Fashion Spectacles

A Scene from McQueen's S/S 1999 Show

Simple presentations in private ateliers are no longer comparable to the contemporary shows that have become theatrical spectacles.

More and more designers prefer to use special effects to present their collections. A series of socio-cultural dynamics contributed to this change during the years. Courrèges  1964 presentation marked the revolution for this new environment. During the Sixties, fashion shows started changing, elaborate scenes and costumes, lights and music began appearing.

Mugler's 1984 Collection

In 1984 Thierry Mugler, together with a rock businessman, presented his collection as an enormous show, where a cast of 50 people and an audience of more than 6000 people were invited. Other designers who changed the fashion shows were Gianni Versace during the Eighties, and Alexander McQueen and John Galliano during the Nineties.

An example of one of the most unforgettable fashion shows organized was by McQueen during his 1999 spring/summer collection, named N°13. For the show, the designer organized a scene where the model steps on a circular platform turning as if she was a ragdoll, whilst mechanical hands were spraying yellow and black spray paint on her white dress, thus creating a surreal performance.

Source: Evans, Caroline."Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness".

the Runaways

The Runaways’ outrageous fashion did not appeal to many fans. Jett chose clothes in an androgynous wardrobe, like her red jumpsuit, whereas other members wore lingerie. They were a band, sound, and style way ahead of their generation and the mass market just wasn’t ready to receive them.

Cutrone added that the look, which was more masculine than what women had worn in past decades, came from the freedom women established in that decade. "All of a sudden, you can get a job and make your own money. This was a happening time, because they were free," she said. "They were empowered. They were the band; they weren't with the band."

Robert Verdi, a celebrity styist said that while the look might feel fresh to the actresses' fans, their parents will unquestionably remember wearing many of these styles. "I think what's interesting when you look at the Runaways' style is that it's new to a generation but old to some people," he said. "The entire sort of shaggy haircut ... it's sort of punk rock, kind of intellectual, but still grungy”.

"What stands out is the shaggy hair. The mullet. That look will become popular again with young girls, because anyone who's done it before won't do it again," he added, pointing out a few other trends that will take off. "The cork shoes. The big, chunky kind of hippie shoe. The faded, light-blue jeans. The fitted military shirts with big collars. Nothing's loose. ... All those things will be things girls like to wear."

Heatherette designer Richie Rich said it is all about the T-shirts. "I love '70s fashion. I love that whole hippie-dippy feeling ... that vibe of being cooler than school," he said. "It can translate into the streets. People wearing rock-and-roll T-shirts, real chopped-up hair. I'm not so certain about the whole bootleg jeans. It's something fun, something different."

Richie described the style as cool tomboy and said the aesthetic can surely be very modern. "It will give us that aesthetic, like cool T-shirts and accessories and lots of eyeliner ... versions of the hair, like, fun and punky," he said, adding that "cool leather jackets and T-shirts" will come back in style. "It's street fashion. They almost revolutionized that in so many ways."

An Edwardian Fashion Movement

It was the start of something new, a wind of freedom in the early 1950's in England. Teenage gangs appeared in the East End of London; they were called the Cosh boys. These Cosh boys horrified English society: razor attacks, robberies, fights among gangs and also against law enforcers. 

After the Second World War England woke up with a headache!The Press looked-for a new term to call these gangs with their numbers escalating each day. The word selected was Teddy Boys.It seemed that the 1^st  newspaper that used the name Teddy Boy was the Daily Express on September 23rd 1953. 

The teddy boys in their "uniforms"

The teddy boy uniform was initially copied from the stylish Edwardian gentleman like those under the control of Edward VII (1901-1910) - their 'social superiors'. This fashion trend was tailored, and featured stretched high necked jackets, at times of velvet, or velvet trimmed collar and cuffs, and were ruled in either flowery or intense colors. This was paired with brocade waistcoats, bootlace or slim jim tie, narrow 'drainpipe' pants,a wing-collared top and suede shoes, which were formerly regarded as 'gay men's shoes' or 'nancy boy shoes'. A crucial fashion accessory, along with the cycle chain was the comb.

The Teddygirls adopted American fashions like toreador pants and circle skirts, though they tend to wear low cut tops to make themselves look less prissy.

All teddy boys went to immense lengths to keep their hair in place. Fighting messed up the hair - hence the ever at hand metal comb. The DA was the main style while there were many kinds like 'the bop', 'the Tony Curtis', 'the be-bop', 'the tevee', 'the panama' or the 'back sweep and crest'. It was greased and usually with sideboards.

The new generation of teddy boys

The British pop boom of the 1960s brought with it fresh music and new youth culture.The original Rock and Roll pubs appeared as do Rockers who liked the same tune and rode great British motorcycles. Teds and Rockers went well among each other and the leather motorbike jacket became the standard wear for many Teddyboys and Teddygirls for day-to-day use and for rough pubs. The bike jacket could guard against motorcycle accidents, razor attacks and spilled beer in a way that the drape jacket by no means can. 

The 1970's saw Glam Rock and Rockabilly styled bands in Britain and, while the Teds loathed most of this music, it brought a resurgence of interest in Rock and Roll. Many young people bought second hand wrap jackets, hid holes with badges and became a new generation for Teddyboys and girls.The new generation of Teds developed a tough personality: hair lacquer happened to change grease, the drapes were brighter and, occasionally, the drain-pipes were tighter. Steadily, the new generation were exposed to one of the roots of R'N'R : Rockabilly and Country Music. 

As the time went on, the urban working class association with the 'Teddy Boy' dress spread further and with the commercial hits of movies like 'Rock Around The Clock' and resultant media attention. a person causing nuisance of any kind was blamed on Teddy Boys. Just as all health problems today are held responsible on 'smokers', it became almost fashionable (and it sold papers) to blame any unsocial crime on 'Teddy Boys'. A youth only had to have a Tony Curtis haircut and he was instantly labeled 'a Teddy Boy'.

McQueen's Downfall

Flickering through the net and marveling at McQueen's genius I started to wonder what his worst collections were. Like any artist's body of work, some collections are burned into our psyche forever whilst others get lost in the mix. But did he have any? And should I be using the word 'worst' in the same sentence as McQueen?

After searching the web for some reviews,they were fairly mixed. For two seasons,Men’s: Spring/Summer 2006 Killa ,Fall/Winter 2005-2006 The Man Who Knew Too Much,  it seemed that Mr. McQueen had produced collections that are manifestly commercial - again, causing insiders to complain that the British bad boy has become lazy.

"I've done Victorian, I've done romantic," he said. "I wanted to bring sexy back. It's what is missing right now. And Alaïa was sexy for me. It was classy sex." He added, "I have so much respect for him, and I don't even think he will mind." Mr. McQueen is also someone who can get below the fashion surface. Despite the rightness of the minimalist silhouette this collection was all about surface. It grasped the notion of sexiness technically but not with feeling or belief.-Cathy Horyn of the New York Times

[NYT]

Azzedine Alaia

Is this the fashion moment for warrior queens in curvy tailoring as sharp as a compass point; or for Grecian tunics cinched with leather harnesses? Alexander McQueen thinks so. He carried his show of Glamazon models by force of energy. But turn the pounding music off and what was there? An image that Azzdedine Alaïa created in the 1980s when the power woman look was a challenge to spacey flower children and a genuine reflection of burgeoning feminism.

The collection, played out in black and white with touches of silver and gold, included taut tailoring with tiny, fluting skirts, gilded chains filling in a scoop front or a goddess gown suspended from a silver harness. But at a moment when women are reasserting their right to look simply beautiful, McQueen's premise went against the movement toward fashion grace.-Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune

[NYT]

Alexander McQueen has changed. The commanding impresario who once took delight in scaring and astonishing his audience with stadium-filling shows and designing at the brink of scandal has—if we're to judge by the past two seasons—joined the regular ranks of ready-to-wear designers who line up their models like soldiers and march 'em on out with the collection.For night, the part of the show McQueen said was inspired by Greek goddesses, things took a turn for the disappointing—tiny pleated silver lamé dresses, white crystal-beaded gowns and pieces made in bandage wrappings of white or gold elastic. The slot formerly occupied by his showstopping extravaganzas is now serviced by metalwork body costumes with all the finesse of something left over from an eighties sci-fi TV series. Gone, even, are the staggeringly made, couture-grade fantasy gowns that have brought so many brides banging on his door. Though some of his moves are clearly being made in an effort to sell—no criticism in itself—this show, from a designer whose capabilities have won such respect, was a letdown.-Sarah Mower of Style.com

[Style]

Versace S/S 2006

What made Neptune such an anomaly in McQueen's career was it's straight-forwardness both in the clothes and the presentation. 99% of the clothes were wearable. Like, off the runway and straight on your body wearable. No gowns and no real show-stoppers except for a white silk cape embroidered with a phoenix on the back. According to McQueen he wanted to bring sexy back. I think a lot of his 90's collections featured sex but it was raw, aggressive, in your face sexy. Neptune to me was like selling sex, like Versace and in that respect it felt hollow. I completely missed the Alaia references which I feel so stupid about now because they're so painfully obvious.

The commercialism of the collection was quite shocking too. He showed everything you would expect from a standard runway show. Day-wear, easy to wear separates, handbags, even swimwear. And no runway theatrics. No dress-painting robots, no impaled models or merry-go-rounds. I wonder what factored into this decision? Was it a financial decision? A push from Gucci Group execs to get some cash injected into the brand? I doubt it. Perhaps it was a psychological break? For many seasons people had an expectation that a McQueen show was going to be an extravaganza. And season after season he delivered. The Man Who Knew Too Much preceded Neptune and that too felt like a bit of an artistic breather. Instead of dark romanticism he opted for sexy Greek goddesses, not exactly a mind-bending subject.

Impeccable details on belts

After looking at this collection several times now I do like it. I don't love it, like his other collections but there's some beautiful pieces and it should also be noted that there's an immense amount of detail in the pieces that are really easy to miss. The beading and embroidery is flawless.

And the worst?  What appears to be a white silk crepe wrap shirt with obi-style sash was just boring. The same shirt appeared again in black but this time with silver sequined pants. The slinky-somewhat sloppy-beige wrap dress.

So while Neptune pales in comparison to McQueen's other collections I still feel that it has classic McQueen references such as harness-like details, leather, sharp tailoring and some ingenious draping.The show proved he was capable of doing wearable clothes and removing the typical McQueen runway theatrics forced people to focus only on the clothes instead of getting swept up in say, a video installation or what have you. The repercussion was that people felt ripped off. Most notably Sarah Mower who called the collection lazy. I agree with that statement to a point. I think perhaps it was mentally lazy and some of the pieces weren't structurally challenging.