the end
fashion and performance across the globe. On top of his
too committed suicide. Her death impacted McQueen
virtuosic technical skill, he always shocked audiences
painfully. During the media coverage that followed he
with an imaginative flair. His shocking designs have only
was put on the spotlight for under-appreciating her,
been topped by his tragic death.
to which he replied “They don't know my relationship
26 years ago McQueen, young and full of energy, devel-
with Isabella. It's complete bullshit...What I had with
oped his fashion credibility through a Masters program
Isabella was completely dissociated from fashion,
at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design into
beyond fashion.”
which he was accepted on the strength of his portfolio
These last words ring especially true for Alexander
without any other formal education. It was here that he
McQueen. There was always much more to him beneath
cultivated his talents that would later evolve into his
the clothes—truly beyond fashion. It is a shame that in
innovative and abrasive style that has earned him inter-
the aesthetic field of fashion it can come as a shock that
national fame. After sending models down a runway in
someone be so profoundly human. His death was pre-
finely tailored pieces that were symbolically representa-
ceded not only by his close friend's suicide three years
tive of violence against women, putting models in cages,
ago, but by his mother's nine days earlier. In fact he
and dressing them in alien sci-fi androgyny, the man has
passed the day before her funeral. The most popular be-
penetrated contemporary culture with his work. He was
lief about McQueen's motive circulating the blogosphere
accepted into the musically independent scene, in which
appears to be his insufferable distress over his mother.
he designed the cover of Bjork's Homogenic, and directed
No matter the talk about creative and professional pres-
the music video for her song. But his dark aesthetic also
sure, or the rumors of a bad break-up with a porn star,
has won over the many devout-diva-lovers of Lady Gaga
the answer is much more clear.
Romance music video (the shoes!).
McQueen's February 25th funeral marked the loss of a fashion icon and the departure of an exceptional man.
The unique range and style of his entire career rep-
As for why he did it will remain a mystery. No matter our
resents an immediate and accessible body of work that
analysis on the man by his body of work, McQueen was a
taps into the darker corners of our minds. This idiosyn-
man who was bereaved of his closest loved ones, a man
cratic talent to create matched by his technical skill has
who was haunted by break-ups and drug use. And he
made him a huge cross-culture success. His dark ten-
was a man who hated the superficiality of Hollywood. To
dencies and his dedication to his work as a serious art
think of it as losing someone we knew, to think we know
form made him like none other—a true tortured artist.
what he felt because we liked his clothes is a difficult
He detested the superficial face of Hollywood and fash-
leap to make. His death most simply and sadly seems
ion media in which he was destined to thrive. It creat-
to be a bitter reminder of how susceptible everyone is to
ed a disconnect for him with his friends and his iden-
humanness. His rise to prominence from such a normal
tity. Three years ago a particular incident tore McQueen
life does not immunize him from human tragedy. But the
apart.
beauty of McQueen was that his tragic emotion fueled
His fashion career took off at the approval of famed
him. His work always transcended an emotional thresh-
style icon Isabella Blow, who bought his entire thesis
old that will make his death so truly sad. Even with the
collection upon finishing his masters. The two became
purity that always manifest itself in his work, it was not
close. It was she who allegedly persuaded him to go by
enough to satisfy his beautiful raw genius.
Alexander at the start of his career. In 2007 Isabella Blow
| spring 2010
for contributing all sorts of ethereal clothes to her Bad
179