Alexander McQueen: Evolution

From Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims his 1992 graduate collection to Platos Atlantis the last show before his death in 2010 Lee Alexander McQueen was as celebrated for the exquisite tailoring meticulous craftsmanship and stunning originality of his designs as he was notorious for his theatricaland often controversialrunway shows. McQueen found inspiration for his avant-garde collections everywhere: his Scottish ancestry Alfred Hitchcock movies Yoruba mythology the destruction of the environmenteven the fashion industry itself. Whatever his inspiration however McQueens concept for his runway show came first and was crucial to the development of the collection. Every show had a narrative and was staged with his characteristic dramatic flair. Highland Rape featured disheveled models smeared with blood staggering down the runway in town clothes. In Scanners two robots sprayed paint on a model trapped on a spinning platform. In Widows of Culloden a hologram of supermodel Kate Moss held center stage. Other McQueen shows staged models walking through water drifting snowflakes rain and wind tunnels; pole-dancing in garish makeup at a carnival playing living pieces in a bizarre chess game and performing with trained dancers in a Depression-era-style marathon. Illustrated throughout with stunning photography and liberally sprinkled with quotations from McQueen and those who knew him best Alexander McQueen: Evolution is the story of the designers thirty-five runway shows and the genius behind them.