Page 34 - Annual Magazine 2017

FASHION | A TRUE LEGEND

THE DARK

CONTROVERSY
One of his most challenging
collections featured Paralympian BEAUTY
Aimee Mullins striding down the
catwalk, in elaborately carved
of
wooden prosthetic legs

Alexander McQueen

O

Story by Rachel Chrysostom

Years passed after Alexander McQueen’s untimely death at the age of 40 and the
world is still enthralled with the dark and menacing vision of one of England’s
most tortured fashion icons.

th
On February 11 , 2010, New York Fashion Week was just getting STRANGE AND TWISTED CREATIONS
started. The glitterati of the fashion industry were all gathered in Bryant It only took 10 years for Alexander McQueen to become one of the most
Park, when Blackberrys in the front row began to buzz in unison. respected fashion designers in the world. In 1996, he was appointed
Halfway across the world in London, Lee Alexander McQueen had Chief Designer at the French Haute Couture House Givenchy. It was
ended his life, sending shockwaves reverberating across the ocean. there that he began pushing boundaries with his designs, showing
a predilection for the strange and twisted creations that would later
THE PINK SHEEP
The youngest of six children, Alexander McQueen, or ‘Lee,’ as he
was commonly known, was born in London’s East End. He described
himself as “a pink sheep in a family of black cab drivers.” With a It only took 10 years for
working class background very different to that of many of his
contemporaries in the fashion trade, McQueen’s star shone bright Alexander McQueen to
from the moment he left school at 16. He entered an apprenticeship
at the highly revered Saville Row tailors Gieves and Hawkes, both become one of the most
masters in the technical construction of clothing. The razor sharp
tailoring, which has become a trademark of the McQueen clothing respected fashion designers
lines, was learned during a later stint with theatrical costumiers in the world.
© www.alexandermcqueen.com THE TEMPESTUOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH ISABELLA BLOW become his brand. One of his most challenging collections featured
Angels and Bermans.

Upon finishing his Masters degree in Fashion Design at Central Saint
Martin’s in London, his entire MA collection was famously purchased by
Paralympian Aimee Mullins striding down the catwalk in elaborately
influential stylist Isabella Blow. Blow has been credited with discovering
carved wooden prosthetic legs, designed by McQueen himself. His
contract with Givenchy, which McQueen had said was “constraining
the young designer, convincing him to drop his first name, Lee, in favour
of his “more regal” middle name, Alexander, and catapulting him to
his creativity,” ended in 2001.
fame. The two had a turbulent, tempestuous relationship, and Blow’s
suicide in 2007, not long before his own, led to him dedicating his entire
spring/summer 2008 collection to her memory. By 2002, a 51% stake of his label was bought by the Gucci Group, which
resulted in a rapid expansion of flagship stores from Los Angeles to
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Aphrodite Hills Resort Aphrodite Hills Resort