![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Alexander McQueen's last collection...
Mar. 10th, 2010 10:09 amMedieval in theme, if not shape, Alexander McQueen's last collection is beautiful, but seems a kind of husk without his theatrical runway shows:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/style/fashionweek/runway.html#fall_2010_mcqueen_alexander
What was he thinking about? How would he have displayed these?
The presence of Heironymous Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' in the bodice of the second dress suggests that there might be more context behind these designs besides their beauty and a potential raucousness beyond the stately drape of these fabrics.
Random thoughts: the 'medieval shape' was the cone, in it's extremity it yielded the plucking back of hairlines, (which is suggested by the caps that are used in these designs) the stereotypical pointed hat, and the padding of bellies to suggest pregnancy and create a wider hips than shoulders or breasts. But it seems to me that the shape with which McQueen plays isn't just the medieval cone, but the tighter-tailoring of the 19C, a reminder that all these things are filtered through centuries of reinterpretation, ending, of course, with his own. The gown with the mirrored image of the saints, blessing hands extend over each breast, seems especially memorable to me, as does the white dress with embroidery, which reminds me, somewhat of one of the Pre-Raphaelite's drowned Ophelias, pure white stained by the inevitable taint of nature. This is not the mille-fleur of medieval tapestry, it is something more modern and weedy. Personally, I am partial to the black gown (total 19C redux) and the red jacket with the gold rampants.
It was when I learned about the padding and saw our own fashion reaching for the shape of maternity wear (loose tops, gathered high, usually above the breasts, widening towards the belly and hips) as well as the infamous 'hunchback' jacket that I started wondering about what we were modifying our bodies (via fashion) to suggest.
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/style/fashionweek/runway.html#fall_2010_mcqueen_alexander
What was he thinking about? How would he have displayed these?
The presence of Heironymous Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' in the bodice of the second dress suggests that there might be more context behind these designs besides their beauty and a potential raucousness beyond the stately drape of these fabrics.
Random thoughts: the 'medieval shape' was the cone, in it's extremity it yielded the plucking back of hairlines, (which is suggested by the caps that are used in these designs) the stereotypical pointed hat, and the padding of bellies to suggest pregnancy and create a wider hips than shoulders or breasts. But it seems to me that the shape with which McQueen plays isn't just the medieval cone, but the tighter-tailoring of the 19C, a reminder that all these things are filtered through centuries of reinterpretation, ending, of course, with his own. The gown with the mirrored image of the saints, blessing hands extend over each breast, seems especially memorable to me, as does the white dress with embroidery, which reminds me, somewhat of one of the Pre-Raphaelite's drowned Ophelias, pure white stained by the inevitable taint of nature. This is not the mille-fleur of medieval tapestry, it is something more modern and weedy. Personally, I am partial to the black gown (total 19C redux) and the red jacket with the gold rampants.
It was when I learned about the padding and saw our own fashion reaching for the shape of maternity wear (loose tops, gathered high, usually above the breasts, widening towards the belly and hips) as well as the infamous 'hunchback' jacket that I started wondering about what we were modifying our bodies (via fashion) to suggest.
