Alexander McQueen - biography and personal life. Alexander McQueen's fashion heritage.

Phrase. Then darkness. Darkness, where strange shadows and bizarre figures are visible. Then an eerie and mystical sound is heard. A play of light, emotions are heating up, and then...strange silhouettes begin to appear from the darkness: hooves on thin legs, horns on the head. Fairy tale? Theatrical performance or horror film? No - this is a presentation of the best and most discussed collection “Plato’s Atlantis” by a genius and designer named Lee Alexander McQueen.

Design genius

What have you seen at his shows: transparent hats with circling moths, shoes where heels replace hooves, and other oddities that cannot be called anything other than shocking or outrageous.

Non-standard models, mystical outfits, strange outlines - all this conveys the essence and life of a person with famous name Alexander McQueen. The photographs and collections he created are the only thing left after him. A loudmouth, a hooligan of the fashion world—that’s what the public called him.

English fashion hooligan

The only British designer who created not just clothes, but real works of art, was Alexander McQueen. The biography of this person should not be considered in the details that are familiar to us - he was born, he studied, he worked and he died. These are just small facts that will not help you dive into the depths of his personality. Alexander McQueen did not like giving interviews, but if this happened, he demanded non-standard questions from journalists about his work.

We only need to know that he received the title of best designer in England 4 times and had a strong emotional connection with his mother. It is impossible to keep silent about the fact that Alexander McQueen was fortunate to live in a time when the public did not oppress the rights of representatives gay, since he was gay.

As soon as he turned 16, he left school to learn how to cut suits and got a job in a tailor shop. Soon he was dressing the elite of that time: the Prince of Wales, Mikhail Gorbachev, etc. But his bad manners turned out to be stronger: he wrote with chalk on the prince’s jacket obscene words, expressing his hatred of the monarchy, after which he was fired.

After graduating from college, he goes to train in the main countries of the fashion world - Italy and Japan, where he creates his first collections.

He loved to shock the public with his collections, which made the whole room shudder. For example, he expressed through dresses stained with dirt and blood.

The fashion industry could not leave such a rebel aside, and already in 1996, after leaving the famous French Fashion House, Alexander McQueen became an art designer there.

His fees increased every year, he was in demand, famous, fantastic, his ideas were admired, but... a tragedy occurred that shocked everyone.

Love bordering on death

Only this phrase can characterize the personal and creative life designer. Despite the fact that his shows were shocking, and McQueen himself was closed, his heart was open to two people: his close friend Isabella and his mother. In 2007, tired of constant illnesses, Isabella decides to commit suicide. This news shocked Alexander. But main blow was ahead. 3 years after Isabella’s death, on February 2, his mother passed away. Upon learning of this, the designer plunged into a state of deep depression. Unfortunately, he was never able to get out of it.

“It is necessary to think about death - this is also part of our life. Yes, she is sad, but at the same time so romantic. The cycle is coming to an end - everything must end,” said Alexander McQueen. Death did not keep him waiting long and knocked on the door. 10 days after the death of the mother.

February 11, 2010 fashion world mourned the loss of a great rebel and a fantastic designer. Died The cause of death became known only a week later - asphyxia (suicide by hanging).

Today, near his store there are always flowers from loyal fans of the talent who are still faithful to him.

Second wind

Alexander McQueen died a few days before London Fashion Week, and a month later he was supposed to present his new collection in Paris.

Orphaned after the death of its founder, the McQueen fashion house is headed by student Alexandra, who for many years was his assistant. She did the almost impossible: she was able to preserve Alexander’s traditional cut and add a touch of femininity to the collections. Sarah Burton deserves the title of best designer in England, and it is not surprising that Kate Middleton wore wedding dress from the McQueen fashion house.

Celebrity opinions on the “British fashion hooligan”

The last thread that connected Alexander with this world was severed after the death of his mother. Ideas are embodied, thoughts are spoken, and McQueen decides to take the final step... beyond the horizon.

Recognized as the enfant terrible of the fashion world. Possessing sharp mind and strong muscles, he was a solo designer for more than 10 years before joining the Gucci Group in 2002. By 2008, the “obnoxious Brit” had not only increased his company’s income, but also opened a chain of boutiques from Los Angeles to Beirut.

1970 Alexander McQueen was born in the working-class neighborhood of Stepney, East End (London). His father was a hereditary taxi driver.

1973 McQueen draws his first dress. This act causes sharp condemnation from the parents, who find it inappropriate for a boy.

1986 His penchant for design continues to be viewed negatively by the family. After another conflict, 16-year-old Alexander decides to start earning money on his own so as not to depend on his father. After leaving school, he gets a job as an apprentice at Anderson & Shepherd on Savile Row. One day, on a jacket intended for Prince Charles, Alexander writes in chalk “I am a bitch.” After the incident, he goes to work in another studio, then in a theater workshop, where he sews costumes according to original patterns from the 16th century.

1991 In the year of graduation from Cental St Martin's college, the designer, in the form of a thesis, organizes a collection show, which causes a resonance in the press. The public was shown “bumster” trousers, sliding down the hips and revealing the buttock exactly like those of the East End workers, and also a leather top, spattered with blood and dirt. The collection produced strong impression to the famous stylist Isabella Blow, who wanted to buy it entirely.

1994 Having worked for Japanese designer Koji Tatsuno and Italian fashion designer Romeo Gigli and having mastered the technologies of fashion production and marketing, Alexander McQueen opens his own brand, under which he presents a collection at prêt-a-porter week in London.

1994-1996 The period when McQueen created as a free artist turned out to be akin to a hooligan experience: the designer wrapped models in cellophane, grotesquely exaggerated makeup and used silicone pads that disfigured their appearance in shows. The shows, turning into freedom-loving political manifestations, are held on the verge of a foul: the fashion designer shows the public a black model in handcuffs, covers dresses with mud and dead locusts, symbolizing famine in Africa, and also organizes a fashion show in a church. One of the most scandalous shows of that period was the “Rape Scotland” collection, in which bloody bandages hung from under the models’ skirts.

1996-2001 For almost five years, Alexander McQueen has been the chief designer of the House of Givenchy. His work is still odious: McQueen uses a disabled girl as a model, sprinkles gravel on the catwalk, or completely refuses the services of models, replacing them with mannequins on rotating stands. He has been awarded the title of British Designer of the Year three times. At the last award ceremony, presented to him by Prince Charles, the fashion designer rode onto the catwalk on a scooter and in a wide blue jumpsuit, puzzling His Highness with his appearance.

2001 Having ceased cooperation with the House, Alexander McQueen enters into a trade agreement with the Gucci Group. Having sold him 51% of the shares of the Alexander McQueen brand, he becomes the creative director of his own label.

2010 At 10:20 a.m. on February 11, McQueen was found hanged in his Green Park flat in London. The designer passed away three days after the death of his mother Joyce and three years after the death of his friend and muse Isabella Blow, to whom his spring/summer 2008 collection was dedicated. Unexpected death designer shocked the entire fashion world on the first day of New York Fashion Week. “Alexander McQueen is the greatest designer of a generation. His death is like a piano key knocked out and broken forever. I don't know a single person who loves fashion who isn't looking forward to Lee's next show. For me personally, this is a great loss of a great professional and friend,” says Alena Doletskaya.

www.alexandermcqueen.com

Alexander McQueen (Alexander McQueen) - a British fashion house specializing in the production of men's and women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It also produces perfumes and underwear. Founded in 1992 by designer Alexander McQueen. Refers to the luxury segment of the market.

For 2014, the creative director of the brand is. The fashion house belongs to the Gucci Group.

History of the Fashion House

Brand creation

In 1991, Alexander McQueen, a student at the Central College of Art and Design. St. Martin's, presented his diploma work - the collection Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims ("Jack the Ripper hunts down his victims"). McQueen's original work was noted by fashion editor Isabella Blow. After the fashion show, she offered the designer to buy his entire collection for £5,000.

In 1992, Alexander McQueen, with the support of Isabella Blow, founded his own personal brand, Alexander McQueen.

Shocking shows and collections

Since 1994, McQueen began presenting seasonal collections. The designer wrapped the models in cellophane and gave them grotesque makeup. Alexander often turned to the image of witches, ghosts and shadows. He was attracted to the aesthetics of death. During the Alexander McQueen shows, girls appeared on the catwalk in bloody bandages, images of disabled people, vampires, and the dead. For his shocking collections and fashion shows, the designer began to be called a hooligan of British fashion.

In 1996, Sarah Burton joined Alexander McQueen and became art director of the Fashion House after McQueen's death.

In the 2000s. The symbol of the Fashion House was the image of a skull. In the early 2000s. Madonna, Whitney Houston, Jerry Hall and Julianne Moore began choosing Alexander McQueen outfits.

Extension

In 2001, starting with the Alexander McQueen spring-summer 2002 collection, the fashion house's shows were moved from London to Paris.

In December 2000, 51% of the Alexander McQueen brand was acquired by the Gucci Group.

In 2003, the brand released its first perfume - the oriental-spicy women's fragrance Alexander McQueen Kingdom. In 2004, the Fashion House presented a men's composition under the same name.

In 2004, Alexander McQueen launched a line men's clothing. In the same year, a line of sunglasses was created under license from the Safilo Group. In 2004, at the Alexander McQueen spring-summer 2005 women's collection, the catwalk was stylized as a chessboard with people instead of pieces.

In 2005, Alexander McQueen presented the oriental floral fragrance for women, My Queen.

On July 27, 2006, Alexander McQueen launched a democratic line of men's and women's clothing Mcq. It was exclusively developed by Alexander McQueen and distributed worldwide through SINV SpA under a five-year licensing agreement.

In 2008, the brand's online boutique was launched.

By 2013, Alexander McQueen had expanded its global online presence. The list of countries to which the brand provides direct delivery has increased from 30 to 100, and the number of available language versions has been added to the portal itself.

In 2013, Alexander McQueen was chosen as the face of Kate Moss's spring-summer 2014 shoe campaign for the German brand.

In 2012, Alexander McQueen and Puma presented a collection of sneakers for autumn-winter 2012/2013. One of the most interesting models was the pair The Just. It was made of calfskin and had pony fur trim.

• Samsonite

In 2006, Alexander McQueen signed a contract to create a capsule collection of luggage for Samsonite. Collaboration was presented in 2007 at the largest exhibition of men's clothing and accessories in Florence. Alexander McQueen has created two versions of the suitcase for the Samsonite Black Label line. The frame of the first imitated human ribs, the surface of the second was stylized to resemble a turtle shell. The collection was presented in three colors: white, black and brown.

On the eleventh of February 2010 to the house of this famous designer an endless stream of people came to pay tribute to the daring provocateur, whose collection shows were more like art installations than a regular clothing show. On this day, Alexander McQueen committed suicide at the peak of his career, and his suicide caused a real shock.

The talented artist, who created not dresses, but genuine masterpieces that need to be examined carefully, did not at all resemble a prim and cold Englishman. He was called a black sheep, an eccentric and the “enfant terrible” of British fashion, and the master, not paying attention to the labels attached by the press, created clothes that left no one indifferent.

short biography

Alexander McQueen was born in 1969 in London. The boy grew up as a freedom-loving hooligan, did not go to school, but it was not this that caused his parents’ disapproval, but his son’s strange hobby - irresistible desire come up with sketches of unusual outfits. At the age of 16, the teenager quits school and gets a job as an apprentice in a tailor shop; later he works as a costume designer in a theater studio and sews outfits using old patterns.

Soon Alexander moves to Milan, where he receives a diploma from the College of Art and Design. In 1992, his debut collection was released under the terrifying title “Jack the Ripper Hunts Down the Victims.” Graduate work after a brilliant show, she was completely purchased by the main fashionista of London - the stylist and editor of Vogue magazine I. Blow, and Alexander McQueen gained fame in fashion circles.

It was Isabella, who was involved in promoting young talent, who helped the future star register her Alexander McQueen brand, and his new collection“The Girl Living in a Tree” was dedicated to a beloved friend who, three years before the designer’s death, committed suicide by taking a dose of pesticides. The hooligan continued to shock the audience with unusual images and outfits: models wrapped in plastic walked along the catwalk, and their faces had makeup in the form of bruises.

After the death of his patron, a new collection of the bereaved maestro is released. The main decoration of the show, called “The Blue Lady,” is a dress decorated with falcon wings.

Shows reminiscent of theatrical performances

The genius continued to amaze: he brought models in torn clothes onto the gravel-strewn podium, an athlete with amputated legs who paraded on wooden prosthetics, and then completely replaced the models with mannequins rotating around their axis.

Critics wrote that McQueen's clothes were “unsuitable for life,” and the designer did not pay attention to spiteful critics and created works without the slightest hint of commerce. He worked with the stars of modern show business, and his outfits included Madonna, D. Hall, W. Houston, S. J. Parker and many others. Alexander McQueen, whose photo appeared every day in various publications, received the title of best designer in England.

He turned his fashion shows into a theatrical performance, where clothes became part of him. Dresses from Alexander are real art, which is demonstrated by fashion models, and the master himself stated that he does not want his masterpieces to be on everyone, otherwise the meaning of the author's message is lost. “I wanted to show people what they don’t want to see. There is poverty, hunger, blood in the world, and the interests of many are limited only to fashion. I spend money so that viewers pay attention to the other side of life,” said the designer.

Alexander McQueen: collections

His shows were colorful shows that many people dreamed of attending. Thus, the collection “It’s only a game” delighted those present with the fact that the podium turned into a chessboard, where the pieces were paraded in long dresses models.

“Cornucopia” is another sensational collection that has caused mixed emotions. Girls with vulgarly painted faces showed off outfits made from duck feathers, and each model had trash can lids on her head.

During "Highland Violence," the designer showed trousers that sat low on the hips, and girls who looked like victims of sexual assault wore ripped plaid dresses. Critics immediately called the collection "misogynistic."

McQueen, who dreamed of involving his audience in the theatrical process, at the Voss show in 2001, instead of a podium, he built a huge mirror cube in which people were reflected. After some time, the walls of the box became completely transparent and models walked inside it.

Last show

Released in 2010 latest collection maestro, who passed away so early. “Plato’s Atlantis” was dedicated to global environmental problems, and after the show the audience gave the author of the stunning outfits a standing ovation. The designer created an amazing beautiful dresses, decorated with snake patterns and images of fictional animals. Unusual image was complemented by unique shoes, which were called alien. Even critics who have seen a lot this time recognized the collection as a genuine work of art.

Suicide

The brilliant Alexander McQueen, whose biography was often the subject of gossip, made grandiose plans and dreamed of his brand for a long time was a trendsetter in style and fashion. However, the provocateur with a capital T could not survive the death of his beloved mother and committed suicide three days later. According to his close friends, the designer was in a state of deep depression. He was a very vulnerable and timid person who could not cope with grief after losing his closest person.

The collection that was released after the death of the maestro

In 2010, a show of the unfinished collection took place behind closed doors, and only the world's leading fashion designers and editors of glossy publications were invited to the farewell show. The main motive was the appeal to historical images.

I always dreamed of conveying the atmosphere early Middle Ages and it is no coincidence that Alexander McQueen turned to his art. Floor-length dresses, decorated with images of demons and angels, were decorated with designs by the popular woodcarver Gibbons, which were applied to the fabric by projecting the master's work. The luxurious outfits made a huge impression on everyone present, and the press noted that this collection was the crowning achievement of the great master of our time.

A genius nugget

Alexander McQueen, who changed ideas about fashion, created eye-catching collections, and viewers were immersed in an alluring world of wonderful fantasies. He was passionately loved, openly admired, and just as fiercely hated and misunderstood. However, each brand show was eagerly awaited, because the extravagant performance was radically different from all other shows. The brilliant creator was offered to head the Yves fashion house Saint Laurent, however, he refused, saying that he would never make little black dresses.

The genius designer did not play by established rules and awakened real emotions in people.