Collection
|
Season
|
Show date
|
Show location
|
Themes and inspiration
|
Notes
|
Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims
|
1992 graduation collection
|
16 March 1992
|
Duke of York's Headquarters, London[b]
|
London serial killer Jack the Ripper and prostitution in the Victorian era, particularly their practice of selling locks of hair
|
Thesis collection for Master's degree in fashion at Central Saint Martins; purchased in its entirety by editor Isabella Blow
|
Taxi Driver
|
Autumn/Winter 1993
|
March 1993
|
The Ritz Hotel, London
|
Taxi Driver, a 1976 neo-noir film by Martin Scorsese; to a lesser extent McQueen's taxi driver father
|
Debut of bumster trousers; exhibited rather than shown on runway;[c] no pieces survive as entire collection was accidentally lost immediately following the exhibit
|
Nihilism
|
Spring/Summer 1994
|
18 October 1993
|
Bluebird Garage, London
|
Eclectic collection with no straightforward theme, elements of primitivism, pushback against feminine womenswear
|
First professional catwalk show
|
Banshee
|
Autumn/Winter 1994
|
26 February 1994
|
Café de Paris, London
|
The Gaelic banshee, a spirit whose wailing foretells death; romanticised survival through tragedy
|
Isabella Blow walked in the show
|
The Birds
|
Spring/Summer 1995
|
10 September 1994
|
Bagley's warehouse, London
|
The Birds, a 1963 natural horror film by Alfred Hitchcock; ornithology; the mathematical designs of graphic artist M. C. Escher
|
First McQueen show styled by long-time collaborator Katy England
|
Highland Rape
|
Autumn/Winter 1995
|
13 March 1995
|
Natural History Museum, London
|
English violence towards Scotland, especially the Jacobite risings and the Highland Clearances
|
First critically-significant collection, led to 1996 hiring by Givenchy
|
The Hunger
|
Spring/Summer 1996
|
23 October 1995
|
Natural History Museum, London
|
The Hunger, a 1983 erotic horror film featuring vampires
|
First time McQueen showed menswear; first show produced by Sam Gainsbury, who would produce every subsequent show
|
Dante
|
Autumn/Winter 1996
|
1 March 1996
|
Christ Church, Spitalfields, London
|
Religion and warfare; named for Dante's Inferno, a 14th-century epic poem describing Hell
|
First appearance of English supermodel Kate Moss in a McQueen show
|
Bellmer La Poupée
|
Spring/Summer 1997
|
27 September 1996
|
Royal Horticultural Hall, London
|
Poupée, a 1934 series by surrealist photographer Hans Bellmer, which presented deconstructed dolls as a commentary on Nazi ideals
|
First show worked by Sarah Burton, who became McQueen's right-hand woman; Black model Debra Shaw walked while shackled to a metal frame, generating controversy
|
It's a Jungle Out There
|
Autumn/Winter 1997
|
27 February 1997
|
Borough Market, London
|
Life cycle of the Thomson's gazelle; savagery of the fashion industry; paintings by the Old Masters
|
Set accidentally caught fire during the show
|
Untitled
|
Spring/Summer 1998
|
28 September 1997
|
Gatliff Road Warehouse, London
|
Transformation and metamorphosis; human-animal hybridisation; John Galliano collection "Forgotten Innocents" (Spring/Summer 1986)
|
Originally titled The Golden Shower in reference to the sex act and retitled after objections from sponsor American Express
|
Joan
|
Autumn/Winter 1998
|
25 February 1998
|
Gatliff Road Warehouse, London
|
Martyrdom and persecution in the medieval era, especially that of French folk heroine and saint Joan of Arc
|
McQueen was photographed for The Face magazine in April 1998 in hair and makeup similar to that used in this show
|
No. 13
|
Spring/Summer 1999
|
27 September 1997
|
Gatliff Road Warehouse, London
|
Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s to 1920s; finale inspired by Rebecca Horn installation High Moon (1991)
|
Show ended with model Shalom Harlow being spray-painted by robots
|
The Overlook
|
Autumn/Winter 1999
|
23 February 1999
|
Gatliff Road Warehouse, London
|
The Shining, a 1980 psychological horror film by Stanley Kubrick, particularly its winter setting
|
First attendance of Vogue editor Anna Wintour at a McQueen show
|
Eye
|
Spring/Summer 2000
|
16 September 1999
|
Pier 94, New York City
|
Islamic culture and clothing, especially the burqa; relationship of Western world to Middle East
|
First time presenting outside of London
|
Eshu
|
Autumn/Winter 2000
|
15 February 2000
|
Gainsborough Studios, London
|
Named for Yoruba deity Eshu; African-inspired primitivism with elements of Victorian fashion
|
Anti-fur activists broke into the venue before the show and vandalised the set, necessitating a police response
|
Voss
|
Spring/Summer 2001
|
26 September 2000
|
Gatliff Road Warehouse, London
|
Staged as a voyeuristic look inside a stereotypical insane asylum; dresses of unusual materials like seashells and microscope slides
|
Finale showpiece presented author Michelle Olley nude, masked, and covered with live moths, in a recreation of Sanitarium (1983), a photograph by Joel-Peter Witkin
|
What a Merry-Go-Round
|
Autumn/Winter 2001
|
21 February 2001
|
Gatliff Road Warehouse, London
|
Dark underside of carnivals and circuses; Child Catcher villain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
|
Final presentation at Gatliff Road; first appearance of skull print that is now a signature of the brand
|
The Dance of the Twisted Bull
|
Spring/Summer 2002
|
6 October 2001
|
Stade Français sports club [fr], Paris
|
Spanish culture, especially bullfighting and flamenco dancing
|
First collection after selling label to Gucci Group; first McQueen collection shown in Paris
|
Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious
|
Autumn/Winter 2002
|
9 March 2002
|
La Conciergerie, Paris
|
Films of American director Tim Burton, especially Sleepy Hollow (1990); English school uniforms; photography of Helmut Lang[58]
|
Lighting and invitation by film director Tim Burton
|
Irere
|
Spring/Summer 2003
|
5 October 2002
|
Grande halle de la Villette, Paris
|
Three-phase narrative: shipwrecked pirates, drowned maidens in black, and birds of paradise
|
Debut of the "oyster dress", a riff on a 1987 design by John Galliano called the "shellfish dress"
|
Scanners
|
Autumn/Winter 2003
|
8 March 2003
|
Grande halle de la Villette, Paris
|
Journey eastward through the clothing of northern Eurasia: Siberia and the Russian Far East, Tibet, and Japan[65]
|
Clear plastic wind tunnel was suspended over the runway for some models to walk through
|
Deliverance
|
Spring/Summer 2004
|
10 October 2003
|
Salle Wagram, Paris
|
Depression-era fashion, expressed as dance performance based on 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
|
Choreography by dancer Les Child; McQueen's usual severe tailoring was dropped to enable the models to dance
|
Pantheon ad Lucem
|
Autumn/Winter 2004
|
5 March 2004
|
Grande halle de la Villette, Paris
|
Ancient Greek draped garments; science fiction films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
|
Entire title often incorrectly translated as Latin for "Towards the Light"; this is the correct translation for "ad lucem" but neglects to account for "pantheon"
|
It's Only a Game
|
Spring/Summer 2005
|
8 October 2004
|
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris
|
Contrast of fashion cultures played out as chess-like game inspired by giant chess scene from film of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
|
Chess game choreographed by dancer Les Child
|
The Man Who Knew Too Much
|
Autumn/Winter 2005
|
4 March 2005
|
Lycée Carnot, Paris
|
1950s fashion, particularly as seen in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
|
Show invite based on theatrical poster for Hitchcock's film Vertigo (1958); first McQueen handbag, named for actress Kim Novak, who frequently appeared in Hitchcock films
|
Neptune
|
Spring/Summer 2006
|
7 October 2005
|
Imprimerie Nationale, Paris
|
1980s fashion, including power dressing, hard glamour, and body conscious designs
|
All models were at least 5'11" in reference to the 1980s trend for Amazonian supermodels
|
The Widows of Culloden
|
Autumn/Winter 2006
|
3 March 2006
|
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris
|
Second examination of English violence towards Scotland in more mature and melancholy terms; centres the widows of the Battle of Culloden (1746)
|
Show closed with an illusion of Kate Moss as an apparition within a glass pyramid at the centre of the stage
|
Sarabande
|
Spring/Summer 2007
|
6 October 2006
|
Cirque d'hiver, Paris
|
Exploration of fragility and decaying grandeur through floral motifs
|
One dress was covered with fresh flowers, which began to fall off on the runway in a moment of serendipitous beauty
|
In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692
|
Autumn/Winter 2007
|
2 March 2007
|
Le Zénith Arena, Paris
|
Religious persecution conducted by Puritans in 17th century; ancient Egyptian religion; occult symbolism
|
Final McQueen show styled by Katy England
|
La Dame Bleue
|
Spring/Summer 2008
|
5 October 2007
|
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris
|
Reinvention through fashion; avian and butterfly motifs; personal style of Isabella Blow
|
Collaboration with Philip Treacy to memorialise their mutual friend Isabella Blow, who committed suicide in May 2007
|
The Girl Who Lived in the Tree
|
Autumn/Winter 2008
|
29 February 2008[81]
|
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris
|
Fairy tale narrative about a girl who lived in a tree; British culture and national symbols; clothing of India during the British Raj
|
Philip Treacy created a single headpiece for the collection: an enormous peacock with fanned tail, made from driftwood and sea fan coral
|
Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection
|
Spring/Summer 2009
|
3 October 2008
|
Le Centquatre, Paris
|
Beauty of nature contrasted with the impact of human industry
|
First of final three collections which shared a theme of the destruction of nature by humanity
|
The Horn of Plenty
|
Autumn/Winter 2009
|
10 March 2009
|
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris
|
Dark satire of the fashion industry with pastiches of notable designers and McQueen's past works; many items made to resemble trash
|
Creative process documented by photographer Nick Waplington, published in photo book Alexander McQueen: Working Process[86]
|
Plato's Atlantis
|
Spring/Summer 2010
|
6 October 2009
|
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris
|
Human evolution following global flooding as a result of climate change
|
Final fully-realised collection; first livestreamed fashion show in history; debut of the armadillo shoe; debut of Lady Gaga single "Bad Romance"
|
Angels & Demons
|
Autumn/Winter 2010
|
10 March 2010
|
Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre [fr], Paris
|
Religious paintings of the Medieval and Renaissance periods
|
Collection left incomplete at the time of McQueen's suicide in February 2010, completed posthumously by his assistant Sarah Burton; title is unofficial
|