MALE NARRATOR: The “Hooligan of British Fashion,” [hip music evoking period and mood] Alexander McQueen is often known for his provocative and dramatic clothes, garnering collaborations with style icons like Lady Gaga and David Bowie.
CLARISSA ESGUERRA: But at the core, he was an excellent crafts person, in fashion and in cloth, and in cutting.
MALE NARRATOR: Clarissa Esguerra is the Associate Curator of Costume and Textiles at LACMA:
CLARISSA ESGUERRA: The thing with Alexander McQueen is he comes from a history of cutting and tailoring. When he was 16 years old, he studied on Savile Row, which is a place in London where they’re known for their tailoring of suits. So he was able to absorb this and brought it into this suit.
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MALE NARRATOR: This graphic black-and-white checkered suit was part of McQueen’s 2003 Fall/Winter Ready-to-Wear collection. It features a motorcycle-style jacket and trumpet skirt. From a distance, it can be a bit confusing to the eyes, but as you look closer, you can see the many pieces that make this suit…exceptional.
CLARISSA ESGUERRA: There’s a method in pattern making where you always follow a certain grain on a woven textile. And here, he really mixes it up just so he could get this clashing of these little these black-and-white squares. It’s very jarring, but at the same time, very robust because it totally accentuates the feminine curves in the body.
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I come from a background of fashion design and construction, and I feel in awe of how that suit is made. The time it took to create all of those pieces is mind boggling, and he could have simply put it in any kind of textile, but he decided to use this woven pattern textile, where if you look at it too long, it kind of hurts your eyes. And so he takes something that is already very complicated and complicates it even more, yet makes it in the silhouette that is very squared and architectural. It really plays with your eyes and your senses, to me.
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