heels, which resembled the hoof. Some models even refused to participate in the show, finding the shoes too extreme.

In the framework of various collections he had shoes resembling the jaw of an alien alien, sandals on a fantasy platform, decorated with butterflies, shoes with two heels in the Japanese style.

After his departure from life, the shoes of delirium became more restrained and concise. Sarah Burton is a collection that includes pretty mediocre shoes and sandals, but they are more suitable for everyday wear.

In 2005, the German sports brand Puma signed a multi-year contract with the designer. His house began to develop capsule collections of shoes, which included sneakers and sneakers with a stunning design.

For tailoring shoes, only high-quality materials were used, which made sports shoes especially unique - these are Italian leather, nappa sheep leather, goats, calves, leather mixed with suede, pony fur. Of course, the design of the sneakers can be traced McQueen's unique handwriting.

Collaboration of these two brands allowed to realize the 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 real sensation - on the lid of one model, human ribs were squeezed out, and another imitated the tortoise shell.

The iconic clutches for the fashion house appeared after the designer’s death. Continuing the traditions created by the designer, Sarah created a collection of clutches adorned with skulls, which Alexander adored.

This clutch is recognizable thanks to the handle in the form of brass knuckles, which also serves as a spectacular decoration. The design used floral and floral motifs, and the bags themselves are made of metal and thick leather.

The points of Alexander McQueen are variety and freedom, combined with concise expressiveness. All models are manufactured by Italian Safilo, so they can boast of excellent quality and excellent technical characteristics.

The shape and appearance of the glasses are diverse, especially women of fashion love models with skulls that look bright and shocking.

From 1996 to 2001, the brand collaborated with jeweler Shaun Lin, who created jewelry for fashion shows. During their hard work, the world saw such incredible things as a corset-spine, earring-claws, a porcupine cuff, ornaments 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.

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

A bottle of perfume with an unusual shape, at a certain angle it looks like a half of a heart.

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

In 2005 came the fragrance My Queen, which belongs to the group of oriental flowers. 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. Resistance, as in the previous case, is very high, the aroma keeps on the skin for a long time and gives a good plume.

Several versions of this fragrance were also 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 the Oriental floral fragrance group.

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

It is undeniable that the departure of Alexander McQueen from life led to changes in the collections of the brand. However, being a student of genius, Sarah Burton manages to preserve the unique design and unique cut, which today makes Alexander McQueen clothes desired and loved around the world.