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ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: Complete Runway Retrospective (1994 - 2010)

the hologram is set to the exquisite theme from Schindler's List.Savage Beauty2006 go see the incredible exhibit Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City FashionShow Spring/Summer1999 These two videos are by far my favorite shows alexander.chissà if one day someone will be able to surpass or even equal it.

 Instantly headlines around the globe explained that one of Britain's most successful fashion designers was found dead at his Mayfair home in London. The devastating news came just weeks after the death of his mother Joyce and three years after the suicide of his friend and infamous style icon Isabella Blow, who had helped launch his career. Weeks later a report from a London coroner explained that the 40-year-old-designer had taken sedative drugs and cocaine before he died of asphyxiation and hanging.
Complete Runway Retrospective (1994 - 2010)
 Spring/Summer 1994 - Nihilism

 Isabella Blow discovered (Lee) Alexander McQueen during the showing of his graduation collection at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The eccentric fashionista bought the entire collection for £5,000 and began to help the young designer make a name for himself in the London fashion scene. Finally, McQueen's spring 1994 collection hit the stage in the fall of 1993 and featured models strutting down the runway splattered in blood and dirt. The designer received endless press for his 'bumster' pants that revealed more than a little bottom cleavage.
Fall/Winter 1994 - Banshee

McQueen's 1994 fall/winter collection was inspired by "Irish folklore about banshees heard wailing when a boat sank". Moulded plaster breastplates and eerie gothic pieces came down the runway. Most controversial? An Elizabethan piece which was modelled by a pregnant skinhead.
Spring/Summer 1995 - The Birds

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's classic flick The Birds, McQueen's 1995 spring/summer collection featured numerous pieces that were covered with bird silhouettes or feathers. The designer once again shocked when models came down the runway bound in scotch tape... they also had their tops open to reveal tire marks across their chests.
Fall/Winter 1995 - Highland Rape

McQueen's infamous "Highland Rape" collection was based on the exploitation of Scotland at the hands of the British empire. Dresses in traditional tartans and lace were torn to expose model's breasts and editors were furious. The press perceived the fall/winter collection to be a misogynistic treatment of women. Later McQueen fired back saying: "People were so unintelligent they thought this was about women being raped – yet 'highland rape' was about England's rape of Scotland".
Spring/Summer 1996 - The Hunger

McQueen's 1996 spring/summer collection was inspired by vampires. The pieces that came down the runway were trademark early McQueen... they were dark, decadent and heavily sexual. Nothing was "pretty"... in fact some pieces featured prints that looked like bulging veins and a plastic bustier had live worms trapped beneath.
Fall/Winter 1996-1997 - Dante

McQueen's theatrical "Dante" collection was staged at a church in Spitalfields in 1996. The show opened with organ music filling the church that was soon drowned out by gunfire. Models walked the runway looking wearing wore crucifix masks, denim splashed with bleach and lots of lace. McQueen commented that the collection was "not so much about death, but the awareness that it's there".
Spring/Summer 1997 - La Poupee

McQueen's "La Poupee" runway presentation featured models walking through a 100ft water catwalk. According to the designer the collection was "based on the work of a photographer called Hans Bellmer who dissected dummies and reconstructed them... it was the idea of the body reconstructed like a doll-like puppet". The image of black model Debra Shaw shackled to a large piece of jewellery remains one of McQueen's most controversial to this day.Fall/Winter 1997-1998 - It's A Jungle Out There

McQueen's next collection was shown in Borough Market in 1997. The backdrop was a screen of corrugated iron, which was covered in bullet holes. Models with horns and painted faces walked around car wrecks wearing cowboy boots and traditionally tailored pieces made out of hides and leathers.
Spring/Summer 1998 - Untitled (Originally Titled The Golden Shower)

McQueen's 1998 spring collection was originally name "The Golden Shower"... that quickly changed after the sponsor, American Express, felt it was far too risqué. The show took place in a bus depot in Victoria and it made headlines when halfway through the production rain poured from the ceiling. White clothes were instantly see-through. A controversial ribcage corset worn by model Shaun Leane, was cast from a human skeleton and definitely one of the designer's most memorable pieces. Fall/Winter 1998-1999 - Joan

 McQueen's next collection was inspired by the brutal murders of the Romanov dynasty. Models walked the runway wearing chain mail ensembles and red leather suits. Sequinned dresses with prints of the Romanov children even made an appearance. The dark production ended with a model trapped inside a satanic ring of fire around the runway.Spring/Summer 1999 - No. 13

McQueen's 1999 spring/summer collection opened with physically handicapped athlete Aimee Mullins walking the runway wearing prosthetic legs, a rigid leather bodice and a delicate lace skirt all designed by McQueen. The show ended with Shalom Harlow strutting the runway wearing a white trapeze dress that was suddenly spray painted by two robots live on the runway.
Fall/Winter 1999-2000 - The Overlook

McQueen's "The Overlook" fall/winter collection was based on Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shinning and featured models ice-skating wearing elaborate pieces. The artificial snow landscape was the perfect backdrop to show off luxurious furs, soft knits, shiny bustiers, trapeze and swing skirts and floor length coats.
Spring/Summer 2000 - Untitled

McQueen's 2000 spring/summer show marked his first showing in New York and it was met with mixed reviews. Fashion's "enfant terrible" turned the runway into a terrifying bed of metal spikes and nails and models were lifted into the air showing off sheer knits, body hugging jerseys and a re-working of the burka.
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 - Eshu

McQueen's fall/winter "Eshu" collection was shown in an industrial warehouse in Paris and inspired by the Yoruba people of West Africa. The collection was elaborate and tribal details were mixed with luxurious fabrics for an incredibly dramatic collection.
Spring/Summer 2001 - Voss

For the 2001 spring/summer "Voss" collection McQueen seated the audience around a giant mirrored cube. The show was late (on purpose) and the audience was forced to stare at themselves until finally the cube lit up revealing a mental-hospital setting. The set was disturbing but the frocks were theatrical. Kate Moss and Erin O'Connor were trpped inside the cube as was a naked Michelle Olley who reclining on a couch breathing through a tube. The elaborate show that cost £70,000 to produce and set actually took seven days to construct. 
Fall/Winter 2001-2002 - What A Merry Go Round


McQueen's next collection was essentially a nightmare circus set on a roundabout carousel. The fall/winter collection featured sinister model clowns who wore striking flapper dresses that were trimmed with feathers, cocktail suits and elaborate evening gowns.
Spring/Summer 2002 - The Dance Of The Twisted Bull

McQueen's 2002 spring/summer show was filled with Spanish-inspired pieces including flamboyant flamenco dresses and sexy Matador suits. The designer flirted with controversy once again sending impaled models down the runway shocking the audience. 
Fall/Winter 2002-2003 - Supercalifragilistic


 The "Supercalifragilistic" collection was presented in the eerie medieval hall of the Conciergerie, the spot where Marie Antoinette is thought to have died. McQueen later described the creepy collection saying: "It was kind of Tim Burton, about little girls, a macabre Walt Disney kind of thing. And I had Little Lilac Riding Hood, with the wolves, but the wolves were her pets!" Spring/Summer 2003 - Irere

2003 was the beginning of a whole new era for McQueen. After joining Gucci Group and losing 30 pounds the designer showed off his very pretty spring/summer "Irere" collection. The runway show featured a traditionally creepy backdrop projection of a girl underwater and a terrifying woods but the runway was filled with romantic creations that simply dazzled. A memorable rainbow-colored gown with tulle ruffles closed the show.
Fall/Winter 2003-2004 - Scanners

McQueen's "Scanners" collection was presented in an elaborate presentation... runway models dramatically walked along a huge industrial wind tunnel. McQueen claimed that he the show to be like a "nomadic journey across the tundra". Mission accomplished. 
Spring Summer 2004 - Deliverance


For his 2004 spring/summer presentation McQueen had models dancing and running around the stage wearing simple, more sophisticated pieces. Michael Clark choreographed the presentation based on the dance marathon in Sydney Pollack's film They Shoot Horses Don't They.  
Fall/Winter 2004-2005 - Pantheon as Lecum


This season McQueen announced that he wanted to forget the theatrics and "focus purely on design". Still... there was drama on the stage. Models walked from a spaceship onto a huge glowing landing pad wearing gorgeous pale frocks. An elaborate feathered gown with illuminated neckpiece closed the show.
Men’s: Spring/Summer 2005 - Untitled

Alexander McQueen launched its first menswear collection in spring/summer 2005. He sent an eclectic selection down the runway including: army uniforms, parachute jumpsuits, traditional Eastern tie-dyed garments and mirrored body stockings. The designer explained: "It is a political statement as well as a sartorial one - a mixture of two cultures that are separate but, here, can be mixed harmoniously".
Spring/Summer 2005 - It's Only A Game

For his 2005 spring/summer collection Alexander McQueen transformed the runway into a giant chessboard. 36 models took their places and then fought against each other like an actual game of chess. Some of the styles from the collection were inspired by the film Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Men's: Fall/Winter 2005-2006 - Untitled

McQueen's 2005-2006 fall/winter men's collection was inspired by gang culture from the sixteenth century to the 1990s and as portrayed specifically in two films: Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine and Patrice Chereau’s La Reine Margot.
Fall/Winter 2005-2006 - The Man Who Knew Too Much

Inspired by multiple Hitchcock films Alexander McQueen's fall/winter "The Man Who Knew Too Much" collection featured sexy pieces that were cut to a feminine 1940s silhouette. The collection was one of the designer's most tame.
Men’s: Spring/Summer 2006 – Killa

McQueen's 2006 spring/summer men's collection was inspired by the 1963 Peter Brook film Lord of the Flies adapted from the original novel by William Golding.
Spring/Summer 2006 - Neptune

McQueen's 2006 runway presentation was arguably his most traditional runway presentation. There were no theatrics... only models walking the runway wearing striking Grecian styles.
Men's: Fall/Winter 2006-2007 - Untitled

 McQueen presented his next men's collection in a candlelit tunnel in a disused warehouse space... he wanted the audience to see his "vision from hell". Vampires, Oliver Twist and Dracula were just a few of the inspirations for the fall/winter collection.Fall/Winter 2006-2007 - Widows Of Culloden

According to McQueen the "Widows Of Culloden" presentation was tribute to the women who lost their husbands in the bloody battle of Culloden. Scotland may have provided some of the inspiration for the collection but it will always be remembered for the haunting holographic video starring Kate Moss that was shown. 
Men’s: Spring/Summer 2007 – Harlem


McQueen's 2007 "Harlem" men's collection was filled with pieces that were exquisitely tailored. The garments were a reminder of the time he spent training in bespoke tailoring on London's famous Savile Row
Spring/Summer 2007 - Sarabande

 McQueen's 2007 spring/summer show was inspired by the 1975 film Barry Lyndon and iconic eccentric Marchesa Casati. The most memorable piece to come down the runway at the Cirque D’Hiver in Paris? The elaborate dress worn by model Tanya Dziahileva that was created with real flowers. McQueen later said: "Things rot. It was all about decay. I used flowers because they die". Men’s: Fall/Winter 2007-2008 – The Forgotten

McQueen's "The Forgotten" men's collection was all about old fashion elegance. Models walked the runway showing off the strong silhouettes inspired by the 1920s and 1930s.
Fall/Winter 2007-2008 - In Memory Of Elizabeth How, Salem 1962

 McQueen's fall 2007 collection of Grecian dresses and warrior-like moulded bustiers came to life after the designer's mother (Joyce) traced the McQueen family tree back to one of the victims of the Salem witch hunts in 1692. Men’s: Spring/Summer 2008 – Please Sur

McQueen’s 2008 spring/summer men’s collection was a 80s beach fest complete with sun burnt surfer models. The inspiration was a 1961 LeRoy Grannis image of a boy surfing in a black suit and white shirt.
Spring/Summer 2008 - La Dame Bleue

McQueen's 2008 spring/summer collection was in remembrance of his dear friend and muse Isabella Blow [1958 – 2007]. The "La Dame Bleue" collection was based around Isabella's personal wardrobe... much of which was obviously by McQueen. Model's walked the runway wearing fitted cocktail dresses and divine silk chiffon and organza gowns while lights shone from the large, metal angels' wings structure behind the runway. 
Men’s: Fall/Winter 2008 – Pilgrim


A trip to Nepal, India and Bhutan inspired McQueen’s quietly beautiful collection men’s “Pilgrim” collection. Fine tailoring and elaborate embroideries represented the modern nomad.
Fall/Winter 2008-2009 - The Girl Who Lived In The Tree

Alexander McQueen explained that his 2008 fall collection was inspired by the Indian Empire and a story that he simply made up. "I’ve got a 600-year-old elm tree in my garden and I made up this story of a girl who lives in it and comes out of the darkness to meet a prince and become a queen".
Men’s: Spring/Summer 2009 – Love You

McQueen went for a little androgyny with his men's 2099 spring/summer collection. The collection, especially the men’s one-piece swimsuit, wasn’t particularly well received.
Spring/Summer 2009 - Natural Dis-tinction, Un-natural Selection

McQueen's "Natural Dis-tinction, Un-natural Selection" collection was inspired by the global issues of climate change and industrialisation. The garments that came down the runway featured politically inspired prints that made a heavy statement. McQueen lightened the mood when he walked the runway at the end of the show wearing a giant bunny costume.
Men’s: Fall/Winter 2009-2010 – The McQueensbury Rules

The title “The McQueensbury Rules” was a combination of the designer’s own name and the nineteenth century boxer famed for a sense of fair play and his establishing of the Queensbury rules. The collection was dark and masculine with traditional tailoring, top hats and canes. 
Fall/Winter 2009-2010 - The Horn Of Plenty


 Alexander McQueen presented his extravagant "Horn of Plenty" collection in Paris in March 2009. Models walked the scrap yard runway which was created with props from past shows to Marilyn Manson's song "Beautiful People" looking anything but beautiful. Bold stripes, prints and colours dominated as did clown-like make-up. The runway show was a celebration of the best moments of his career.Spring/Summer 2010 - Plato's Atlantis

According to McQueen the "Plato's Atlantis" collection was an apocalyptic forecast of the future ecological meltdown of the world. It was genius. Arguably his most creative collection... models stomped down the runway wearing digitally printed reptile-patterned dresses and over-the-top shoes. A video (by Nick Knight) of Raquel Zimmermann lying naked in the sand with snakes writhing across her played in the background while 2 robotic arms with video cameras flew up and down the runway. News of the premiere of Lady Gaga's new single crashed the show's web broadcast but the singer gave McQueen incredible coverage by wearing much of the collection in her music video that debuted shortly after.
Men’s: Fall/Winter 2010-2011 – An Bailitheoir Cnamh

The last collection that McQueen presented while he was alive was his fall/winter 2010-2011 menswear collection which was presented in Milan in January 2010. The collection, titled "An Bailitheoir Cnamh," (Gaelic for "The Bone Collector,") was inspired by whalers and seafarers. Incredible tailoring and complex prints... it was one of his strongest men’s collection.
Fall/Winter 2010-2011 - Untitled

After McQueen's suicide the fashion house put the finishing touches on his final showpieces and presented with a private showing in a salon at the headquarters of luxury titan Francois Pinault. The soundtrack for the show consisted of haunting operatic and classical music that McQueen had been listening to as he created and fitted the 2010 fall/winter collection. The presentation was solemn and the elaborate creations were a combination of old-world romanticism and modern technology... many of the garments had digitally captured works of art which had been weaved right into the fabrics. The show notes for the collection read: "Each piece is unique, as was he."