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Introduction This book aims to look at the Alexander McQueen brand through Lee's eyes to envision what it would look like if he were still here today. I will use the 10x10 research methodology to identify ten words that best represent McQueen's vision. I will then interrogate each word to fully understand how I want to communicate my campaign for the current brand and why.
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Word Bank
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- a person who can envision the future with imagination or wisdom.
How was Alexander McQueen visionary? Alexander McQueen is arguably one of the most visionary designers of his generation. From his highly original designs that combined artistry with his extraordinary technical ability to his otherworldly fashion shows. McQueen was known for pushing the boundaries of fashion and seeing beyond the physical constraints of clothing. His use of disruptive and innovative new technologies allowed him to explore and express the depths of his imagination in both his clothing and fashion shows. For example, his spring/summer 1999 show showcased a performance piece that integrated a turntable floor, robotic arms, spray paint and model Shalom Harlow, a battle between man and machine. Today, this could be seen as McQueen's most iconic show because it accelerated change in the fashion industry's perception of collaborating with industries outside of fashion, introducing fashion to technology. Furthermore, Lee was one of the first designers to explore digital printing and computer-generated art in his designs, inspiring other designers to experiment with the concept. 7
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2.Technology - the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.
How did Alexander McQueen use technology to inspire change? As a pioneer of the technological revolution in fashion, McQueen used technology consistently to communicate his unique vision to the world. One example of this was his show titled Widows of Culloden, which displayed a hologram of Kate Moss. For his final show Plato’s Atlantis, McQueen collaborated with SHOWstudio to become the first designer in history to live stream their catwalk show, introducing fashion to a new era of technology. Journalist Suzy Menkes once called this the most dramatic revolution in the 21st century (Moore, 2019), as it allowed other designers to realise the significant potential of technology and its global reach. As this was his final show before his untimely death, the question of what technologies McQueen might have experimented with next has become my main inspiration for my project.
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3. Disruptive How did Alexander McQueen disrupt the world of fashion? McQueen not only disrupted the world of fashion through his experimentation with ground-breaking new technologies. He also loved to shock and surprise the industry with his designs and catwalk shows. His "Jack the Ripper stalks his victims" show defined him as a controversial fashion designer and put all eyes on him. Past collections have expressed subjects like eroticism, nature, history, and gothic, with one constant, the body and its possibilities. He saw clothing as an extension of the body, and his focus was on how it performed in a social, cultural, and fashion space and how these factors affected it (Briseno, n.d.). McQueen also broke down barriers with his models, causing controversy when a former Paralympian modelled on the catwalk wearing a pair of hand-carved wooden prosthetic legs (Vaidyanathan, 2010).
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- causing or tending to cause disruption. Innovative or ground-breaking. 11
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- a person who is willing to do things that involve danger or risk to achieve a goal.
How was Alexander McQueen a risktaker? If McQueen wanted to achieve anything with his work, it was to amaze and shock his audience, and his end goal was always to generate a strong reaction, no matter positive or negative. McQueen didn't care what anyone thought about him. He just wanted to shock and be brilliant, and he did this by taking risks and testing limits, his own, his models and his audiences. He transformed the human body, and his concepts were not always human. For example, the infamous Armadillo boot elongated the leg and transformed the foot into a lobster claw. This experimentation with form derives from his early years in the industry, for example, his 1997 show titled La Poupee (meaning doll). This collection presented the conflict between the 'real' body and the unnatural, plastic body. This show demonstrates how McQueen took risks and took the concept of a fashion show to the extreme. 13
5. Drama - an exciting, emotional, or unexpected event or circumstance
How did Alexander McQueen use drama to provoke extreme emotion with his audience? McQueen used drama as a tool to engage his audience, whether this was to disturb or fascinate, repulse, or exhilarate. He embraced ugliness to make beautiful clothing, as seen in his clown-esque looks for the Horn of Plenty show. His ability to find beauty in everything meant that Lee could take ugliness as a starting point to create something raw and human. He used drama to provoke his audience and create feelings of extreme emotion, often anger and fear.
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I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress”.
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- something that provides someone with physical, emotional, or social defences.
How did Alexander McQueen use fashion to protect women? McQueen faced much criticism throughout his career and was accused of displaying misogyny within his work, one example being his Highland Rape collection. In response, McQueen expressed he wanted to empower women, stating that he wanted people to be afraid of the women he dressed, which could explain the grotesque nature of some of his work. McQueen used fashion as armour and wanted to create clothing that would provide an extra layer of confidence and protection for the wearer.
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I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress”.
- the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect. 18
CONTRASTING BRAND ELEMENTS
Why is juxtaposition integral to Alexander McQueen? Juxtaposition has been a common theme throughout McQueen’s work, from the brand’s elements of man and machine, fragility and strength, tradition and modernity to technology and nature. His original designs juxtaposed structured tailored pieces with contrasting fabrics and textures.
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- an activity involving skill in making things by hand.
8. Craft Why is craft at the heart of Alexander McQueen? McQueen's love of craftsmanship stems from his background on Saville Row, where he worked as an apprentice with tailors Anderson and Sheppard and learnt to cut jackets which ultimately influenced how McQueen approached design throughout his life. His design philosophy was to make a piece that can transcend any trend and will still hold as much presence in one hundred years (“Design philosophies of Alexander McQueen,” n.d.). McQueen took classic wardrobe staples and played with their form, juxtaposing tradition with modernity. He often radically experimented with the proportions of the suit and challenged the conventions of gender and male sexuality with an approach described by Isabella Blow as a mixture of sabotage and tradition (“Alexander McQueen,” 2018). Craftsmanship and the art of tailoring have been integral to the brand DNA since being established in 1992.
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- the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as paint or sculpture.
How did Alexander McQueen's designs’transcend into art? McQueen’s experimentation with extreme silhouettes and fashion show spectacles has transcended from outlandish and unconventional designs to wearable art. His ability to see beyond the physical constraints of clothing is evident throughout his most memorable pieces, from his iconic spray-painted performance art dress from show No.13 to his duck feather dress from the show titled Horn of Plenty.
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I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress”.
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How was showmanship pivotal to Alexander McQueen's storytelling? - skill at entertaining, theatrical presentation, or performance. Alexander McQueen is a brand based on sensational showmanship delivered by Lee Alexander McQueen, who amazed and terrified audiences with his fashion show theatrics and conceptual brilliance. McQueen's ability to tell stories through his fashion designs and shows transcended into theatrical performance art and set him aside from other conventional designers. His creative vision as a designer heavily revolved around his showmanship.
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Showmanship Visionary Technology Art 26
Conclusion Keywords that I have identified from conducting this research on Lee Alexander McQueen include visionary, technology, art, and showmanship. McQueen was always ahead of the curve with ground-breaking new technologies, from being the first designer to Livestream their catwalk show to experimenting with holograms and robotics. The question of what innovations McQueen might have explored next if he were still here today has inspired my project. Moving forward, I aim to envision McQueen's next steps as a visionary by discovering new ways to communicate and market the current brand to connect with Gen Z, the future luxury consumer. 27
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