Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Exhibit

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty


May 4, 2011–July 31, 2011

Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall, 2nd floor
The exhibition, organized by The Costume Institute, will celebrate the late Alexander McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded the understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity. His iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion. Approximately one hundred examples will be on view, including signature designs such as the bumster trouser, the kimono jacket, and the Origami frock coat, as well as pieces reflecting the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s that he crafted into contemporary silhouettes transmitting romantic narratives. Technical ingenuity imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at fashion's vanguard.

Catherine Middleton: Royal Wedding Dress

The Wedding Dress

Miss Catherine Middleton’s Wedding Dress has been designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.  When they announced that it was the Alexander Mc Queen label that made Catherine's dress I actually wept.  I was so moved that she chose to honor his label, his memory and his upcoming museum exhibit by wearing his label.  call me sentimental but I was really moved

Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work. Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress.

The dress epitomises timeless British craftsmanship by drawing together talented and skilled workmanship from across the United Kingdom. The dress design pays tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition, which advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often Romantic styles of decoration. Ms Burton’s design draws on this heritage, additionally giving the cut and the intricate embellishment a distinctive, contemporary and feminine character. Which I think suited her beautifully, and was suited for the "smaller venue" that he wedding was supposed to be.

The design The lace applique for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The lace design was hand-engineered (appliqued) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock. Some of the same elements that were used in the Late Princess Diana wedding dress that I was fortunate enough to see when it was in Cleveland on display last year

Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.

The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen’s designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace.  Many reported that they were reminded of the Late Princess Grace of Monaco on her wedding day.  For me there was some reminder of that wedding but for me the day that kept replaying over in my head was the marriage of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana thirty years ago.

The Fabrics

French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace to be hand-worked in the Irish Carrickmacross needlework tradition.  All other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies. The choice of fabrics followed extensive research by Sarah Burton and her team. This I felt was a wonderful element to the dress by creating all for all the opportunities i opened in the creation of that fabric by skilled craftsmen

The Royal School of Needlework

The Royal School of Needlework (RSN), based at Hampton Court Palace, assisted the Alexander McQueen team in accurately cutting out the delicate motifs from the lace fabrics and positioning the lace motifs with precision into the new design. The lace motifs were pinned, ‘framed up’ and applied with stab stitching every two to three millimetres around each lace motif. The workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.

The RSN workers included existing staff, former staff, tutors, graduates and students, with the youngest aged 19. The RSN’s work was used primarily for the train and skirt of the Bride’s dress, the bodice and sleeves, the Bride’s shoes and the Bride’s veil.   You imagine being the fortunate graduates and students working on this veil?  Having that achievement on one's resume.  How did they pick the studentsand graduates?  How many were considered?  Imagine someone of Catherine's stature coming to the Kent State School of Fashion for this kind of thing!

Veil and Jewellery

The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. The ‘halo’ tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King.

The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.   You imagine borrowing such a thing?!  I would be worried to death to wear the damn thing!  What if t got bumped, or a stone fell out?  The pressure for me would have been brutal, but I wonder did any of this ever cross Catherine's mine?  When was this actually returned to the Queen?  Can we have the opportunity to see her in it again or not?  Is part of her not appearing in it again because she is just a Duchess and not a Princess?  Will the people still call her Princess Catherine anyway?

The Bride’s earrings, by Robinson Pelham, are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre. Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family's new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. The earrings were made to echo the tiara. The earrings were a personal gift to the Bride from her parents for her Wedding Day.

One wonders did Catherine help pick them out or were they a surprise for Catherine?  If they were a surprise when did her parents give them to her?  One also wonders what the parents were thinking on their drive to Westminster Abbey?  Are the parents now expected to take on some form of public life?  What happens to their party supply company? Were their private conversations between the two, right before the big day?  What was said?  Did Catherine's sister feel out of place with all the children in the wedding party or was it the other way around or was this whole thing a non issue?

Robinson Pelham have also designed and made a pair of diamond earrings for Miss Philippa Middleton. These earrings are more floral in nature to compliment the headpiece worn by Miss Philippa Middleton during the Service. Wonder if these were bought the same time as Catherine's earrings or not?  Were they a gift of  from Cathrine to her sister or not?  When did Catherine give them to her?

A tourmaline and diamond pendant and matching earrings have been designed and made for Mrs. Carole Middleton. Two gold stick pins, one with a single gold acorn at the head and the other with an oak leaf, are also worn respectively by the Father of the Bride, Mr. Michael Middleton, and the Bride's brother, Mr. James Middleton. It was refreshing in many ways to see Mrs.Middleton wearing her hair done for this occasion as well as seeing her walk into the Westminster with her very dashing son!

Wedding Shoes

The wedding shoes have made hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and are made of ivory duchesse satin with lace hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. Curious minds, mine being one of them wonders what shoe size she wears.  Then I heard a reporter say I believe sh had three pair of shoes for today, with a pair of flats that she was to wear walking down the aisle.  One also wonders if it was the same motifs embroidered on her shoes that were also in the dress?  Was the same students who worked on the dress who also worked on the shoes?

The Bride’s Bouquet

The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the

Language of Flowers.
The flowers’ meanings in the bouquet are
Lily-of-the-valley – Return of happiness
Sweet William – Gallantry
Hyacinth – Constancy of love
Ivy: Fidelity; marriage; wedded love; friendship; affection
Myrtle: the emblem of marriage; love.

I have to go on record here and say I slightly disappointed by the size of this bouquet.  I was hoping for something bigger and a tad bit more glamorous than what seemed to be just a simple Chapel Bouquet but I will also have to admit some big obnoxious thing would have NEVER gone with the simplicity of the dress

The bouquet contains stems from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.  The tradition of carrying myrtle begun after Queen Victoria was given a nosegay containing myrtle by Prince Albert’s grandmother during a visit to Gotha in Germany. In the same year, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House as a family retreat, and a sprig from the posy was planted against the terrace walls, where it continues to thrive today.  The myrtle was first carried by Queen Victoria eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, when she married in 1858, and was used to signify the traditional innocence of a bride.

Alexander McQueen Fall 2011

Lady Gaga: March US Vogue

Well once again the media machine is in a tail spin over the ever fabulous Lady Gaga.  Of course there is all this talk about the newest release "Born This Way".  Most people love it or hate it, some are even comparing it to some of Madonna's earliest work.  While for me I can see some comparison Lady Gaga and her songs stand fully on their own.  But that is just my opinion.  You can find the Youtube post of what the song sounds like here along with the lyrics. I mean after all "don't be a drag..."

Anyway the March USA issue of Vogue has her imperial Gaga-ness on the cover in a dutch boyesque pink wig.  While I love the wig, the no eyebrow thing is a little off for me, I am not sure exactly why but it just sits kind of funny. I know my thing and not everybody elses thing---moving on.  My favorite photographs though have to be of her wearing Alexander McQueen in the "garden settings".  Those pictures leave this Gaga worshipping gay boy speechless and kids that is a hard thing to do at times .  Know all I have to do is get her first two CD's ---anybody have any idea when the newest  CD is out?

Alexander Mc Queen Fall Menswear 2011

"For all anyone knew, the guys might have been from Kentucky or Kazakhstan, but dressed in McQueen, they were rough trade for Oscar Wilde, or stiff-upper-lippers in a Powell and Pressburger celluloid classic from the second World War, or military cadets from the Napoleonic Wars. The genetic blessing of bone structure and Guido Palau's spic-and-span public schoolboy hair had something to do with the effect, but ultimately, it was Sarah Burton's clothes that enabled the models to communicate a sweep of English man style

Alexander McQueen, has died---suicide!

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen has taken his own life at age 40. His office confirmed his death, saying: 'It is a tragic loss. We are not making a comment at this time out of respect for the McQueen family.' He was found at his home in London.

McQueen's store on West 14th Street in New York was was temporarily closed on Thursday morning

McQueen's secondary line, McQ, was to be presented Thursday, the day of his death, as part of New York Fashion Week. KCD, the PR company handling the show, says the presentation is canceled. Company spokeswoman Samantha Garrett said McQueen's body was found in the morning but that she had no information "in terms of circumstances."

Police did not directly comment when asked about how McQueen died, but said officers were called by the ambulance service at 10:20 a.m. (1020GMT) to an address on Green Street, in central London, and found a 40-year-old man dead. They did not name him but said next of kin had been informed.

The force said a post-mortem would be held but that the death was not being treated as suspicious.

McQueen's death came days before London Fashion Week, although he was not scheduled to show in the British capital.

McQueen, the son of a taxi driver, was born in East London in 1969. He apprenticed on Savile Row as a teenager before attending Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. It was his graduation collection that caught the eye of stylist Isabella Blow. The two became remained close friends until Blow committed suicide in May, 2007.

McQueen's sudden death robbed the fashion scene of one of its most innovative and successful young designers. He made his name first in London, then wooed audiences in Paris, New York and Milan to take his place in the upper echelons of the designing world.

His clothes were sexy and distinctive, dramatic and different, perfect for red-carpet presentations and late night rock gatherings.  cclaim and honors came in waves to the talented, bearded man favored by celebrities like Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Naomi Campbell. He was named British Fashion Designer of the Year on four separate occasions.

Despite the accolades, McQueen clung tenaciously to his privacy, turning down most interview requests and shying away from the post-show limelight other designers craved.  Known for his dramatic statement pieces and impeccable tailoring, he helped raise the profile of British fashion and was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 when she made him a Commander of the British Empire for his fashion leadership.

His pieces were coveted and treasured by stylish women across the globe.  McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs," said Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue.

Hal Rubenstein, a fashion director for InStyle magazine said McQueen started out tough and angry -- in his work and attitude -- but softened over time as he felt more appreciated by the industry.  McQueen, he said, was a master of integration of technology into fashion.

"He changed the way so many of us see shows." Vivienne Westwood, perhaps Britain's most revered designer, said she was "incredibly sorry" to hear of McQueen's death.

Little was immediately known about the circumstances surrounding his death, which came as the fashion elite was gathered in New York for a series of catwalk shows.

Recently posted comments on his Twitter page showed signs of anguish over the Feb. 2 death of his mother. He said he wanted his mother to rest in peace and said, "But life must go on!"  Using an obscenity, he added that he had had an "awful week" and said he had to "some how pull myself together and finish."

The designer received his early fashion training at the Central St. Martin's College of Art and Design, long recognized for its fashion-forward approach and encouragement of Britain's talented young designers.

He learned the finer points of traditional men's tailoring at two famous, conservative Savile Row houses: Anderson and Sheppard and also Gieves and Hawkes.  "He was 16 when he came here," said John Hitchcock of Anderson and Sheppard. "He was a boy from Essex, he wanted to learn tailoring. He was a little bit different -- he was very ambitious."  He said McQueen's success had inspired the next generation of designers.

After his Savile Row stint, McQueen started to develop his trademark, more theatrical designs, working with several other brands before first starting his own label in 1992.  He quickly earned a reputation for innovation that lasted until his death. His last name soon entered the fashion lexicon and become synonymous with new and cutting edge.

The company he founded was purchased by the Gucci Group, and he retained creative control of his own brand.  His runway shows -- more often like performance pieces because they were so dramatic, and sometimes, bizarre -- were always a highlight during the Paris ready-to-wear fashion week.

One of his previous collections included a show built around the concept of recycling, with models donning extravagant headwear made out of trash. His last collection, shown in October in Paris, featured elaborate and highly structured cocktail dresses. Critics raved.  His edgy creations have been seen on numerous red carpets, worn by A-list actresses, including Sandra Bullock and Cameron Diaz.  Lady Gaga recently made waves when she wore McQueen's spring 2010 lobster-claw shoes in her "Bad Romance" music video.