Alexander McQueen

(photo source: "RIP.....Iconic British Fashion Designer Alexander Mcqueen Dies." Nick Verreos: Where Style Happens. by Nick Verreos. <http://nickverrreos.blogspot.com/2010/02/iconic-british-fashion-designer.html>. This photo is taken intact from the aforementioned source and is therefore subject to immediate removal upon notice.)

Cindy Hsieh

   
   In an enormous glass case, one after another veiled models walked out from the backstage. Some of them wandered at the center of the catwalk, despising the audience. Others looked panicky, ripping off part of their dresses. At the end of the fashion show, a dark glass case in the middle of the stage was opened. Maybe “open” is not correct. You could see the glass walls fall smashed and all the moths in the case fly out. A woman who wore a gas mask laid down in the middle of the case, imitating the work of photography, Sanitarium (1983), by Joel-Peter Witkin.

     Entitled “VOSS” in Autumn/Winter 2001, this is one of the iconic fashion shows of Alexander McQueen’s. This British luxury brand is founded by the designer Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010), who brought low-rise “bumster” trousers to a peak development. His works could be summed up in two words: “savage beauty.” He wanted people to feel repulsed or exhilarated while watching his fashion show. “If you leave without emotion then I’m not doing my job properly,” McQueen said, “I don’t want you to walk out feeling like you’ve just had Sunday lunch.” Every time I watch his show, I feel that he gouged out the darkness from his deep heart and transformed it into sensuous haute couture works. Those models who wore Alexander McQueen’s design were just like a group of beasts ran out from McQueen’s mind. Undoubtedly, his design was aggressive, but elegant.

     At the age of forty, McQueen committed suicide by hanging himself at home. To clarify the cause of McQueen’s death, lots of people trace back to his bipolar disorder, substance overdose problem, and even his miserable childhood. However, just like the announcement published on Alexander McQueen’s official website, “At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news.” All we can do is to appreciate his devotion to fashion design and art. Although there are several fashion designers who make haute couture like art works, such as Viktor & Rolf, and Iris Van Herpen, none can ever create savage fashion design or hold fashion shows as Alexander McQueen did. Now, there is a good chance to get to know Alexander McQueen better with the help of the archive of this irreplaceable designer’s documentaries.