
Misery, heartbreak, and strife equals amazing art. The story is as old as time, and there’s no need for me to list the many of artists that have taken their lives, intentionally or otherwise, because of life’s grave circumstances. Superstar designer, Alexander McQueen, seemingly has fell into the tortured artist taken by his own mind and soul category. Coming to fashion’s conscious in the 90’s, a young designer set on bringing drama and theatrics into fashion that hasn’t really be seen in a very long time. His style was always romantic, but gothic and intense. Pairing floral prints with absurd leathers. Spraying red paint all-over a pristine, white dress. Maybe it was a peek into his heart when you look at his story in retrospect. Though, McQueen has earned a lot of respect and success in the fashion world for the better half of 10 years, it wasn’t until recently that he catapulted into mainstream media’s conscious. His designs were the fabric of 2009. With fashion starlets like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Adam Lambert all bringing his designs into the lime-light. It was McQueen’s closet and we were all just dressing in it. It wasn’t since, maybe, Marc Jacobs that a designer penetrated popular, mainstream culture so intensely. There will probably be plenty of bandwagon McQueen fans, retrospect of his work, and maybe even a resurrection of his older pieces as collectables post his death. That’s not important, however. What’s really important is that we all remember the feeling that we got when we saw McQueen’s pieces for the first time and saw our favorite celebrities strutting in his pieces. His work exclaimed that is okay to be rebellious, daring, reckless, but still romantic. It’s okay to take chances and to have a pallet of emotions. Alexander McQueen was much more than a designer or a fashion house. McQueen gave fashionistas everywhere permission to be themselves in the most beautiful and uninhibited type of way. Long live McQueen.
- Myles E. Fame