CHRISTMAS WISHLIST

We all know that Christmas is about many things - it's a time to be surrounded by family, it's a time to relax and, most importantly, it's a time to eat your own body weight in chocolate. As Santa prepares to come for the first time this year and his reindeer are limbering up for their annual voyage, my mind has turned momentarily (I'm not that shallow, I promise!) to the wonderful things that I will finally be able to buy with the Christmas money that we all request from those poor family members that have no idea what we actually want. Some of it is, inevitably, fashion-related but there are some things that justify their investment in the sense that they make everyday life that little bit easier. However, this is a 'wishlist', meaning that there are some items on this list that I can only salivate at the thought of - there is a mix of the expensive and the affordable, and I have tried to include links where possible. On the whole - enjoy!

THE RACE DEBATE

The landscape of high fashion has always been one littered with controversy. Complaints of low self-esteem, eating disorders and sexualisation are rife, yet the latest issue to become an epidemic is the age-old issue of racism. Recently, high-profile fashionistas such as Joan Smalls (currently ranked the #1 model in the world), Naomi Campbell & Andre Leon-Talley have all spoken openly on their battles in the media, and yet the whole thing made me wonder if I was slightly naïve.

FASHION X ROMANCE

It pains me to write this as I was planning to complete the McQueen archive before posting anything unrelated, but thanks to the existence of articles like this , this and this, I feel inclined (perhaps obliged?) to weigh in on the age-old debate – how can we dress to attract men? We may all claim that we ‘dress for ourselves’ but the fact that articles like this are still being published and widely-read (in both men’s and women’s magazines) insinuate that a certain breed of woman still looks to these articles in order to establish a list ‘of do’s and don’ts’ when it comes to choosing her everyday wardrobe; a woman that apparently uses her sartorial choices as a method of seduction. Then there is another breed that reads these articles; the cynic. People who, like me, consider more than romance when choosing an outfit and who would ultimately rather eat their own vomit then date a man that would openly admit that he would dump you for wearing anything too revealing or ‘fashion-conscious’.

Grace Jones flawlessly expressing my opinion

SCANNERS

Inspired by nomads, the Antarctic and the elements, McQueen announced his Autumn/Winter 2003 collection (which can be seen in full here)  by sending out invitations adorned with X-ray scans of his own brain. The collection appeared to be a commentary on both isolation and the designer’s own nomadic lifestyle, beautifully represented in a series of garments that took their inspiration from all over the world.

IRERE

For his S/S 2003 presentation Irere (which can be seen in full here) McQueen once again looked to the ocean for inspiration, creating collection inspired by pirates, mermaids and the spectacular colour palette of the underworld.  The storyline behind the collection told of a shipwreck at sea which led to a landfall in the Amazon, therefore the show was populated with conquistadors as well as Amazonian Indians – underwater imagery merged with a tribal aesthetic in order to marry land with sea, adding a touch of lightness to McQueen’s notoriously aggressive designs. The show was also accompanied by a stunning fashion film projected behind the models on an enormous video screen – opening with a woman tumbling into the ocean and ending with an army of models storming land in glorious technicolour, the film provided a visual narrative to the beauty of the clothing.

SUPERCALIFRADGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS

This collection saw McQueen revert swiftly back to a darker, more gothic aesthetic by reintroducing leather, S&M and even the ‘bumster’ into his design repertoire. Staged in the building where Marie Antoinette is thought to have taken her last steps, McQueen’s ‘Supercalifradgilisticexpialidocious’ collection (which can be seen in full here) turned its set into a medieval fairytale castle, complete with white wolves prowling the upper echelons of the dilapidated stone building.

DANCE OF THE TWISTED BULL

‘Dance of the Twisted Bull’ was incredibly different in some ways to McQueen’s previous work, and to understand why we need to look at the events surrounding the time of its creation. Seemingly impressed by his S/S 2001 masterpiece ‘VOSS’, the legendary Gucci group decided to buy a share of McQueen as a company which presented enormous opportunities regarding both funding and expansion – an opportunity which McQueen graciously accepted. This acquisition took place in December 2000 when the designer would have been midway through the creation of his A/W 2001 collection – essentially making this, his S/S 2002 collection (which can be seen in full here) the first that he made under the provisions of the Gucci group.

WHAT A MERRY GO ROUND

Featuring a heavy-metal soundtrack interspersed with children’s music and horrific goth clowns dancing around a traditional carousel, McQueen’s Autumn/Winter 2001 collection (which can be seen in full here) highlighted all of his best-known attributes. Playing on his skills as a showman, the set was dressed up like a gothic fairytale complete with skeletons being dragged across the floor and libidinous models writhing up against the poles of the carousels – like some perverse reinterpretation of the Brothers Grimm, McQueen managed to create a spectacle that straddled the lines of acceptability. 

VOSS

Undoubtedly one of the contenders for the greatest McQueen show of all time, the only way to possibly see this show and take in its brilliance is by watching it in its entirety, which you can do here.. With this collection, pictures themselves aren't enough - this was a runway 'presentation' of the greatest kind, and everything from the behaviour of the models to the unveiling of Michelle Olley and the two-hour delay in the show's start were indications of how meticulously McQueen had planned every aspect of the presentation. Designed as a sort of social commentary, the first genius move by McQueen was to design a giant glass cube for the show - made from double-sided mirrors, the models were unable to see the audience and when the lights inside the cube weren't illuminated the audience could only see themselves in a gigantic mirror. McQueen deliberately started the show two hours behind schedule, leaving the audience having to look at themselves for the entire time - he has since commented with glee on how uncomfortable the audience were having to watch themselves as McQueen stayed backstage and watched their reactions on a CCTV camera.

ESHU

McQueen often remarked that he found beauty in areas that society generally perceives as 'ugly' or 'savage' - in general, high-fashion has a fascination with beauty but sometimes designers delve deeper and explore different concepts and draw inspiration from obscure places, and it is at this point that a collection truly becomes unique. As usual, McQueen presented a highly-researched collection that took the aesthetic of the ancient Yoruba tribe and brought it up to date with a decidedly chic twist - the collection can be seen in full here.

EYE

Proving that he still knows how to inject excitement into a traditional runway presentation, McQueen took expectations to new heights (literally) with his Spring/Summer 2000 collection, 'Eye' (which can be seen in full here). As heavily influenced by Middle-Eastern culture as it was hardcore porn, the collection was based on two very extreme portrayals of female sexuality and, in a move that would probably now be deemed too controversial for the fashion industry, featured sexed-up versions of traditional Middle-Eastern dress (and yes, that does include the burqa).