Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2001 - 'VOSS'

Voss, arguably one of McQueen's most thought-provoking collections begins with an enormous mirrored cube in a dimly lit room. The British designer allegedly intentionally delayed the show by an hour to force the audience to awkwardly stare at themselves until the show commenced. Nick Knight described this as "an incredibly clever psychological trick."The almost unbearable self-scrutiny was interrupted by the cubes illumination, revealing a room designed to resemble a mental asylum with white padded walls and even more mirrors. 

Kate Moss backstage at 'VOSS' shot by Anne Deniau

The first model to enter the cube was Kate Moss, styled in a beige dress with cascading feathers and fabric wrapped around her head symbolising bandages. McQueen described the dressings as a representation of the aftermath of cosmetic surgery. More models appear in the cube whose heads are also wrapped in bandages. Interestingly the models are unable to see out of the cube. Essentially, the audience are witnessing the models reactions to their own reflections. Some are dancing, some trying to escape, some laughing hysterically at themselves... It becomes clear almost instantly that McQueen is exploring the correlation between vanity and insanity.

The ostrich feather dress that was dyed black and red is the most famous piece from the collection. The bodice is made from 2,000 microscopic slides dyed red to represent blood. This could signify how women are constantly scrutinised under a microscope to define normative beauty. McQueen stated in reference to this dress that "theres blood beneath every layer of skin."

Erin O'Connor modelled a dress constructed out of razor-clam shells which were stripped and varnished. This intricately crafted design showcases Alexander McQueen’s boldness and unbounded creativity. She was instructed to portray a mental breakdown and to tear the clams off of the dress in frustration, which actually left her bloody-handed after the show. For me, this was one of the most poignant parts of the show. 

For this collection McQueen took inspiration from many different mediums, including the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds. He used eagles that are seemingly attacking the petrified model.

McQueen once again collaborated with Shaun Leane for this piece modelled by Karen Elson. The violent nature of the thorny neckpiece is a recurrent theme throughout the collection, as McQueen repeatedly portrays nature as dangerous, as also seen with the razor clam dress and the eagles in the dress above.

As the show drew to a close, The mirrored walls of a box within the cube opened up and smashed on the ground sending shards of glass flying to reveal Michelle Olley lounged on couch covered in moths with her face concealed by a gas mask. This powerful finale was inspired by Joel-Peter Witkin’s ‘Sanitarium’ from 1939. Alexander McQueen wanted to make his audience question the notion of conventional beauty. He seemed to find the beauty in what we normally would not consider beautiful. “I think there is beauty in everything. What ‘normal’ people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it.” –Alexander McQueen

"One of the single most important moments in fashion that I have witnessed" - Nick Knight

Disclamier: None of the above images are mine, nor do I claim to own them

Alexander McQueen's Iconic Moments

Whilst you're all waiting to see which McQueen show I revisit in todays post you should all have a look at this video I stumbled over while procrastinating on YouTube (something I do more than I'd care to admit). This video shows perfectly how deliberate every decision he made was in the way that he could evoke so much emotion and controversy in his collections. He was a pure genius.

video posted by lanactrlaltdelrey 17th March 2013

Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 1998 - 'Untitled'

Set in a bus depot at Victoria, the background consisted of a screen made out of corrugated iron and covered in bullet holes while the catwalk was shielded by a pyrex box. McQueen began the show by simulating a storm using strobes and thunderous sound effects, however despite the over-clichéd pathetic fallacy the first few looks of the collection appeared to be less ominous than expected. In fact, amidst yellow hues, khaki geometric prints and edgy tailoring the most striking thing within the first half of the show was the inclusion of men. 

Everyone knows McQueen is a sucker for androgyny and he pushes the boundaries beyond what is controversial and shocking, especially when it comes to feminism. So it is interesting to see that he emasculates the male models by placing a metal chin brace over their face and constricting his arms within a jumper.

 

As the first half of the show progressed, McQueen's reputation as being 'the bad boy of fashion' started to become apparent as models in skimpy swimsuits that were cut to reveal their breasts appeared on the catwalk. Gisele Bundchen made her catwalk debut on McQueens slippery catwalk wearing nothing but silver tassels draped across her chest. This show put her on every other designers radar after McQueen called her 'the body', a nickname still mildly associated with the supermodel today.

Gisele Bundchen's catwalk debut, 1998

McQueen kicked the show up another controversial notch as water illuminated by yellow lights poured down onto the models. He originally intended to call the collection 'The Golden Shower' however due to its obvious pornographic connotations American Express (his sponsor) forced him to change it, thus ironically titling it 'Untitled'.

McQueen styled the models in the second half of the show exclusively in white and the rain pour added to the risque outfits by making them increasingly translucent. White muslin trains dragged along the inky floor of the tank while the models faces become more and more stained with black mascara. Skin-tight white latex and drenched material clings to the models and adds to the provocative theatrics of the show in classic McQueen spirit. 

Although the show was almost artistically pornographic and despite the fetishistic connotations the most memorable part of the show was an aluminium ribcage corset cast from human skeleton styled over a black glittery dress by Shaun Leane. As Leane was creating the corset, McQueen asked him to add a tail, inspired by the movie The Omen which featured the skeleton of a half-raven and half-dog. 

Middle image by Solve Sundsbo

The show contained an unprecedented level of nudity that oozed with blatant sex appeal, and by the time McQueen had made his appearance on the catwalk, hand in hand with Kate Moss wearing a Gold suit commissioned by American Express the 1998 spring/summer collection was cemented in fashion history.

Disclaimer: None of the above images are mine, nor am I claiming to own them. 

Lee Alexander McQueen - Genius of a Generation

As the anniversary of Alexander McQueen's tragic death looms it is only fitting to revisit his most iconic moments in fashion history. He was known as the bad boy of fashion, and each and every one of his collections were immortalised with his never ending ability and desire to shock and provoke. His shows were undoubtedly theatrical and controversial, but always a must-see. His garments and collections provided an insight into his mind and his obsession with death and satan was publicised from the beginning of his career. I won't attempt to write an obituary-type post as nothing I would say hasn't already been said and I have no words that would even begin to do his legacy justice. Instead, over the next few posts I will look back at his most iconic collections in tribute to the late great designer. 

17. 3. 1969 - 11. 2. 2010

Disclaimer: None of these images are mine, nor do I claim to own them. 

10 Karl Lagerfeld quotes that show he is the sassiest man alive.

 1. On his expensive taste.

“When I was four I asked my mother for a valet for my birthday.”

2. On his perception of body shape.

“I lost 200lbs so I could wear suits by Hedi Slimane.”

3. On his opinions of using fur in fashion.

“In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish.”

4. On not wanting children.

“Having adult children makes you look 100 years old. I don’t want that.”

5. On his iconic style.

“I am like a caricature of myself, and I like that. It is like a mask. And for me the carnival of Venice lasts all year long.

6. On listening to other people.

“I hate intellectual conversation with intellectuals because I only care about my opinion.”

7. On jogging bottoms.

“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”

8. On himself.

“I am very down to earth. Just not this earth.”

9. On Femininity.

”Elegance is a physical quality. If a woman doesn’t have it naked, she’ll never have it clothed.”

10. On Beauty.

“I don’t like standard beauty. There is no beauty without strangeness.”

Everybody Loves A Bit Of Bailey..

I think it is definitely true to say that David Bailey changed the face of fashion photography in the 60's. He was innovative, quirky and ridiculously talented as he helped create and then capture the 'Swinging London' of the 60's. Born on the 2nd of January 1938, Bailey is regarded one of Britain's best photographers. Each and every single one of his photographs oozed freshness and the image quality was unquestionable, all thanks to his beloved hassleblad. 

He was launched into celebrity status by his 'Box of Pin-Ups' which was published in 1964, that contained everybody who was anybody in the 60's: from Mick Jagger, The Beatles, fellow photographer Cecil Beaton, Jean Shrimpton to the East End gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray (somewhat controversially!). His success only continued to soar as he shot a record breaking 800 pages for British Vogue in one year alone..

Mick Jagger

Aside from his photographic success in his own right, who could mention Bailey without a particular 60's icon popping to mind? Bailey and Jean Shrimpton were a match made in heaven.. Of his lover and muse, Bailey said: "She was magic and the camera loved her too. In a way she was the cheapest model in the world - you only needed to shoot half a roll of film and then you had it. She had the knack of having her hand in the right place, she knew where the light was, she was just a natural."

Jean Shrimpton

Shrimpton and Bailey

Fascinated by the sharpness of Baileys images, and intrigued by analogue-induced frame, i decided to step away from the digital age for a day and try my hand at using a hassleblad. EVERYTHING was 10 times harder. I had to manually figure out my exposure with a little clicky-machine thing (excuse my lack of technical vocabulary), adjust to a square frame which completely altered my perspective on composition, and on top of this the lens was flipped... so if i wanted to aim my camera upwards i had to move down, and the right and left was opposite too. On top of all this, i had to manually focus each frame while attempting to hold the heavy camera still... AND I HADNT EVEN STARTED THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS... Using a hassleblad was one of the best photographic experiences i've had to date, it was challenging and it tested my patience several times... But it made a refreshing change from absent-mindedly pushing a button and then loading the image onto a cyber-world of pixelated colours. The nurturing, lengthy process of developing your film makes you love each image all the more, and believe it or not, i do actually miss that cramped, chemical smelling, pitch black room where all the magic happens. There really isn't anything more magical than seeing your picture evolve onto a previously plain sheet of glossy photo paper in seconds.

My Hassleblad Experience. Model - Natalia Dowds