What makes alexander mcqueen iconic

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.

To McQueen, the base of the spinal column was the most interesting part of the body. After producing eight collections, McQueen was offered the position of creative director at Givenchy in , succeeding John Galliano.

Upon his arrival, McQueen showed no restraint, calling the brand "irrelevant" to the founder, Hubert de Givenchy. His first couture collection, inspired by Greek antiquity, was unsuccessful he himself called it "crap. While he never fully represented himself at Givenchy, McQueen was able to unleash his avant-garde genius for his own line.

In , McQueen showed his 13th collection, titled No. The culmination of the show displayed '90s supermodel Shalom Harlow on a rotating disk in a puffy white dress whilst being sprayed with paint by two robotic arms from a car manufacturing plant. It was one of the first uses of high technology at a fashion show, leaving the crowd speechless and wondering what McQueen would do next.

McQueen left Givenchy after four years and immediately threw himself back into his line. It was regarded as his most dramatic and celebrated show of all time. For Joan later that year, his exploration of the elements moved from water to fire with a show that ended with a masked model being surrounded by a ring of fire.

It not only featured Paralympian Aimee Mullins wearing prosthetic legs carved from elmwood, but ended with two robots spray-painting a dress worn by supermodel Shalom Harlow.

The latter went on to become one of the most memorable catwalk finales in fashion history. It was just money to me," he reportedly said, according to The Guardian.

McQueen was also known for his lavish runways. He was one of the first in fashion to implement technology into his shows and was known for being "rebellious" against fashion's traditional aesthetic. McQueen chose writer Michelle Olley to lead the show, which featured a giant glass box in the middle of the presentation. The room outside of the box was lit, while the room inside the box was not; therefore, the glass appeared to be mirrored, and the audience members could only see their own reflections.

Once the lights turned on, people could see that the inside of the box was filled with moths, and there was a naked model in the middle wearing a gas mask. Suddenly, the glass walls shattered and fell to the ground. Patrick Ryan from USA Today reported that the piece was supposed to be a commentary on how McQueen felt while working at Givenchy — as if he were in a cage. CBE is one of the orders of the British Empire, which rewards one's contributions to the arts and sciences, in addition to work in public service.

Source: Glamour , Vogue. Business Insider previously reported that McQueen's partnership with Puma lasted more than a decade and that he was a noted "sneakerhead. As reported by Vogue's Ella Alexander in , the line was more youthful and "urban" than McQueen's existing high-fashion line. By the end of , he was one of the most notable names in all of fashion and a favorite among the likes of Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker. Source: Los Angeles Times. 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. Bandaged, flailing models were placed inside a giant cube "where they couldn't see outside, so they were isolated like caged animals ," Bonhote says. The audience was surrounded by mirrors, and forced to look at themselves when McQueen purposefully started the show late.

At the end of the show, a glass box shattered to reveal a naked, overweight woman in a gas mask hooked up to tubes and surrounded by hundreds of moths. The concept played on how McQueen felt forced to tone down his vision while at Givenchy. That sense of pressure on his mental health is absolutely there in all the allusions to madness. McQueen's final women's wear show before his death on Feb.