From Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims, his 1992 graduate
collection, to Plato''s Atlantis, the last show before his death in
2010, Lee Alexander McQueen was as celebrated for the exquisite
tailoring, meticulous craftsmanship, and stunning originality of
his designs as he was notorious for his theatrical-and often
controversial-runway shows. McQueen found inspiration for his
avant-garde collections everywhere: his Scottish ancestry, Alfred
Hitchcock movies, Yoruba mythology, the destruction of the
environment-even the fashion industry itself. Whatever his
inspiration, however, McQueen's concept for his runway show came
first and was crucial to the development of the collection. Every
show had a narrative and was staged with his characteristic
dramatic flair. Highland Rape featured disheveled models smeared
with "blood" staggering down the runway in town clothes. In
Scanners, two robots sprayed paint on a model trapped on a spinning
platform. In Widows of Culloden, a hologram of supermodel Kate Moss
held center stage. Other McQueen shows staged models walking
through water, drifting snowflakes, rain, and wind tunnels;
pole-dancing in garish makeup at a carnival, playing living pieces
in a bizarre chess game, and performing with trained dancers in a
Depression-era-style marathon. Illustrated throughout with stunning
photography and liberally sprinkled with quotations from McQueen
and those who knew him best, Alexander McQueen: Evolution
is the story of the designer's thirty-five runway shows and the
genius behind them.
Illustrated throughout with stunning photography and liberally sprinkled withquotations from McQueen and those who knew him best, this is the story of thedesigner's 35 runway shows and the genius behind them.