History •  Lee Alexander McQueen was

born in London on March 17th, 1969.

•  He dropped out of school when he was 16 and began an apprenticeship with Anderson & Sheppard, a tailor on Savile Row.

•  He had two different apprenticeships on Savile Row before he started working with theatre costumers, Bermans & Nathans.

•  McQueen acquired a great deal of knowledge in the art of tailoring during his time on Savile Row, it would ultimately become the element of design that he was most known for.

•  He bought a one way ticket to Milan when he was 20 years old because he knew he had to work for a designer, since he couldn’t afford a ticket home, there was no way he could fail in this task.

•  He got a job with Romeo Gigli, where he worked for a year.

•  After leaving Milan, McQueen applied for a teaching position at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

•  The board thought he was too talented so instead of giving him a job, they offered him a place in the graduate design program.

•  The fashion editor of Vogue, Isabella Blow, attended his graduating runway presentation and bought the entire collection for just under $8,000.

•  This would be the catalyst for his entire career and the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

•  Lee dropped his first name in 1993, becoming known as, Alexander McQueen.

•  This would also become the name of his design label.

•  The Alexander McQueen label began with an Autumn/Winter collection in 1993 that featured the controversial “bumster” pant.

•  The pant was extremely low cut and featured “butt cleavage”.

•  The “bumsters” were controversial at the time because nobody was wearing hip huggers in the early 90s. The “bumster” made hip huggers look like mom jeans.

•  McQueen’s 1995 A/W show was entitled “Highland Rape”.

•  The show was a political commentary on England’s history of abusing power.

•  McQueen nearly always explored the theme of abuse and victimization as inspiration after that 1995 show.

•  McQueen was the recipient of the esteemed British Designer of the Year Award three times.

•  1996, 1997, 2001 •  In 1997, he was hired as

the creative director at Givenchy.

•  John Galliano previously held this position until he left to work at Dior.

•  McQueen continued to design under his own name while at Givenchy.

•  Gave him the opportunity to design without any reservations.

•  LVMH owned Givenchy and provided substantial financial support.

•  In 2001, McQueen sold 51% of his business to Gucci and a year later decided to leave Givenchy.

•  He described his time there as the worst decision he had ever made.

•  McQueen continued to show the Alexander McQueen line in Paris, even though he was a London based designer.

•  He wanted to break fashion away from the old traditional ways.

•  He wanted everything to be a fantasy and to be free of the confines and pressures of the real world.

•  McQueen’s lust for escape led him to create things that people deemed unwearable.

•  Mile high heels caused models to walk out of his Spring/Summer 2010 show.

•  Tiny corsetry had even led one model to faint during dressing.

•  McQueen was accused of being a misogynist because it seemed he never took into consideration the wellbeing of his models and felt no remorse for their pain.

•  One of McQueen’s most recognizable shows is his Spring/Summer 2010 RTW show.

•  “Plato’s Atlantis” •  Based on a post-apocalyptic

world with humanoid creatures. •  The creatures were forced to

evolve from land-dwelling to sea-dwelling due to the abuse that the planet had suffered at their hand.

•  Models had prosthetic cheek and brow bones, and braids that looked like horns which evolved into fins.

•  McQueen combined his expert tailoring techniques with digitally printed fabrics to create the otherworldly feel for this collection.

•  The shoes in this collection rocked the fashion world.

•  The “armadillo” heel featured a 6 inch platform with another 6 inches of heel on top of that. These were the foot high shoes that led some models to flee, fearing they may ruin their careers with one bad step.

•  The “monster” heel was made of of strong plastic poured into a mold.

•  In February of 2010, just months after the “Plato’s Atlantis” show, McQueen was found hanged in his apartment.

•  Many of those close to him had noticed a change in his demeanor after the suicide death of his mentor, Isabella Blow.

•  Many believe that the overwhelming grief of the loss of Blow, as well as his own mother was too much for him.

•  He took his own life the day that his mother’s funeral was set to take place.

•  McQueen was friends with some of fashion’s heavy hitters.

•  Suzy Menkes, Naomi Campbell, Daphne Guinness, Kate Moss, and many more.

•  Daphne Guinness wore a custom designed McQueen piece to his funeral to show her dedication and love for her friend.

•  Naomi Campbell had been producing a Haiti Relief runway show in New York, and upon hearing about McQueen’s death, decided to turn the finale of the show into a full McQueen tribute.

Current Relevance

•  McQueen’s expert tailoring is still talked about today.

•  Samantha Conti of WWD wrote an article about McQueen and interviewed many people who had worked closely with him.

•  Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, said, “His imagination and showmanship never drowned out his fabulous tailoring. He was an artist who just happened to work with clothing.”

Signature Design Elements

•  Tailoring •  Knowledge of

world and cultural history

•  Visually shocking forms of presentation

McQueen’s Woman

•  Strong, independent, artistic, and brave

•  Wealthy and adventurous •  25-40 •  Established, fashion-

forward woman who takes risks in life and the way she dresses.

•  Isn’t worried about others’ perceptions of her.

Price Range, Sizing, Fabrication

•  Price can range from $295 for a silk skull scarf to several thousand dollars for a dress.

•  Custom designs can cost over $10,000. •  Sizing (dresses)- US 2-14 •  Silk is used in scarves and many runway

designs. •  Viscose/Poly blend used in RTW dresses to

create and hold structure.

Where to purchase McQueen

•  McQueen products are sold at Alexander McQueen stores around the world.

•  Some McQueen clothing can be found at Barneys or Saks, but they mostly carry accessories like bags, scarves, and shoes.

•  Stores like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom carry the McQueen diffusion line, McQ, which offers similar products to a wider audience.

My Point of View

•  McQueen has been one of the biggest influences on my life.

•  His tailoring work and artistic presentation are something to be admired.

•  By putting a Paralympics runner in his show as a model really shows that all he wanted to do was catch your attention and make you think.

•  Made me want to go into fashion business and runway production to help designers realize their visions on the runway.

McQueen’s Influence & Historical Significance

•  McQueen inspired many designers with his artistic presentation. This can be seen in the runway show of Viktor & Rolf for the debut of their fragrance “Flowerbomb”. The show was emotional, colorful, and full on theatricality.

•  His “bumster” pants changed the style of jeans in the 90s, everything went from high waisted to unbelievably low.

•  His exaggerated proportions have led to more structured shoulders in jackets, nipped waists, and exaggerated hips.

•  McQueen was not a designer before his time, nor was he behind on the times, I think he was perfect for the time he was working.

•  He changed the way people look at fashion, and allowed them to view it as an escape from the harsh reality of the world.

Thank You!