Paris Fashion Week: Alexander McQueen

Sixteen looks from the late Alexander McQueen’s final collection were presented yesterday afternoon, not on the catwalk, but in a private showing in a lavish Paris drawing room. The mood was heavy as friends and admirers of McQueen – who committed suicide February 11th – were presented with the last examples of the designer’s genius in a collection – finished by McQueen’s design team – that drew inspiration from 15th and 16th century painting and decorative arts. Images of Fouquet’s 15th century Virgin and child, angel motifs in silk imprimés and metallic boot heel reliefs, and grotesques drawn from the hellscapes of Hieronymous Bosch may offer glimpses into the mental state of McQueen, reportedly devastated by both the death of his mother – whose funeral followed his suicide by one day – and the 2007 suicide of close friend and mentor Isabella Blow. Pieces included a coat sculpted from dipped, gold feathers and short pleated skirts that hung low on the hips, styled with headpieces fashioned from varnished feathers and tightly wrapped bandages. Insiders predict a scramble within the Gucci Group – a subsidiary of PPR, the French luxury conglomerate with a controlling stake of the McQueen label – to find a replacement for McQueen. Talk of Gareth Pugh and Olivier Theyskens spiced industry gossip during fashion week, which closes tomorrow with Miu Miu’s 7pm presentation.