On November 1, a documentary about Alexander McQueen is released on Russian screens. Before the premiere of the movie McQueen, we recall the facts from the biography of enfant terrible British fashion.
First, a little about the film
Poster for the movie McQueen
The creators of the film, director Ian Bonot, and screenwriter Peter Ettedgi call their film "a real emotional journey" and "an unusual film about an unusual person." According to them, they tried to tell the designer’s story not only through the bright, but also through the difficult moments of his biography, while treating McQueen’s memory with the utmost care and respect: “It was possible to do something tabloid and sensational, but we wanted to the focus of the plot was his work, and his life was told through his show. "
Movie trailer:
Bonot and Technology recognize that it was difficult to work, sometimes it was necessary to conduct investigations that were close to detective. Initially, the authors did not have access to the archives of the designer, and his family members refused to speak with them. But then, realizing the seriousness of the researchers ’intentions and their mood, McQueen’s colleagues and relatives went for cooperation. As a result, the 111-minute film contains shootings of the designer’s show, including his early shows, archived videos depicting Alexander himself, and fragments of interviews with those who knew him well or worked with him.
To the question of what you can learn by watching the movie McQueen, screenwriter Peter Ettedgi responds: “To the impossible that can be possible. That you can create your brand even if you don’t have money and connections in the fashion world. What can you wood and metal to make fabric. What can you. "
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Now about Alexander McQueen: 10 facts from a designer’s biography
Alexander McQueen
1. McQueen (full name - Lee Alexander McQueen) was born in London on March 17, 1969. He was the youngest in a family with six children.
2. McQueen began to show his talent for creating clothes at a very young age - as he recalled, he drew his first dress almost at the age of three. All childhood, the future designer came up with and drew clothes. Biographers write that the parents did not like the son’s hobbies. At the same time, other biographers report that it was McQueen's mother, Joyce, who contributed to the choice of her son's profession. She saw a story in the news that there weren’t enough young tailors on the famous atelier and workshops of Savile Row, and told McQueen about it - since he was so passionate about creating clothes that he even tried in the classroom, let her try.
Alexander McQueen and his mother
3. McQueen's education, both secondary and vocational, was incomplete. At the age of 16, he dropped out of school and got a job as an intern at the Anderson & Sheppard studio at the same Savile Row. After he worked in another studio, then - in the workshop of theatrical costume. At twenty, McQueen is hired by Japanese-born designer Koji Tatsuno. A year later, he goes to Milan to become an assistant to designer Romeo Gigli. He then returned to London, intending to become a cut teacher at Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design. There, his sketches were seen by the founder of MA Fashion, Bobby Hillson, called them ideal and invited him to become a student himself - moreover, go straight to graduate school, bypassing the previous steps.
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4. By the way, it is believed that the experience of McQueen, gained by him in his youth while working in the theater, greatly helped him subsequently.In the theater workshop, he also sewed costumes on the original patterns of the 16th century - years later these things inspired him during the creation of Alexander McQueen collections.
4. McQueen’s graduation collection was called “Jack the Ripper tracks his victims” (studying his family tree, Alexander found out that his distant relative owned a hotel in which the serial killer committed one of the crimes). The collection resonated in the press and made a strong impression on the famous stylist Isabella Blow, who wanted to buy it all.
5. Subsequently, Isabella Blow became the "fairy godmother", muse and friend of McQueen. It was she who suggested the designer to take his middle name Alexander (formerly McQueen called himself Lee) for presentation in public. According to Blow, “Alexander McQueen” sounded “more chic” than “Lee McQueen”.
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6. McQueen is considered the inventor of bumper pants, which at first shocked the public. He showed them in 1993. The pants fit was so low that a hollow between the buttocks could be seen from behind. The designer himself said that by this method he “was not going to show the butt”, but simply wanted to visually lengthen the figure, plus - he claimed that he sought to pay attention not to the buttocks, but to the lower back, considering this place of the body “the most erotic”.
7. In general, in the love of shocking and the ability to surprise even the most sophisticated fashion connoisseurs, McQueen was not equal. He wrapped the models in cellophane, handcuffed them, covered the dresses with dead locusts and dirt, "torn" clothes, exposing what was traditionally hidden, and adding bloodied bandages. At the same time, what at first glance seemed to be hooliganism had a conceptual meaning, often referring to social problems and contradictions of the modern world.
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8. In 1996, McQueen was offered to take the place of Creative Director Givenchy. The designer, who previously repeatedly spoke negatively about working for the corporation in general, and about the brand that invited him in particular, agreed. Subsequently, he said that he did it for the sake of money in order to earn money to develop his own brand. Nevertheless, during the work with the brand its sales and popularity have grown. Perhaps this was also due to the fact that, working for the famous brand, McQueen did not leave his role as enfant terrible and continued to experiment. By the way, it was during the years of cooperation with Givenchy that Alexander received the title of the best British fashion designer of the year three times. In total, McQueen has 4 such titles (1996, 1997, 2001, 2003) + the title of Commander of the British Empire (2003) + the title "Designer of the Year" of the Design Council of America (CFDA) (2003).
9. In 2001, McQueen left Givenchy and began working with Gucci, selling 51 percent of his own brand to the house and becoming the creative director of his own brand. The designer continued to shock the audience. Skulls (by the way, it is believed that it was McQueen who introduced the fashion for them), feathers, masks, stuffed animals, clowns, fountains of paint, carousels, streams of rain, phantasmagoria, Gothic, futurism - which was not at all at his shows, each of which became long-awaited talked about show. By the way, while McQueen himself always dressed simply - shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, sneakers or martens.
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10. Alexander McQueen was found dead in his apartment on February 11, 2010. The investigation concluded that it was suicide. Biographers believe that the causes of this event and the depression that preceded it were including the suicide of Isabella Blow in 2007 and the death of the designer’s mother a few days before he passed away. More than 2.5 thousand people attended the memorial service of Alexander McQueen. In May 2011, an exhibition of selected works by McQueen opened in the New York Metropolitan. For three months of work, she became the most visited exhibition in the history of the museum. Gucci company after the death of the designer decided to keep his brand.Mark was led by Sarah Burton, who worked with McQueen since 1997, and since 2000, who was responsible for the women's clothing line of the brand. It was Burton who created the dress in which Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011.
Photo: stills from the movie McQueen
