The Fashion Scene with McQueen

By: Halle Garrus

Edited by: Capra Fellows

 

“Give me Time and I’ll give you a Revolution.” Alexander McQueen

During the International Media Seminar we had the pleasure of having Madeleine Czigler who is a fashion and culture journalist in addition to teaching courses at AUP. It was very exciting to have the opportunity to listen and learn from someone who has been in the field in which I wish to have a career.

Her presentation consisted of a video of an interview she conducted with the brilliant and irreplaceable Alexander McQueen about 10 years ago. In this video you can see that depression and self-destruction were clearly and quite visibly an issue. This behavior is what can be contributed to his death back in 2010 when the world of fashion lost the young legend to suicide. McQueen was and will always be a legend to the world of fashion. McQueen had what anyone would call a humble life growing up he was the youngest of six children. McQueen’s love of fashion started early, he even started making dresses for his three older sisters at a young age.

McQueen was and still is known for his controversial, outlandish designs, but I believe, I’m sure along with many others that it’s the reason he leaves a profound legacy. After his death, in 2011 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City put on Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. The exhibit examines the breadth of the designer’s career from when he first started his label to the now world -renowned fashion house. I was lucky enough to visit this breathtaking presentation of McQueen’s imaginative work. I could see the highly sophisticated narrative structures that bring his ideas of class sexuality, religion, and environment in which he comprises all to display his extravagant runway shows. As I was in the middle of the exhibit watching a hologram of a woman go from a white ball and come together piece by piece along with one of McQueen’s striking dress designs. I then understood that the shows that so echoed avant-garde installation and performance art are what make McQueen a legend. I don’t know if their will ever be another like him but do hope there will be because it’s designers like McQueen who are prime example of taking risks and watching them pay off in a beautiful yet tragic way that make the world of fashion such an indulgence and who knows maybe we will have another “fashion revolution.”