British designer Alexander McQueen designed 36 womenswear collections under his eponymous fashion label during a career that lasted from 1992 until his death in 2010. [a] [3] As a designer, McQueen was known for sharp tailoring, historicism, and imaginative designs that often verged into the controversial. [4] His runway shows were known for being dramatic and theatrical, with some including elements of performance art. [5] [6] McQueen drew inspiration for his clothing and shows from a broad range of sources, including film, history, nature, world religions, art, and his own life. [12] Through his work, he explored themes such as romanticism, sexuality, and death. [13] [14]
He used unusual cuts and silhouettes to play with the human form, making wearers appear inhuman. [15] Early in his career, he originated an extreme low-rise trouser cut called the "bumster", which became a brand signature. [16] Other significant designs include the skull scarf, another brand signature, and the armadillo shoe, often worn by singer Lady Gaga. [17] [18]
Womenswear was the focus of McQueen's career. In his early collections, he sometimes presented menswear or had male models walk in the shows, but his label did not have a regular menswear line until 2004. [19] [20] From 1996 to October 2001, McQueen was – in addition to his responsibilities for his own label – head designer at French fashion house Givenchy, for which he produced both haute couture and ready-to-wear collections each season. [8] [21] [22] This article concerns itself with McQueen's own-label womenswear collections.
Collection | Season | Show date | Show location | Themes and inspiration | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims | 1992 graduation collection | 16 March 1992 [23] [24] | Duke of York's Headquarters, London [b] [23] [24] | London serial killer Jack the Ripper and prostitution in the Victorian era, particularly their practice of selling locks of hair [29] [30] | Thesis collection for Master's degree in fashion at Central Saint Martins; purchased in its entirety by editor Isabella Blow [24] |
Taxi Driver | Autumn/Winter 1993 | March 1993 [24] | The Ritz Hotel, London [24] | Taxi Driver , a 1976 neo-noir film by Martin Scorsese; to a lesser extent McQueen's taxi driver father [31] [32] | Debut of bumster trousers; exhibited rather than shown on runway; [c] no pieces survive as entire collection was accidentally lost immediately following the exhibit [33] [16] |
Nihilism | Spring/Summer 1994 | 18 October 1993 [34] | Bluebird Garage, London [34] | Eclectic collection with no straightforward theme, elements of primitivism, pushback against feminine womenswear [35] [36] [37] | First professional catwalk show [37] |
Banshee | Autumn/Winter 1994 | 26 February 1994 [38] | Café de Paris, London [1] | The Gaelic banshee, a spirit whose wailing foretells death; romanticised survival through tragedy [38] | Isabella Blow walked in the show [38] |
The Birds | Spring/Summer 1995 | 10 September 1994 [39] | Bagley's warehouse, London [39] | The Birds, a 1963 natural horror film by Alfred Hitchcock; ornithology; the mathematical designs of graphic artist M. C. Escher [40] | First McQueen show styled by long-time collaborator Katy England [39] |
Highland Rape | Autumn/Winter 1995 | 13 March 1995 [34] | Natural History Museum, London [34] | English violence towards Scotland, especially the Jacobite risings and the Highland Clearances [41] | First critically-significant collection, led to 1996 hiring by Givenchy [41] |
The Hunger | Spring/Summer 1996 | 23 October 1995 [34] | Natural History Museum, London [34] | The Hunger, a 1983 erotic horror film featuring vampires [42] | First time McQueen showed menswear; first show produced by Sam Gainsbury, who would produce every subsequent show [42] |
Dante | Autumn/Winter 1996 | 1 March 1996 [43] | Christ Church, Spitalfields, London [43] | Religion and warfare; named for Dante's Inferno , a 14th-century epic poem describing Hell [42] | First appearance of English supermodel Kate Moss in a McQueen show [42] |
Bellmer La Poupée | Spring/Summer 1997 | 27 September 1996 [43] | Royal Horticultural Hall, London [43] | Poupée, a 1934 series by surrealist photographer Hans Bellmer, which presented deconstructed dolls as a commentary on Nazi ideals [19] | First show worked by Sarah Burton, who became McQueen's right-hand woman; Black model Debra Shaw walked while shackled to a metal frame, generating controversy [19] |
It's a Jungle Out There | Autumn/Winter 1997 | 27 February 1997 [43] | Borough Market, London [43] | Life cycle of the Thomson's gazelle; savagery of the fashion industry; paintings by the Old Masters [19] | Set accidentally caught fire during the show [19] |
Untitled | Spring/Summer 1998 | 28 September 1997 [44] | Gatliff Road Warehouse, London [44] | Transformation and metamorphosis; human-animal hybridisation; John Galliano collection "Forgotten Innocents" (Spring/Summer 1986) [45] [46] | Originally titled The Golden Shower in reference to the sex act and retitled after objections from sponsor American Express [45] |
Joan | Autumn/Winter 1998 | 25 February 1998 [44] | Gatliff Road Warehouse, London [44] | Martyrdom and persecution in the medieval era, especially that of French folk heroine and saint Joan of Arc [45] | McQueen was photographed for The Face magazine in April 1998 in hair and makeup similar to that used in this show [47] |
No. 13 | Spring/Summer 1999 | 27 September 1997 [44] | Gatliff Road Warehouse, London [44] | Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s to 1920s; finale inspired by Rebecca Horn installation High Moon (1991) [48] | Show ended with model Shalom Harlow being spray-painted by robots [48] |
The Overlook | Autumn/Winter 1999 | 23 February 1999 [49] | Gatliff Road Warehouse, London [49] | The Shining, a 1980 psychological horror film by Stanley Kubrick, particularly its winter setting [48] | First attendance of Vogue editor Anna Wintour at a McQueen show [50] |
Eye | Spring/Summer 2000 | 16 September 1999 [51] | Pier 94, New York City [49] | Islamic culture and clothing, especially the burqa; relationship of Western world to Middle East [52] | First time presenting outside of London [52] |
Eshu | Autumn/Winter 2000 | 15 February 2000 [52] | Gainsborough Studios, London [52] [53] | Named for Yoruba deity Eshu; African-inspired primitivism with elements of Victorian fashion [52] | Anti-fur activists broke into the venue before the show and vandalised the set, necessitating a police response [54] |
Voss | Spring/Summer 2001 | 26 September 2000 [55] | Gatliff Road Warehouse, London [55] | Staged as a voyeuristic look inside a stereotypical insane asylum; dresses of unusual materials like seashells and microscope slides [55] | Finale showpiece presented author Michelle Olley nude, masked, and covered with live moths, in a recreation of Sanitarium (1983), a photograph by Joel-Peter Witkin [55] |
What a Merry-Go-Round | Autumn/Winter 2001 | 21 February 2001 [49] | Gatliff Road Warehouse, London [49] | Dark underside of carnivals and circuses; Child Catcher villain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) [55] | Final presentation at Gatliff Road; first appearance of skull print that is now a signature of the brand [55] |
The Dance of the Twisted Bull | Spring/Summer 2002 | 6 October 2001 [56] | Stade Français sports club , Paris [56] | Spanish culture, especially bullfighting and flamenco dancing [57] | First collection after selling label to Gucci Group; first McQueen collection shown in Paris [57] |
Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious | Autumn/Winter 2002 | 9 March 2002 [56] | La Conciergerie, Paris [56] | Films of American director Tim Burton, especially Sleepy Hollow (1990); English school uniforms; photography of Helmut Lang [57] [58] | Lighting and invitation by film director Tim Burton [59] [60] |
Irere | Spring/Summer 2003 | 5 October 2002 [56] | Grande halle de la Villette, Paris [56] | Three-phase narrative: shipwrecked pirates, drowned maidens in black, and birds of paradise [61] | Debut of the "oyster dress", a riff on a 1987 design by John Galliano called the "shellfish dress" [62] [63] |
Scanners | Autumn/Winter 2003 | 8 March 2003 [64] | Grande halle de la Villette, Paris [64] | Journey eastward through the clothing of northern Eurasia: Siberia and the Russian Far East, Tibet, and Japan [61] [65] | Clear plastic wind tunnel was suspended over the runway for some models to walk through [66] |
Deliverance | Spring/Summer 2004 | 10 October 2003 [64] | Salle Wagram, Paris [64] | Depression-era fashion, expressed as dance performance based on 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? [67] | Choreography by dancer Les Child; McQueen's usual severe tailoring was dropped to enable the models to dance [68] |
Pantheon ad Lucem | Autumn/Winter 2004 | 5 March 2004 [64] | Grande halle de la Villette, Paris [64] | Ancient Greek draped garments; science fiction films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [67] | Entire title often incorrectly translated as Latin for "Towards the Light"; this is the correct translation for " ad lucem " but neglects to account for "pantheon" [67] |
It's Only a Game | Spring/Summer 2005 | 8 October 2004 [69] | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris [69] | Contrast of fashion cultures played out as chess-like game inspired by giant chess scene from film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) [70] | Chess game choreographed by dancer Les Child [71] |
The Man Who Knew Too Much | Autumn/Winter 2005 | 4 March 2005 [69] | Lycée Carnot, Paris [69] | 1950s fashion, particularly as seen in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) [70] | Show invite based on theatrical poster for Hitchcock's film Vertigo (1958); first McQueen handbag, named for actress Kim Novak, who frequently appeared in Hitchcock films [70] |
Neptune | Spring/Summer 2006 | 7 October 2005 [72] | Imprimerie Nationale, Paris [72] | 1980s fashion, including power dressing, hard glamour, and body conscious designs [73] | All models were at least 5'11" in reference to the 1980s trend for Amazonian supermodels [74] |
The Widows of Culloden | Autumn/Winter 2006 | 3 March 2006 [72] | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris [72] | Second examination of English violence towards Scotland in more mature and melancholy terms; centres the widows of the Battle of Culloden (1746) [73] | Show closed with an illusion of Kate Moss as an apparition within a glass pyramid at the centre of the stage [73] |
Sarabande | Spring/Summer 2007 | 6 October 2006 [72] | Cirque d'hiver, Paris [72] | Exploration of fragility and decaying grandeur through floral motifs [75] | One dress was covered with fresh flowers, which began to fall off on the runway in a moment of serendipitous beauty [76] [77] |
In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692 | Autumn/Winter 2007 | 2 March 2007 [78] | Le Zénith Arena, Paris [78] | Religious persecution conducted by Puritans in 17th century; ancient Egyptian religion; occult symbolism [75] | Final McQueen show styled by Katy England [75] |
La Dame Bleue | Spring/Summer 2008 | 5 October 2007 [78] | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris [78] | Reinvention through fashion; avian and butterfly motifs; personal style of Isabella Blow [79] [80] | Collaboration with Philip Treacy to memorialise their mutual friend Isabella Blow, who committed suicide in May 2007 [79] |
The Girl Who Lived in the Tree | Autumn/Winter 2008 | 29 February 2008 [81] | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris [78] | Fairy tale narrative about a girl who lived in a tree; British culture and national symbols; clothing of India during the British Raj [79] | Philip Treacy created a single headpiece for the collection: an enormous peacock with fanned tail, made from driftwood and sea fan coral [82] |
Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection | Spring/Summer 2009 | 3 October 2008 [83] | Le Centquatre, Paris [83] | Beauty of nature contrasted with the impact of human industry [84] | First of final three collections which shared a theme of the destruction of nature by humanity [85] |
The Horn of Plenty | Autumn/Winter 2009 | 10 March 2009 [83] | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris [83] | Dark satire of the fashion industry with pastiches of notable designers and McQueen's past works; many items made to resemble trash [84] | Creative process documented by photographer Nick Waplington, published in photo book Alexander McQueen: Working Process [86] |
Plato's Atlantis | Spring/Summer 2010 | 6 October 2009 [83] | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris [83] | Human evolution following global flooding as a result of climate change [17] | Final fully-realised collection; first livestreamed fashion show in history; debut of the armadillo shoe; debut of Lady Gaga single "Bad Romance" [17] [87] |
Angels and Demons | Autumn/Winter 2010 | 10 March 2010 [17] | Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre , Paris [17] | Religious paintings of the Medieval and Renaissance periods [17] | Collection left incomplete at the time of McQueen's suicide in February 2010, completed posthumously by his assistant Sarah Burton; title is unofficial [17] |