But the pathology that led to it — acute anxiety, severe depression and addiction brought on by extreme stress — was not unknown to the luxury fashion community. Other high-profile fashion designers, notably John Galliano, whom I profiled alongside McQueen in my book, Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano , have suffered from burnout and addiction issues due to rigorous work conditions and demands of the job.
The lesson: the mental health of artistic talent should take priority over deadlines and quarterly results. Instead, the glamourisation of toil has carried on, thanks to an influx of external and internal forces.
The fashion calendar sped up, social media exploded McQueen died the same year Instagram was launched, before it carried any weight in fashion and weekly product drops became the norm, demanding more of designers and their teams.
Almost everyone for this article requested to speak on background, for fear of retribution from corporate powers. Relentless pressure and extraordinary demands by the creative director led to a flurry of employee breakdowns and hospitalisations.
No one from the corporate side stepped in to speak to the designer or set limits, the headhunter says. A handful of companies — Stella McCartney in London, Lululemon in Vancouver and Tommy Hilfiger in Amsterdam among them — provide health-oriented fringe benefits at work, such as free organic lunches and yoga classes.
Little by little, some major players are adopting better wellness policies, if not across the board. He left school at 16 and went on to apprentice on Savile Row, a neighborhood in London known for men's bespoke tailoring. After a brief stint working for costumiers, as well as fashion designers Koji Tatsuno and Romeo Gigli, McQueen applied for a job as a pattern-cutter tutor at the prestigious Central Saint Martins arts school.
Upon seeing his portfolio, Bobby Hilson, head of the masters program, recruited McQueen to apply as a student, flipping the enrollment process. McQueen's culminating thesis project titled Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims was the staring point of the young designer's career.
The highly autobiographical collection premiered in and referenced genealogy and the Whitechapel murders of East End serial killer, Jack the Ripper. One of McQueen's relatives reportedly owned an inn that housed a victim of Jack the Ripper. His collection displayed a type of dark, twisted romance that was absent in fashion at the time, serving as a theme in his future work. Locks of hair was sewn into the lining of the clothing. McQueen later cut his own hair, put it in perspex, and sewed in into the labels of his early works as a nod to Victorian-era prostitutes who would sell their hair to lovers.
The two became inseparable , and in many ways, Blow became his both his mentor and muse, even persuading McQueen to change his first name from Lee to his middle name Alexander to make it sound more grand.
McQueen started his own eponymous label with Blow by his side. As a true couturier, he would design by draping fabric over the mannequin and fitting from there. Models were apparently frightened when they saw him get the scissors out to do his signature cuts and slashes on a garment. He would also design from the side. That way I get a cut and proportion and silhouette that works all the way around the body.
His first collection called Highland Rape was initially not well-received by the fashion press, who called it "aggressive and disturbing. The clothes themselves were also controversial. Blood-spattered models in ravaged lace dresses, Scottish tartan , and provocative tailoring appeared distraught on the runway strewn with heather and bracken.
One garment, nicknamed the "bumster," was an extreme low-rise pant that gained popularity during the early s trend of low-rise jeans. Source: Huffington Post. Sarah Mower, who reviewed McQueen's final collection for Vogue, wrote at the time that "the circumstances, sad as they are, allowed his friends and colleagues to share a long and poignant moment to look at what the man achieved, and to grieve for him.
As Business Insider previously reported, shortly after his death, McQueen's assistant Sarah Burton was tapped as the new creative director of his brand. She presented her first collection later that year. In , the critically acclaimed documentary "McQueen" was released. It was described by Harper's Bazaar's Ella Alexander at the time as being "among the most accurate, sensitive, and moving" depictions of the designer.
It sold over , tickets there, and became one of the most popular exhibitions at that museum as well. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation.
Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Executive Lifestyle. Dominic-Madori Davis. Alexander McQueen is considered to be one of the most influential and innovative designers in fashion history.
Beginning his career as a tailor in the UK, he went on to start his eponymous line in and also had a brief stint as the creative director of Givenchy. McQueen was known for his extravagant, lavish runway shows, and for implementing new technology into his fashion shows.
More than a year after his death, the Metropolitan Museum of Art showed a posthumous exhibition of McQueen's work entitled " Savage Beauty. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Alexander McQueen is often regarded as one of the most innovative designers of all time. His father was a taxi driver, and his mother was a teacher. He was the youngest of six kids. In , McQueen launched his eponymous line. From to , he was the creative director of Givenchy.
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