Alexander McQeen (1969-2010)

Alexander who?

Alexander McQueen.

McQueen was born in the East end of London the youngest of 6 children and left school at the tender age of 16. He was already making dresses for his sisters at a young age , but was given his first break when he joined Savile Row tailors as an apprentice. His next steps on the ladder to success found him working at Gieves & Hawkes , theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans and Koji Tatsuno.

In 1994 he was accepted at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, his final collection for his Masters Degree was bought in its entirety by famous stylist Isabella Blow.

In 1996 he was named head designer for Givenchy in Paris and was dubbed the ''hooligan of English fashion'' and ''enfant terrible'' by the French press-although this was thought to be more of a reference to his close cropped hair and doc martens than his fashion style and he soon silenced his critics. His 1998 show caused controversy which included car robots spray painting models wearing white cotton dresses and a double amputee model walking down the catwalk with wooden legs. His shows became known for their lavish, unconventional theatrics and his fall 2006 show, "Widows of Culloden" included a life sized hologram of Kate Moss draped in rippling fabric.

In 2000 he started in new partnership with the Gucci group acquiring 51% of his company and McQueen serving as Creative Director.

His accomplishments include the following-
-Being named "British Designer of the Year", which he won four times between 1996 and 2003
-International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards 2003
-CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) 2003

As the fashion industry is reeling from the discovery of his suicide, his genius will be sorely missed. I considered him a genius, since the cut of his garments were always immaculate. (That is what an apprenticeship in Savile Row does.) He may have been seen as a rebel at the same time, but no-one can deny that his clothes were amazing. He was also on the leading edge of technology in that his Spring / Summer 2010 show would have been streamed live over the net, if the site hadn't crashed due to the number of hits it got. The idea was that the mobile cameras on stage transmit the images straight to his website for live streaming. Go watch it! It is fascinating. His work with Nick Knight will continue to live on in this really amazing book.

For all of this, though, within two days his name has dropped from the number one spot of searches on Yahoo to not even feature and his name will perhaps live in the minds of this generation, but a new generation will grow up who will only see his name as history. Fact is that even though he had everything, he was not immune to human emotions and a sense of desperation. I find it quite interesting that I posted on this about two posts back (Subcultures Part 1).

Subcultures Part I

Name the subcultures:

Everyone can name them: Goth, Rasta, Punk, Hippie, Grunge, ..... And like everyone, we can pick a number of them out in a crowd. We might not be able to recognise the fine nuances of the sub-subcultures, but in general we either know  "Don't mess with these guys", or "these guys are harmless".

Each subculture has their drugs. Either physical powders, pills, liquids or herbs. But drugs can also be emotional and psychological. Emotional dependency is a drug which gets administered by a manipulator and the manipulated lap it up.

The psychological / emotional side is the worst, since it often comes in the form of depression. Some people, when they are depressed manipulate others, because even power can be a drug. Others, in their depression withdraw because they think that nobody cares. Self-pity can be a drug as well. So, let's talk about depression.....

The greatest story of depression (at least he had every right to be) is the story of Job. In a nutshell: He had everything going for him. He was wealthy, he had sons and daughters and he was respected in the community, because he feared God and brought the desired sacrifices (and then some) to atone for any sin he may have (even unwittingly) committed.

Then in one day he loses his livestock (all of it), his servants got killed, his sons and daughters get killed in a freak storm, when the house where they were partying got blown down. As if that was not enough, he develops a terrible skin disease and becomes an outcast and his wife utters the famous words: "curse God and die". His friends hear of his predicament and are so struck, they cannot speak for three days, but then when they do they accuse him of having sinned and he deserves this treatment from God, which he denies, since he has brought all the sacrifices that were required.

It's this just it? When things go well we praise and thank God, and when things go bad we curse him, as if it is his fault that we are suffering. If the story of Job is not depressing, I don't know what is. Job had every right to wallow in self-pity, yet he insists that "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." THAT is faith in a God who is in control and who knows what is going on. Job knew he had done everything in his power to be right with God.

The story turns out better than the beginning, with Job receiving twice as much as he had before, including seven sons and three daughters. He also was blessed with a long life (140 years) and could see his children's children to the fourth generation.

What does this have to do with fashion?

Fashion, by it's nature wants us to feel good about ourselves, and even if we don't, the promise is to at least look good as if we are ok. There are several ways in which the fashion industry capitalises on our need to feel good. I'm sure that as a woman we are drawn by the promises, where men get drawn by the visual. It is therefore no wonder that when women go through a slump, they go shopping. The promise is "buy what makes you feel good", "forget about your problems", "Look for happiness somewhere else." "I (fashion) can make you happy - for a while". All of these promises are empty, because they are fleeting. What is lasting is who we are and who we have to live with for the rest of our days.

There is a lasting joy that comes from a knowledge of being right with God, of having someone else in control who is stronger than I, especially when I don't feel like myself or feel like giving up, or when I feel like an outcast. This lasting joy comes from the knowledge of being loved beyond what I can imagine, for who I am and who will lift me up and give me hope that is eternal.