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