Alexander McQueen was an artist who showed extraordinary creativity through fashion which is exquisitely presented in this documentary about his life and his bold and brash work. Writer Director Peter Ettedgui and Co-Director Ian Bonhôte explain why this master fashion designer is still revered around the world and the legacy he left behind showing many of his incredible runway collections.
His use of color, texture, and imagination had no bounds. But neither did his insecurity and depression. This film gets inside his world with intimate interviews conducted of the people he made famous along with those he loved and loved him. He was close to his family and the film points out how he came out to them as gay early in his life and was totally accepted. His mother describes him as a happy child who was always drawing clothes. But he also had a dark side.
McQueen came from humble beginnings, the youngest of 6, outside London.
The film visits the places he worked at honing his craft, starting as an apprentice tailoring men’s suits at Savile Row. It follows him to St. Martins where he earned a Masters in Fashion Design. He’s described in the film like a little old lady when he’s at the sewing machine, but he was so focused on what he was doing, it was like being in The Zone. He’d lose himself in his work and you see it. He went from one high fashion house to another in Paris, from Givenchy to Voss to Gucci, until creating the company bearing his own name.
You see sketches of the bold ideas that poured out of his imagination. His graduation show was noticed by Fashion Editor Isabel Blow. That put him on a trajectory for more attention than he expected. Blow introduced him to his muse, Annabelle Neilson Rothschild, wife of the famous banker. She and his close friends called him by his real first name, “Lee. ” He called her “Tinkerbell.” They became fast friends till he died and the footage of them together shows their incredibly close relationship.
He caused great controversy with his collections. He was the black sheep of designers for his outlandish and dark-themed designs, but they left a distinct impression. One of his first was inspired by Jack the Ripper and called, “McQueen’s Theatre of Cruelty.” He also did one called “Pagan Poetry.” But the one that caused the most furor was “Highland Rape” creating outfits in plaids.
But he also designed lavish and colorful collections using huge wings or headdresses with feathers. His designs made news and he even inspired trends like hip huggers, he called “bumsters.” McQueen is shown in the film saying he wanted to create fashions that made him feel “Repulsed and exhilarated.” He did, but they were also exciting.
He became the designer to the stars who wanted to make a statement, including Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman, Lady Gaga and even David Bowie! But his dark side got the best of him. He also said, “We can all be discarded very easily.”
McQueen had serious gay relationships and even got married. But that didn’t seem to be enough. Interviews with his lovers reveal more of his erratic behavior and depression. He was also HIV positive. Tragically, In 2010, he spent the last night of his life with his best friend,“Tinkerbell,” Annabelle Neilson, then hanged himself on the eve of his mother’s funeral.
This film presents an incredible amount of archival footage collected by the filmmakers. The mix of the music is a little too loud and disturbing at times. But the visuals of McQueen’s runway shows are fascinating and fabulous, even through the credits. Writer Director Peter Ettedgui and Co-Director Ian Bonhôte also collected interviews revealing, not only how he was, but who this influential artist was.
Bleecker Street 111 minutes Documentary NR Reviewed July 25, 2018
