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Omar Garcia
Professor: Anee Engerrand
UHD Arts 2305
Spring 2018 Semester
March 8, 2018
Alexander McQueen: Fashion’s Rebel and Pioneer
Alexander McQueen will go down in history as the ultimate genius who reinvented
modern fashion. Coming from such a structured background- McQueen took all his teachings
along with his humble childhood upbringing to create a whole new perspective in the world of
art and fashion. He acquired inspiration from things that many would consider to be “ugly”, and
in return he would turned them into beautiful artistic forms. McQueen was very much influenced
by the beauty of women; his work always was created to empower women. Since an early age he
had a love for birds- their shape; their capability to flight; their sense of freedom. Death and
decay always dwelled in his mind- for death is part of life and being human.
Alexander McQueen, was born March 17, 1969 in Lewisham, South London. His father,
Ronald, of Scottish descent was a local London Cabbie- an elite black taxi cab driver. His
mother Joyce McQueen; was a florist, a teacher and amateur genealogist – and overall
Alexander’s greatest fans. McQueen was the youngest of five children. As a child he shared a
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small bedroom along with his other two brothers. In that exact room he would draw Cinderella–
like gowns on the walls; which his father was not ever very please about. It is also that as a child
his love for birds came about. Young McQueen would stare out his window for hours- admiring;
studying; sketching; dreaming of the life of birds. Not being the best when it came to following
structured academic studies he opted to seek employment as an apprentice tailor on Savile Row-
London street known for its traditional tailoring for men. It is here, while working for Anderson
& Sheppard, that he learned the discipline and craftsmanship of cut, shape, and proportion when
it came to designing. Acquiring these skills was essential in his later career as he once said,
“You’ve got to know the rules to break them. That’s what I’m here for, to demolish the rules but
to keep the tradition” -McQueen (Watt 69).
Eager to pursue his dream to become a designer, McQueen took a job as a pattern cutter
tutor at The Central Saint Matins College of Art and Design. Alexander eventually enrolled for
classes after borrowing money family member to cover the cost. During his studies at Saint
Martins, many of the staff members and students found him hard to handle- “he would interrupt
lectures and give them the benefit of his opinion, arguing his point” (Watt 38). His career began
to take flight during his 1992 graduation fashion show showcase. It is at that very moment that
he caught the eye of Isabella “Issie” Blow – an English editor and influential fashion stylist. She
saw what many others missed about McQueen’s collection – “the tailoring was excellent” –
Isabella Blow (Watt 42) and therefore Isabella was determined to buy his entire collection. She
took McQueen under her wing and helped launched his fashion career by introducing him to the
world of artists, aristocrats and actors. Alexander McQueen was very influenced by English film
director and producer, Alfred Hitchcock (1899-180) who was known as “the Master of
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Suspense” in the film industry. Given McQueen love for birds; his favorite Hitchcock film was
indisputably “The Birds”. This is a 1963 psychological horror-thriller film that focuses on violent
bird attacks on people based out of California. McQueen was inspired by the film’s cover photo;
upon which he took the outline of the bird shapes to create a series patterns in his 1995 “The
Birds-Spring/Summer Collection”. Alexander lived for the drama, so in order to bring the shock-
factor into his 1995 collection he introduced “Mr. Pearl” who was known as “The Master
Corsetiere”. Mr. Pearl was featured in the show wearing a tailored jacket, pencil skirt (with the
Hitchcock’s film inspired bird pattern), shirt and tie. His waist was casted into a corset which
made his waist a neat 18 inches. McQueen wanted to play with the gender rules and wanted to
challenge the idea of what is “normal”. Alfred Hitchcock’s film was to also become a later
inspiration for one of McQueen’s creations for his 2001 “VOSS” Spring/Summer Collection-
