McQueen has always been a designer whose concepts
and imagery have courted media controversy. Sometimes (especially with the
provocative imagery at the start of his career) this controversy is deliberate
but this A/W 1995 collection, entitled ‘Highland Rape’ (see the full show here), is possibly the best
example of McQueen’s vision being misinterpreted and sensationalised by the
media. Upon seeing the collection, journalists clambered over each other to be
the first to denounce the designer as a ‘misogynist’ – an insensitive idiot
glorifying rape to gain media coverage. The backlash was enormous, and it was
only when the designer began to give interviews on the collection’s real
meaning that the press began to thaw. The collection was not a testament to
rape – instead it was a visual commentary on England’s violation of Scotland.
