Edited with text by Clarissa M. Esguerra, Michaela Hansen. Text by Meghan Doherty, Linda Komaroff, Leah Lehmbeck, Erin Sullivan Maynes, Rosie Chambers Mills, Mei Mei Rado, Britt Salvesen.
McQueen’s iconic fashion juxtaposed with historic textiles and works of art, revealing the designer’s dynamic approach to storytelling
Published with Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
One of the most significant contributors to fashion between 1990 and 2010, British designer Lee Alexander McQueen was both a conceptual and a technical virtuoso. His critically acclaimed collections synthesized his unique training in Savile Row tailoring, theatrical design and haute couture with a remarkable breadth and depth of encyclopedic and autobiographical references spanning time, geography, mediums and technology. McQueen’s singular viewpoint produced exquisitely constructed, thought-provoking, often subversive or allegorical fashion. Taking a reflective look at McQueen’s artful design process, this book documents the designer’s diverse sources of inspiration by displaying McQueen’s imaginative fashions alongside related artworks. McQueen's encyclopedic references range from ancient Greece and Rome to Tibetan silk brocade patterns, 17th-century Dutch painting, the prints of Goya and the films of Stanley Kubrick. In each of these cases and beyond, examples of McQueen’s imaginative and extraordinary work are displayed alongside artworks from LACMA’s permanent collection. Spanning art from a multitude of mediums, eras and cultures, this publication provides a new and innovative assessment of McQueen’s work and highlights his mindful approach to storytelling and construction through fashion. Lee Alexander McQueen (1969–2010) was one of the most important fashion designers at the turn of the 21st century. In 2011, following his death, the Costume Institute in New York organized an enormously successful retrospective of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Featured image, a Woman’s Dress and Shoes from the Sarabande collection, Spring/Summer 2007, is reproduced from 'Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse'.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
W Magazine
Michael Callahan
Manages to both celebrate the dark mirth that informed McQueen’s designs while also paying respect to his seriousness as a craftsman.
Hyperallergic
Anne Wallentine
Features McQueen as a standout designer who interpreted global influences through his idiosyncratic perspective. Through the medium of fashion, he spun history into fantasy. And what fantasies they were.
STATUS: Out of stock
Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory.
Featured spreads are from Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse. Published to accompany the blockbuster exhibition currently on view at LACMA, this vivid, 176-page hardcover juxtaposes McQueen’s iconic fashion designs with historic textiles and works of art, revealing his dynamic approach to storytelling. “Lee Alexander McQueen was both a conceptual and technical virtuoso,” curators Clarissa M. Esguerra and Michaela Hansen write. “One of the most significant contributors to fashion between 1990 and 2010, the designer’s critically acclaimed collections synthesized his unique training in Savile Row tailoring, theatrical design and haute couture with a remarkable breadth of references spanning time, geography, media, technology, popular culture, the natural world and his lived experiences. The designer’s singular viewpoint produced exquisitely constructed, thought-provoking fashion that could also be subversive or allegorical. His powerful—and at times controversial—collections presented deliberately personal responses to contemporary and historical sociocultural issues and events. As Nick Knight, a photographer who collaborated closely with McQueen, observed: ‘Any artist’s work is ultimately about themselves, and their perspective on the world. And McQueen was a true artist. He worked in fashion because he believed—as I do—that it is the most relevant, the most exciting medium of our time. Which, of course, is why it has the capacity to outrage.’” continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.75 x 12.25 in. / 176 pgs / 150 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $49.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $67.95 GBP £39.99 ISBN: 9781636810188 PUBLISHER: DelMonico Books AVAILABLE: 5/10/2022 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: Out of stock TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by DelMonico Books. Edited with text by Clarissa M. Esguerra, Michaela Hansen. Text by Meghan Doherty, Linda Komaroff, Leah Lehmbeck, Erin Sullivan Maynes, Rosie Chambers Mills, Mei Mei Rado, Britt Salvesen.
McQueen’s iconic fashion juxtaposed with historic textiles and works of art, revealing the designer’s dynamic approach to storytelling
Published with Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
One of the most significant contributors to fashion between 1990 and 2010, British designer Lee Alexander McQueen was both a conceptual and a technical virtuoso. His critically acclaimed collections synthesized his unique training in Savile Row tailoring, theatrical design and haute couture with a remarkable breadth and depth of encyclopedic and autobiographical references spanning time, geography, mediums and technology. McQueen’s singular viewpoint produced exquisitely constructed, thought-provoking, often subversive or allegorical fashion.
Taking a reflective look at McQueen’s artful design process, this book documents the designer’s diverse sources of inspiration by displaying McQueen’s imaginative fashions alongside related artworks. McQueen's encyclopedic references range from ancient Greece and Rome to Tibetan silk brocade patterns, 17th-century Dutch painting, the prints of Goya and the films of Stanley Kubrick. In each of these cases and beyond, examples of McQueen’s imaginative and extraordinary work are displayed alongside artworks from LACMA’s permanent collection. Spanning art from a multitude of mediums, eras and cultures, this publication provides a new and innovative assessment of McQueen’s work and highlights his mindful approach to storytelling and construction through fashion.
Lee Alexander McQueen (1969–2010) was one of the most important fashion designers at the turn of the 21st century. In 2011, following his death, the Costume Institute in New York organized an enormously successful retrospective of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
