Alexander McQueen: 1 Year on

There's been a lot of Alexander McQueen news in the media recently. He was such an important designer and his life came to a very tragic end one year ago. I thought I would do a mini-roundup of things to do in tribute to him this year.

Watch: McQueen and I
Friday 25th, 9pm, More4 (UK)
"This dramatic and elegantly shot film tells McQueen's story, by examining critical relationships - most significantly with the eccentric stylist, Isabella Blow. The film interviews friends, models and journalists, as well as his brother and ex-boyfriend, to discover what McQueen was really like away from the limelight, the pressure that came with his success and how he changed through the rollercoaster years."
I'm looking forward to this film and learning more about Isabella Blow, McQueen's muse, who killed herself a few years before McQueen's suicide.

See: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
May 4–July 31, 2011, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
"This new exhibition will celebrate the late Alexander McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation which took place after his death in February 2010. This exibition will explore fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity."
I would love to see this but there's no way I could fly to New York just for this (I wish)! Perhaps it will travel to London at some point. However in the meantime, the wonderful BBC has a slideshow of images from the collection.

Read: Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation
£10.92, amazon.com
"This book includes 125 stunning fashion show/catwalk photographs, with commentary by an experienced fashion journalist".
You can view a lot of the book online with amazon, and I love the design of the text and images. This book opened my eyes to McQueen as more than a fashion designer- as a visual artist whose work spanned textiles, installation, practicalities and design.



A tattoo McQueen had on his upper right arm helped inspire the MET exhibition. The quote, taken from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, reads: "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."