Alexander McQueen’s fascination with death permeated his work, infusing it with a haunting allure. McQueen’s designs were more than mere garments; they were visceral expressions of his innermost thoughts and obsessions.
In 1992, during his MA graduate collection at Central Saint Martins, McQueen unveiled a show titled “Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims.” The collection featured Victorian mourning clothes, meticulously lined with human hair—a macabre nod to the dark underbelly of history. These garments, like spectral remnants of the past, whispered secrets of mortality and fragility.
In his autumn/winter 2006 show, “Widows of Culloden,” McQueen conjured a ghostly finale. Supermodel Kate Moss emerged as a spectral apparition in a flowing white dress, rising before the audience as if summoned from the beyond. This eerie resurrection, achieved through a 19th-century technique called “Pepper’s Ghost,” blurred the boundaries between life and death. McQueen’s runway became a séance, where fashion intersected with the supernatural.
Beyond the theatricality, McQueen spoke of death as an intrinsic part of life. He embraced the Victorian approach to the deceased—a celebration of their existence. His designs echoed this sentiment, merging morbidity with beauty. Through intricate lace, skull motifs, and ethereal silhouettes, McQueen wove a tapestry that transcended the mortal coil.
