Fashion Designer, Alexander McQueen


    Alexander McQueen is one of the most influential designers in the fashion industry. He endured a difficult childhood in a lower-class family in London. McQueen grew up openly gay, and later revealed that he was sexually abused by his brother-in-law when he was young. 
    McQueen is known for breaking the 'rules' of fashion, saying "You've got to know the rules to break them. That's what I am here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition". Although he passed away in 2010, he has been very influential in the fashion industry. He has taught other designers to be daring and extend their boundaries --- that playing it safe in the industry will not get you anywhere. McQueen pushed these boundaries through bizarre, abstract fashion statements and wild, outlandish performances on the catwalk. He even designed a prosthetic wooden leg for one of his amputee models, as seen below. McQueen loved incorporating a variety of cultures into his designs as well, being especially fascinated with the Japanese Kimono. 
    Connecting to this course, Alexander McQueen was influenced by the Man vs. the Machine, a reoccurring theme seen throughout his work. His spray-painted dress design is most noted as a critique on fast fashion and consumer culture. McQueen loved the idea of keeping tradition, and with this dress, he made a statement on how fast fashion is ruining the meaning behind design: that people will buy clothes because they can or because it goes with the trends instead of appreciating the meaning behind these fashion designs. Additionally, this dress made a statement on the use of machinery in fashion, being that fashion is now often solely being designed to sell and make money. 
    Alexander McQueen took his own life in 2010 shortly after the death of his mother. Despite his passing over a decade ago, McQueen remains a prominent influence in the fashion industry. 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

     Hello! My name is Paige Tang. Honestly, even though we have only had class once via zoom, I have a feeling I will be super invested in this class. Professor Echeverry is so funny, and I really like the stories he tells. I liked the long, personal introductions because I felt as if I actually got to know my classmates that way. I think I will really enjoy this class (:     So a little bit about me: I'm from Mansfield, Massachusetts, about 45 minutes outside of Boston. I'm a junior who is majoring in Psychology BA with a minor in Criminal Justice. I love meeting new people and getting to know them because I enjoy feeling connected, especially to people who I'll be spending a lot of time with. I spent a lot of my summer reading and focusing on fitness. I think I read about 20 books this summer alone and am happy I found a productive way to spend my free time. I also am extremely passionate about fitness and eating healthy. I love exercising, especially we...
Read more

Love, Death, & Robots: Pop Squad

One of my favorite short films from the Love, Death, & Robots series is “Pop Squad”. “Pop Squad” is set in an ultra-futuristic world where people have the option to live forever through a treatment called “rejoo”. In order to get this treatment, the only condition is that you can not have children. Because so many people are choosing to never die, overpopulation has become a serious problem. The director of this episode is Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Nelson based this futuristic episode off Paolo Bacigalupi’s story where rules and regulations are enforced by the elite who see no need for “breeders” (parents) to birth “unregistered offspring” (children). The main character in this short, Officer Briggs, is tasked with finding hidden families and killing the children, who he refers to as “it” and “thing”. However, the audience quickly learned that Briggs is facing a moral dilemma of whether his actions are for the greater good.  The difference between the lifestyles of those who choose ...
Read more

Metropolis

     Metropolis is a film that depicts the future of Germany throughout the clear division of social classes. As a psychology major, I watched this film with the mindset of attempting to analyze the character development between all of the main characters. For instance, Maria is the protagonist, Freder is the mediator, and, of course, Joh Fredersen is the antagonist who leads the upper class. Joh Fredersen, father of Freder, is a power hungry villain who views the working, lower class as expendable. He overworks these people and gives them numbers instead of names to symbolize their insignificance within society. For the majority of the movie, Fredersen does not care what happens to the lower class. However, toward the end of the movie, Fredersen's character develops. At 2:07:24, a scene with Joh Fredersen begins and he begs to know where his son is. The "Skinny Man" he is speaking to responds by saying "Tomorrow, thousands will ask in fury and desperation: Joh Frede...
Read more