Alexander McQueen

Welcome to another post fashion lovers! Today we will talk about the iconic English designer Alexander McQueen. We will learn more about his garments and his personal achievements inside the fashion industry.

Lee Alexander McQueen was born in March 1969 in Lewisham (London). It is essential to situate ourselves inside the England’s history in the 70s since it is important to understand the attitude of this designer at that time. 

As it said Vogue (2023) growing up under Thatcherism made that McQueen had a provocative, rebellious, irreverent and unique attitude towards the system. 

At the age of 16, he left school to start working in ateliers. In 1994, this English designer graduated from the prestigious St. Martins College of Art & Design in London (place where great fashion icons such as Stella McCartney or John Galliano have studied). Alexander McQueen has always stood out in the fashion industry for his innovative designs.

The website Vogue (2023) does not give much importance to the fact that the English designer is the youngest of six siblings. However, for the website El Economista.es, this fact is fundamental to understand his early beginnings of fashion since Alexander McQueen began to design his first garments for her older sisters. 

 

We highlight some of his most iconic garments and shoes.

To start with, his Armadillo shoes are classified as futuristic vision shoes. Famous for their rhinestones and platforms are considered the brand’s most popular shoe design. It is a showpiece (nowadays it can be found  at the Savage Beuty Exhibition in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London), not a shoe to be worn on a daily basis. Its heel measures 30 centimetres and makes your leg look extremely high. 

These shoes have been worn by famous celebrities such as the singer Lady Gaga in her famous videoclip ‘Bad Romance’. (Paparazzo, 2022)

Another famous pair of shoes from the brand are called ‘The Angel shoes’ due to the fact that these have the sculpture of an angel in the shape of a heel. Moreover, wings can also be seen on the front of the shoe.

We also highlight two of the garments worn by the famous designer Alexander McQueen and the actress Sarah Jessica Parker at the Met Gala of 2006 where the theme was Anglomania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion. (Alexander McQueen: Sus diseños, 2023)

These clothes were part of the Highland Rape Collection, a collection dedicated to Scotland where the famous designer had origins. In addition, McQueen designed another collection named Widows of Culloden also inspired in Scotland. 

 

The iconic jacket which David Bowie wore on the cover of the Earthling album was designed by Alexander McQueen, he called this garment the Union Jack. This piece has been in different fashion exhibitions in New York and London. 

As it states the website Alexander McQueen: Sus Diseños, one of the most important designs that the brand Alexander McQueen has achieved was that Kate Middleton chose a wedding dress from this luxury brand for one of the most important days of her live. 

However, the magazine Le Chic not only stand out the dress that this woman wore, but also garments of this brand which have been worn by other celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence in the AMPAS Governors Awards 2017 or Kim Kardashian in the Oscars of 2020. 

 

 

Throughout his life, Alexander McQueen has received different awards among them is including the British Designer of the Year Award in four different times (in 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003). 

 

Alexander McQueen died in February 2010 in London. From that moment, the company is run by Sara Burton. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Andrea Bouchot (2022), “De Kate Middleton a Kim Kardashian: Los vestidos más famosos de Alexander McQueen” en Chic Magazine [En línea], disponible en: https://www.chicmagazine.com.mx/estilo-de-vida/moda/alexander-mcqueen-estos-son-vestidos-mas-famosos-fotos [Consulta: 12-12-2023]

Celia Moya (2020) “Iconos de la moda: Alexander McQueen, el polémico diseñador británico y `padre´de la moda salvaje” en elEconomista.es [En línea], disponible en: https://www.eleconomista.es/status/noticias/10910949/11/20/Iconos-de-la-moda-Alexander-McQueen-el-disenador-britanico-padre-de-la-moda-salvaje.html [Consulta:12-12-2023]

Vogue (2023) “Alexander McQueen en Vogue [En línea], disponible en:  https://www.vogue.es/moda/modapedia/disenadores/lee-alexander-mc-queen/162 [Consulta: 12-12-2023] 

Sara Ullate (2023) “Alexander McQueen, el genio británico que revoluciono la industria de la moda” [En línea], disponible en: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/es/moda/noticias-moda/g30871233/alexander-mcqueen-muerte-aniversario-momentos-iconicos/ [Consulta: 12-12-2023]

Paparazzo 2022, Alexander McQueen y sus piezas más icónicas, disponible en: https://paparazzozapateria.es/alexander-mcqueen-y-sus-piezas-mas-iconicas/#  [Consulta: 12-12-2023] 

Alexander McQueen: Sus diseños 2023, Alexander McQueen: Sus diseños, disponible en: https://enriqueortegaburgos.com/alexander-mcqueen-sus-disenos/ [Consulta: 12-12-2023]