McQueen

For many Alexander McQueen fans, including myself, McQueen's work was more than stunning fashion: it was a powerful statement about rising above abuse, the burdens of beauty, defying gender norms, death, humanity, and empowerment. The filmmakers did a spectacular job of capturing these themes in McQueen's work through interviews and photo/video montages. Every moment of the film is thought provoking. The visuals are haunting. We must treasure this rare look into the private world of fashion's most elusive, misunderstood genius.

The film succeeds most of all by presenting a heartrending timeline of McQueen not only as an infamous designer, but as a person ravaged by the industry. Alexander's life was triumphant and tragic in equal measures; he quite literally lost himself to his genius, pouring so much emotion into the McQueen brand that it became an extension of himself. Ultimately, as the film tells us, fusing his identity with the brand resulted in brilliant, theatrical shows...and the loss of his sanity.

I wish that certain runway shows [namely, the Horn of Plenty] were examined a bit more, but McQueen was such a powerhouse that the film would have spanned 3+ hours if they had discussed all his work in depth. I also wish that we could have heard from Sarah Burton, who now directs the house of McQueen. Despite its small missed opportunities, this film will stick with you long after you've left the theatre.

PipAndSqueak makes some strong points, but I'm not sure what he's saying about people's (lack of) grief at McQueen's passing -- that McQueen was a control freak and therefore not cared about in the end?

I don't know what PipAndSqueak is referring to with "LAM" - does anyone know? I was actually wondering if PipAndSqueak might be Detmar Blow - but no evidence for that.

PipAndSqueak titled his (?) essay "Sacrificial LAM" - that's what I was just thinking -- that Alexander McQueen functioned in his life, and functions now, as an 'Art Christ' similar to van Gogh - but for the 21st century. Considering the disposability of males to most species including the human species, it's disturbing to contemplate that McQueen may actually serve as a type of human sacrifice for the art and beauty craving masses, during this era of ugliness and chaos. Perhaps his extreme creative honesty and ability to transmute ugliness into beauty filled the massive cultural chasm we are currently suffering.

This documentary is pretty much on par with the documentary put out about Alexander McQueen in 2011. It offers us a lot of new information, for which I am grateful, and it is entertaining.

I've found just as much value in watching interviews with McQueen on YouTube. But this movie presents a concise - if not complete - picture of his career and art. I greatly appreciate that this film was made, and I hope we can learn from it and advance ourselves further given the knowledge it affords to us.

If you don't see the genius and talent behind Mcqueen you don't understand art. There was no one like Mcqueen before he blew up the fashion world, there was no one like Chanel, no one like Dior, no one like Saint Laurant. He was an once in a generation talent. He was more than a designer, he was a performance artist, painter, provacateur, he was one of a kind. His style was a mixture of the common and the theatrical, the past and the future, the macabre and the romantic, the light and the dark. His style was so original. I think Alexander would have liked to let his designs do the talking. This documentary didn't really work for me because I thought it lacked focus, there was more content on his personal life than his artistry, it felt like a basic biography on the history channel. What made him so special, what was his artistic process, how did he plan his shows, these topics were not explored. I think Mcqueen was a great artist, one for the ages, he will go down in history as one of the greatest fashion designers of all time, I hope this film can bring more appreciation to his work.

Closest to docufiction, consisting of mainly documentary material combined with certain scripted narratives, dividing title character's life in well-defined chapters, fictionally captured on "tapes", British production "McQueen" (2018), directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, gives an all-inclusive, many personal perspective (from a wide-range of people interviewed) look at the life and extraordinary talent, propelling sometimes controversial, ultimately, artistically and business-wise unprecedented career of the enfant terrible of fashion, Lee Alexander McQueen. From among those who were lucky enough to have spent time with him, and close enough to have had their lives touched by his clearly inspirational and motivating presence, many have contributed a word and shared their memories here: from his family members (mother, sister, nephew), partners, teachers, employers and employees, sponsors and promoters, fashion reviewers, colleagues and models. All comments together, organized in thematical chapters, "tapes" covering distinct periods of his life, create a comprehensive and rather impressive portrait of an extraordinary individual, from his humble beginnings, his meteorite success in launching and supervising his eponymous line, providing his conceptual and designing skills and artistry to numerous collections and dramatized fashion shows, all the way to his premature death.

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of fashion: just an occasional spectator, even less frequent follower, if at all. Yet, this documentary caught my attention from the get-go, and kept it on high till the end. I learned a lot and started to appreciate.

In short, this is a skillful and insightful, an exciting and poignant documentary about someone who was in the public eye ever since his middle twenties, therefore easily leaving behind lots of personal footage from both, his professional activities (running in parallel his own line of fashion clothes production and organizing shows for other fashion houses) and his private life (exposed and discussed in numerous interviews along the way) about his alluring, intensively creative and, therefore, despite being cut short, very productive life.

As one of the interviewees summarized on McQueen and his growing charisma, they don't make them like this anymore.

By the way, quite deservedly, and indicative for its quality and attraction, film won a popular vote, Audience Vote Best Feature Film, at the latest, 18th edition of Beirut International Film Festival, 22-28 April 2019.

Less of a fashion spectacle and more of a tale of the label's namesake himself, McQueen is a riveting story from start to finish. From humble beginnings to the height of success, the documentary delivers a captivating recount of Lee Alexander McQueens foray into fashion. For anyone who goes to see McQueen, they will be thankful that we lived in a time where history can be recorded for review. The documentary uncovers insider footage from the early days at St Martin's design school through to his final showing. A group of individuals who all were involved in McQueens life to some extent it another provide a wholistic and collective view of the troubled artist. The sequential nature of the documentary worked incredibly well and the sensibility of all those interviewed showed that there really was no need to embellish McQueen's life. A film for fashion and art lovers as much as a film for those who seek inspiration every day.