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McQueen Tribute by Tony Bannister

ALEXANDER McQUEEN – Death Of A Visionary

The fashion world woke this morning to the sad news of Alexander McQueen’s tragic death. He will be remembered as a true visionary and as a designer that walked a line between artistry and couture whilst at the same time building a designer brand that grew into a multi million dollar empire which women around the world each season craved for. His shows became the hot tickets in town, renowned for their sheer brilliance in concept and theatre, his collections were always unique, groundbreaking with McQueen’s incredible sense of cut, craftsmanship and brilliant use of colour and print.

I was lucky enough to witness his St. Martins MA Degree show in London, 1990; there was such a buzz then, you knew instantly he was destined for something great. His work was beyond that of other students and it was no surprise to hear that Isabella Blow, an influential figure in the fashion industry, buying his entire collection and helping him grow and nurture his business.
Some of the stand out shows of his 20 year + career include the iconic ‘Amazonian’ collection with amazing colourful, exotic bird and butterfly print dresses each projected onto a massive high tech screen, the beautiful and ethereal ‘Dance Marathon’ collection in 2004 shown on real dancers, his first ‘bumsters’ collection in 1990 which garnered front page press due to his revision of the waist and focus on the below the hip, launching a million copies around the world with girls in their low slung jeans and pants and the beginning of the McQueen influence in fashion. His early tailoring work showed us just how important his training on Saville Row was at a time when tailoring wasn’t so much in vogue, but was soon to become. And of course his most recent ‘Plato’s Atlantis’ collection SS10 which was famous for the Armadillo shoes and amazing sculptured and exotic marine life prints which will go down as one of his finest pieces of works.

The fashion world awaits his upcoming Winter 10/11 Collection that was finished just before his death.

Lee Alexander McQueen, RIP.
Tony Bannister