262 A rare Alexander McQueen tartan bodice, made for the stylist Katy England, ‘Highland Rape’ collection, Autumn-Winter, 1995-6, of carefully matched and joined bias-cut panels of McQueen clan tartan with slash to neck, ragged and torn pointed front hem and sheer black net back, bust approx 86cm, 34in
‘Highland Rape’, McQueen’s fifth collection was the first in which he collaborated with his friend Katy England, making her his inhouse stylist. England said of this role in an interview with WWD, ‘He liked the way I looked and thought I’d bring something to it’. McQueen himself, assisted by a fellow Central St Martin’s student Andrew Groves, did all the cutting and machining of the garments in his Clerkenwell studio. Katy England felt uncomfortable wearing some of the more breast-revealing designs and so Lee specially produced this slightly more demure bodice which was transparent just down the back. The show, which was staged at the Natural History Museum, was the hottest ticket in town. With a runway strewn with heather, models staggered out, their beautifully tailored tartan ensembles and gossamer lace dresses, apparently torn and ripped as if from an attack. McQueen’s intended message was the historic annexation and subjugation of Scotland by the English. However, the British tabloid press misconstrued the dishevelled appearance of the models, believing the collection to be a misogynistic and degrading attack on women. The resulting headlines served only to confirm McQueen’s pre-eminence in British Fashion. The shock-tactics employed, the theatricality, sombre romance of the show and its clarion call for Scottish independence ensured McQueen’s profile was raised even further. Very few pieces from this original fashion show have survived as bailiffs seized and removed bags containing the collection in a raid for unpaid bills. Literature: ‘Alexander McQueen, Fashion Visionary’ by Judith Watt, p.52-55. A letter of provenance will be supplied to the purchaser. £6000 - 8000
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