Moss minibook

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing line presents:

Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer and couturier. He is known for having worked as chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 and for founding his own Alexander McQueen label. His achievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the Year awards, as well as the CFDA’s International Designer of the Year award in 2003. He received his master’s degree in fashion design and his 1992 graduation collection was bought in its entirety by influential fashion stylist Isabella Blow, who was said to have persuaded McQueen to become known as Alexander (his middle name) when he subsequently launched his fashion career.

Isabella Blow paved the way for Alexander McQueen using her unique style and contacts to help him she was in many ways his mentor. It was during this period that McQueen relocated to Hoxton, which housed other new designers, including Hussein Chalayan and Pauric Sweeney It was shortly after creating his second

collection,”McQueen’s Theatre of Cruelty”, that McQueen met Katy England, his soon to be “right hand woman”, when outside of a “high profile fashion show” trying to “blag her way in”. He promptly asked her to join him for his third collection, “The Birds” at Kings Cross, as “creative director”.

Katy England continued to work with McQueen thereafter, greatly influencing his work – his “second opinion”. McQueen designed the wardrobe for David Bowie’s tours in 1996-1997, as well as the Union Jack coat worn by Bowie on the cover of his 1997 album Earthling. Icelandic singer Björk sought McQueen’s work for the cov-

reographer Russell Maliphant, designing wardrobe for theater show “Eonnagata”, directed by Robert Lepage. The film “Sylvie Guillem, on the edge” produced by French production company A DROITE DE LA LUNE, traces whole history of the creation of the show, from first rehearsals which took place in Quebec until world premiere which was held in 2008 at Sadler’s Wells theatre in London.

McQueen has been credited with bringing drama and extravagance to the catwalk.

He used new technology and innovation to add a different twist to his shows and often shocked and surprised audiences. The silhouettes that he

er of her album Homogenic in 1997. McQueen also directed the music video for her song “Alarm Call” from the same album and later contributed the iconic topless dress to her video for “Pagan Poetry”.

McQueen also collaborated with dancer Sylvie Guillem, director Robert Lepage and cho-

created have been credited for adding a sense of fantasy and rebellion to fashion. McQueen became one of the first designers to use Indian models in London.

“Give me time and I’ll give you a revolution”.

“Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment”