Alexander McQueen

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Alexander McQueen logo on London flagship store
Lee McQueen (2009)

Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (born March 17, 1969 in Lewisham , London , † February 11, 2010 in London) was a British fashion designer . The fashion company he founded in 1993 Alexander McQueen Trading Limited with headquarters in Haywards Heath founded in 2001 as a brand within the French PPR Group and continues since McQueen's death of designer Sarah Burton.

Career

Lee Alexander McQueen came from a humble background. At first he made clothes for his three sisters, which gave him the taste for becoming a fashion designer.

McQueen already learned as a 16-year-old craft of men schneiders in London's Savile Row in the traditional tailors Anderson & Sheppard and Gieves & Hawkes . He then worked for the London theater costume designer Angels The Costumiers . The Japanese designer Koji Tatsuno, who worked with antique fabrics, then hired him. As a result, McQueen worked as an assistant at Romeo Gigli in Milan . He then studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, where he received a Master of Arts in 1992 . His graduation collection was bought by the British Vogue stylist Isabella Blow , who would become his muse , pioneer and mentor .

Alexander McQueen

In March 1993, McQueen founded his own label "alexandermcqueen" for women's fashion and from then on appeared in public as "Alexander McQueen". His opulent, eccentric creations and wild, sometimes scandalous fashion shows quickly earned him the title of ' enfant terrible ' of the British fashion scene. Among other things, he presented blood-smeared models on the catwalk and in 1995 showed journalists his bare bum at the end of a fashion show . McQueen's trademarks were, for example, ultra-low-slung hipsters and a stylized skull . McQueen Look were always artistically choreographed and technically complicated stages . His fashion testified on the one hand to the highest level of tailoring, which was more likely to be assigned to haute couture than to prêt-à-porter , and on the other hand often from both futuristic- evolutionary and dark-morbid elements. In particular, his fascination for the animal kingdom and autobiographical influences - especially his roots in London's East End and the Scottish origins of his family - shaped McQueen's work. In 1996 he won the British Designer of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards for the first time , which he received again in 1997 (together with John Galliano ), 2001 and 2003. McQueen designed a total of 36 collections for his London label.

Givenchy and Gucci

In 1997, McQueen was unexpectedly appointed designer for haute couture for the Givenchy fashion house within the LVMH group. He thus succeeded John Galliano , who switched to Dior . Givenchy planned to rejuvenate its collections with McQueen. McQueen's spectacular creations attracted a lot of media interest, but he was unable to develop a clear, uniform line for Givenchy and presented completely new, disjointed designs every season. McQueen later lamented the dichotomy between creative design and commercial claims at Givenchy. His relationship with LVMH boss Bernard Arnault deteriorated increasingly. After McQueen had sold 51% of his own company to LVMH's biggest competitor, the Gucci group of the French luxury goods company PPR , in late 2000 , he lost his Givenchy post. Under PPR he remained the creative director of his own label.

expansion

Sample from Alexander McQueen's autumn / winter collection with a Philip Treacy hat creation (2008)

In 2002 the first Alexander McQueen flagship store was opened in New York and a men's collection was launched for the first time . In 2003 stores in London, Milan and Los Angeles followed . Also in 2003, McQueen was inducted into the Order of the British Empire and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) honored him with the International Award . In the same year, he and YSL Beauté (Gucci Group) presented the first women's perfume under his name, Kingdom ; The women's fragrance MyQueen followed in 2005 . The only moderately successful fragrances were discontinued in 2008 after L'Oréal did not acquire the fragrance licenses for Alexander McQueen when purchasing YSL Beauté. In 2005 the youthful second line McQ for women and men was added to the brand portfolio. In 2006 an ongoing design cooperation for clothing, shoes and accessories started with the sporting goods manufacturer Puma under the name Alexander McQueen PUMA . In 2007 this was followed by a collaboration with Samsonite Black Label , which lasted until 2008, for a series of high-priced travel luggage , which included a rolling suitcase in a chest design. In late 2008, McQ announced a low-priced collaboration collection for women with American retailer Target Corporation called McQ Alexander McQueen for Target , which went on sale in March 2009.

Since 2006, Alexander McQueen has designed most of the costumes and outfits for the pop singer Lady Gaga . His outfits were used in the Lady Gaga music video for Bad Romance (album The Fame Monster , November 2009). For example, at the presentation of the MTV Video Music Awards at the end of 2010, Lady Gaga wore McQueen's " Armadillo boots". The singer, who is friends with McQueen, also dedicated her special edition song Fashion of his love to him posthumously in mid-2011 .

Private life

In the summer of 2000, McQueen married the documentary filmmaker George Forsyth (* 1976) in Ibiza , Kate Moss was his maid of honor. McQueen and Forsyth separated in 2001, didn't speak for a year and a half, and eventually reconciled. McQueen's muse Isabella Blow, who is also said to have pioneered the deal with the Gucci group, committed suicide in 2007.

death

McQueen was found dead in his Mayfair apartment on February 11, 2010, the day before his close confidante, Joyce's funeral . In a farewell note, he had asked: " Take care of my dogs. Sorry, I love you. " After the autopsy , the police announced that he had taken a drug cocktail and later hanged himself. His psychiatrist also spoke to the investigative committee. McQueen had suffered from depression and various feelings of anxiety for a long time . He was considered shy, sensitive and had few friends. He was under pressure to work and it was a double-edged sword: on the one hand, he felt that this was the only area in his life where he had achieved anything, on the other hand, he usually felt very depressed and isolated after the shows . The second-line McQ fashion show planned for the following day during New York Fashion Week has been canceled.

plant

Model of the collection " The girl who lived in the tree ", autumn / winter 2008

McQueen was one of the most important British fashion designers of his time , alongside Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano . Madonna issued a statement after his death: " Lee McQueen was a truly unique visionary in the fashion world. A creator of beauty. What a tragedy. "

A week after McQueen's suicide , PPR announced that the company and the Alexander McQueen brand would continue to operate. At the beginning of February 2010, the last creations from McQueen's pen were shown to a group of invited guests at the women's fashion shows of the Paris Fashion Week. In May 2010, PPR announced that Sarah Burton , McQueen's right-hand man since 1996 and most recently designer of the women's collection, would take his place as designer. Her first collection for Alexander McQueen was presented in Paris at the end of 2010. At the end of June 2010, Pina Ferlisi, previously a designer at Gap , Coach and Marc Jacobs , was appointed head of design for the second line McQ . From September 2012 to March 2014, this position was held by the former Balenciaga and Pringle designer Alistair Carr.

Alexander McQueen offers the main collection for women and men in the top price segment as well as the second line McQ for women and men in the middle price segment. The second line was produced by the Italian clothing manufacturer SINV from 2005 to 2010 and has been manufactured in-house since then. The main line is presented for women at the Paris fashion shows and for men at the Milan Fashion Weeks . The second line was temporarily shown at New York Fashion Week and presented for the first time in February 2012 at London Fashion Week. Alexander McQueen boutiques are located in London, Milan, Las Vegas , Los Angeles, Manama , Doha ( The Pearl ), Istanbul , Beirut and Dubai . Since the end of 2012 there has also been a McQ flagship store in London not far from Comme des Garçons' Dover Street Market .

The Alexander McQueen brand is commercially successful, but compared to the other labels in the Gucci Group's portfolio - above all Gucci and Bottega Veneta - it only plays a subordinate role in terms of total sales. The fact that Sarah Burton was the designer of Kate Middleton's wedding gown and her sister Philippa's bridesmaid gown for William Mountbatten-Windsor and Catherine Middleton's televised wedding on April 29, 2011, helped the Alexander McQueen brand one greater international awareness.

Exhibitions

documentary

  • Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui: McQueen. 2018, 1h 51min.

literature

Web links

Commons : Alexander McQueen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Alexander McQueen: Privacy Policy ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), alexandermcqueen.eu, accessed on March 12, 2015 (English).
  2. Designer Alexander McQueen is dead , Stuttgarter Zeitung, February 11, 2010, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  3. "Übel Makaber" , Die Zeit, July 12, 2006, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  4. Tribute to Alexander McQueen , youtube.com, accessed on March 12, 2015 (English).
  5. ^ Claire Wilcox: Alexander McQueen. London 2015, p. 327, ISBN 9781-85177-827-0
  6. ^ Claire Wilcox: Alexander McQueen. London 2015, p. 303, ISBN 9781-85177-827-0
  7. CFDA - past winners , cfda.com, accessed on March 12, 2015 (English).
  8. Designer-Trolley - a highlight on the luggage belt ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), fem.com, June 27, 2008, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  9. ^ Contrasting extravagance - Alexander McQueen , menshealth.de, February 11, 2009, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  10. Suitcase, so kleidsam ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), parkavenue.de, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  11. McQ Alexander McQueen for Target ( memento of April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), target.com, February 20, 2009, accessed on March 12, 2015 (English).
  12. ^ McQ Alexander McQueen for Target - Available Now! , nitrolicious.com, March 4, 2009, accessed March 12, 2015.
  13. Lady Gaga's song "Fashion of his Love" is a love song to McQueen , grazia-magazin.de, June 9, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  14. Lady Gaga writes 'love song' to Alexander McQueen , independent.co.uk, June 7, 2011, accessed March 12, 2015.
  15. Alexander McQueen: Fashion king , BBC , February 24, 2001, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  16. Alexander McQueen Show: A touch of lace, a touch of SM , spiegel.de, May 13, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  17. Alexander McQueen and his last will , ok-magazin.de, September 8, 2010, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  18. Suicide: Police find farewell letters from star designer McQueen Spiegel Online , article from February 13, 2010, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  19. Alexander McQueen took drug cocktail before killing himself , PinkNews.co.uk, April 28, 2010, accessed March 12, 2015.
  20. Women's Fall Winter 2008 "The girl who lived in the tree" ( Memento from December 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), alexandermcqueen.com, accessed on March 12, 2015 (English).
  21. Stars mourn the loss of Alexander McQueen , Gala, February 12, 2010, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  22. Pina Ferlisi new Creative Director at McQ ( Memento from June 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), leolicious.com, June 24, 2010, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  23. Alistair Carr for McQ , vogue.de, September 17, 2012, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  24. Fashion house Alexander McQueen makes McQ himself again ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Textilwirtschaft, October 12, 2010, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  25. McQueen in front of the Queen , fr-online.de, April 29, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  26. Pippa Middleton - She has her sister's beauty gene , Bunte.de, May 1, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  27. The Business Impact of the Royal Wedding ( Memento from February 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), wwd.com, May 2, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015 (English).
  28. Alexander McQueen: Homage to the Designer in the Metropolitan Museum , stern.de, May 3, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  29. Metropolitan Museum - The Spectacular Robes of Alexander McQueen , welt.de, May 3, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  30. Dressed to Thrill - Alexander McQueen at the Met , newyorker.com, May 16, 2011, accessed on March 12, 2015.
  31. Alexander McQueen at the Met , wsj.com, April 23, 2011, accessed March 12, 2015.
  32. A demon of fashion in FAZ from ^ 4. March 2015, page 11
  33. McQueen (2018) in the Internet Movie Database (English)