BEAUTY: Alexander McQueen's Last Collection

I have been hesitating to post this because McQueen's death is still upsetting to me for so many reasons. Although a suicide is always something to be mourned, McQueen was only 40 years old--certainly not at his peak. I mourn the loss of a creative soul, someone with a powerful and singular vision, who produced provocative performance art and exquisite beauty. His creations were far more than clothing; they were sculpture.
In a world like this one, we cannot afford to lose such monumental creativity.

This is his last collection. The themes include death, angels, wings and feathers...beautiful, chilling, and eerily fitting. Notice the gilded feather coat with the shawl collar, the skull caps with gilded feather coxcombs, the wings on the back of the second dress, and the angelic caryatids on the heels of the shoes.

From the Alexander McQueen website:

"Alexander McQueen's autumn collection is inspired by Byzantine art, the carvings of Grinling Gibbons, and Old Master paintings and altar pieces including, in particular, works by Jean Fouquet, Sandro Botticelli, Stephan Lochner, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes, Jean Hey and Heironymus Bosch.

All patterns were cut on the stand by Lee Alexander McQueen.

Each piece is unique, as was he."

http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/