A look back at ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: Voss 2001

May 4–July 31, 2011

The Metropolitan Museum of Art located in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall

Andrew Bolton: This particular dress came from a collection called VOSS, which was all about beauty. And I think one of McQueen’s greatest legacies was how he would challenge normative conventions of beauty and challenge your expectations of beauty—what we mean by beauty. This particular one is made out of ostrich feathers dyed red. And the glass slides are actually microscope slides that have been painted red to give the idea of blood underneath. And there’s a wonderful quote in association with this dress, where he talks about how there’s blood beneath every layer of skin. And it’s an incredible, again, very powerful, powerful piece.

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In McQueen’s Words

“There’s blood beneath every layer of skin.”

The Observer Magazine, October 7, 2001

Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010)
Dress
VOSS, spring/summer 2001
Red and black ostrich feathers and glass medical slides painted red
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø






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In McQueen’s Words

“My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of [razor-clam] shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make [a dress] out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin [O’Conner] came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really.”

WWD, September 28, 2000

Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010)
Dress
VOSS, spring/summer 2001
Razor-clam shells stripped and varnished
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø

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In McQueen’s Words

“I want to be honest about the world that we live in, and sometimes my political persuasions come through in my work. Fashion can be really racist, looking at the clothes of other cultures as costumes. . . . That’s mundane and it’s old hat. Let’s break down some barriers.”
Nylon, February 2004

Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010)
Ensemble
VOSS, spring/summer 2001
Jacket of pink and gray wool bird’s-eye embroidered with silk thread; trouser of pink and gray wool bird’s-eye; hat of pink and gray wool bird’s-eye embroidered with silk thread and decorated with Amaranthus
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø

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In McQueen’s Words

“[In this collection] the idea was to turn people’s faces on themselves. I wanted to turn it around and make them think, am I actually as good as what I’m looking at?”

The Fashion, Spring/Summer 2001

“The show was staged inside a huge two-way mirrored box, whereby the audience was reflected in the glass before the show began and then the models could not see out once the show started.”

20/20 Europe, January/February 2001

“These beautiful models were walking around in the room, and then suddenly this woman who wouldn’t be considered beautiful was revealed. It was about trying to trap something that wasn’t conventionally beautiful to show that beauty comes from within.”

WWD, September 28, 2000

Alexander McQueen (British, 1969–2010)

Dress
VOSS, spring/summer 2001
Nude synthetic net appliquéd with roundels in the shape of chrysanthemums embroidered with red, gold, and black silk thread with black ostrich feathers
Courtesy of Alexander McQueen
Photography by Sølve Sundsbø

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Pt. I from RUNWAY PASSPORT on Vimeo.
The master in motion part one.