McQueen continued his
streak of success with his S/S 1997 collection, La Poupée (which can be seen in full here) – a collection inspired by the work of twisted German
puppeteer Hans Bellmer, renowned for his freaky female mannequins who were
often contorted or deformed. Considering that Bellmer’s work was designed to
oppose Nazi definitions of beauty, the fact that McQueen was inspired by the
artist seems natural; both tend to work within the realm of the grotesque and
the mutated, and both take pleasure in rebellion.
Staying true to his signature showmanship, the
designer crafted an extraordinary set which featured a flight of steps leading
down to a flooded runway. The models all had blunt fringes cut to highlight
cheekbones which were almost artificial in their severity, whilst their eyes
were surrounded by bold sweeps of metallic silver eyeshadow. Many of the girls
also wore heavy facial jewellery in the form of protruding spikes or silver
cylinders which orbited the face, whereas the African model Debra Shaw created
the most memorable imagery of the show by attempting to walk the runway whilst
shackled with metal body jewellery. As usual the press rushed to create
controversy, stating that a black woman in chains had to represent slavery – as
usual the press were wrong, and McQueen chose the outfit because he liked the
delicate way that it made the model walk, somewhere between demented and
beautiful.
