ALEXANDER c UEEN MQ
THE TUDOR ROSE DRESS BY NATALIE MELL
ALEXANDER c UEEN MQ
THE TUDOR ROSE DRESS BY NATALIE MELL
ALEXANDER c UEEN MQ Lee Alexander McQueen was born on March 17, 1969 in London, England. He was the youngest of six children of father who was a cab driver and a mother who was a social science teacher and genealogist. At the age of 16, McQueen dropped out of school and got a job at Anderson & Sheppard where he worked as a tailor. From there he began to work his way up in the industry, and found himself working in costume design
among Angels and Bermans, Koji Tatsuno, and Romeo Gigli. In 1990 he returned to London and enrolled at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design where he received his M.A in fashion design.
In 1992, he debuted a pair of trousers that he referred to as “bumster” trousers, that brought him into the media spotlight. Around four years later, in 1996, he won British Designer of the Year, and took over as head designer of Givenchy. McQueen left Givenchy to pursue his own brand. In 2003 he won International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. McQueen is known for pushing the boundaries of fashion with his bold, intricate, daring designs. In 2010, after the death of a life-long friend and mentor Isabella Blow, and his mother, McQueen passed away from suicide.
THE COLLECTION
McQueen developed his 2008 clothing lin Who Lived in the Tree”, which is b
ne around an entrancing story. He called this line “The Girl based off of a 600 year old elm tree that stood in his garden.
The collection was displayed in two different parts. The first half portrayed a story of a girl who “lived in the darkness” and the clothing was mostly black with white detailing. The models had a much darker look to them. look 32 look 10
wvwv This particular dress is look 39.
The second half of the collection was inspired by McQueen’s trip to India, and was more regal than the first. The jackets and gowns were made mostly with imperial red fabric and accessories that were gold and heavily jeweled.
THE DRESS
It was designed with the Tudor rose in mind, an emblem created by Henry VII. The bodice of the dress is based on the designs of 17th-century Dutch woodworker Grinling Gibbons. The dress is made out of Italian silk taffeta.
“I’VE GOT A 600-YEARGARDEN AND I MADE UP WHO LIVES IN IT AND DARKNESS TO MEET A PRIN
- ALEXANDE
-OLD ELM TREE IN MY P THIS STORY OF A GIRL D COMES OUT OF THE NCE AND BECOME A QUEEN.”
ER McQUEEN
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CREDITS Designer: Alexander McQueen Written By: Natalie Mell
CONTACT 120 E 12th St New York, NY 10003 nrm6853@nyu.edu (650) 810-3176