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Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin
The first definitive biography of the iconic, notoriously private British fashion designer Alexander McQueen explores the connections between his dark work and even darker life.
When forty-year-old Alexander McQueen committed suicide in February 2010, a shocked world mourned the loss. McQueen had risen from humble beginnings as the son of an East London taxi driver to scale the heights of fame, fortune, and glamour. He designed clothes for the world's most beautiful women and royalty, most famously the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a McQueen dress on her wedding day. He created a multimillion-dollar luxury brand that became a favorite with celebrities including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
But behind the confident facade and bad-boy image, lay a sensitive soul who struggled to survive in the ruthless world of fashion. As the pressures of work intensified, McQueen became increasingly dependent on the drugs that contributed to his tragic end. Meanwhile, in his private life, his failure to find lasting love in a string of boyfriends only added to his despair. And then there were the dark secrets that haunted his sleep.
A modern-day fairy tale infused with the darkness of a Greek tragedy, 'Alexander McQueen' tells the complete sensational story, and includes never-before-seen photos. Those closest to the designer, his family, friends, and lovers have spoken for the first time about the man they knew, a fragmented individual, a lost boy who battled to gain entry into a world that ultimately destroyed him.
'There's blood beneath every layer of skin', McQueen once said. Andrew Wilson's biography, filled with groundbreaking material, dispels myths, corrects inaccuracies, and offers new insights into McQueen's private life and the source of his creative genius.
When forty-year-old Alexander McQueen committed suicide in February 2010, a shocked world mourned the loss. McQueen had risen from humble beginnings as the son of an East London taxi driver to scale the heights of fame, fortune, and glamour. He designed clothes for the world's most beautiful women and royalty, most famously the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore a McQueen dress on her wedding day. He created a multimillion-dollar luxury brand that became a favorite with celebrities including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
But behind the confident facade and bad-boy image, lay a sensitive soul who struggled to survive in the ruthless world of fashion. As the pressures of work intensified, McQueen became increasingly dependent on the drugs that contributed to his tragic end. Meanwhile, in his private life, his failure to find lasting love in a string of boyfriends only added to his despair. And then there were the dark secrets that haunted his sleep.
A modern-day fairy tale infused with the darkness of a Greek tragedy, 'Alexander McQueen' tells the complete sensational story, and includes never-before-seen photos. Those closest to the designer, his family, friends, and lovers have spoken for the first time about the man they knew, a fragmented individual, a lost boy who battled to gain entry into a world that ultimately destroyed him.
'There's blood beneath every layer of skin', McQueen once said. Andrew Wilson's biography, filled with groundbreaking material, dispels myths, corrects inaccuracies, and offers new insights into McQueen's private life and the source of his creative genius.
367 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2015
About the author
Andrew Wilson
15 books100 followersAbout himself:
"I'm a journalist and author. My work has appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Independent on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the New Statesman and the Evening Standard magazine."
Source: http://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk/d...
"I'm a journalist and author. My work has appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Independent on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the New Statesman and the Evening Standard magazine."
Source: http://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk/d...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
March 15, 2015
An OK biography of a creative master. Some very interesting sections and insight into the mind of McQueen, but often I felt lost with the introduction of a new person in every other paragraph, only for them never to appear again. There was also alot about each of McQueen's shows, which were often interesting to read about, but were not always relevant considering this was a biography of the man and not a retrospective of his work. I'd recommend it if you're interested in McQueen, I just felt it could have delved a little deeper.
September 6, 2015
Way too much Detmar Blow.
September 15, 2015
Fascinating subject, so-so biography. Alexander McQueen was one of the great designers and his life is dramatic and strange. Wilson has done his homework; unfortunately, he put every single bit of it into this book. The endless quotes kill any sense of narrative or story line. The result is a choppy, sometimes boring collection of factoids that are presented in chronological order. What we learn (repeatedly over the 315 pages) is that McQueen was shy, difficult, funny and anti-social. The photos included tend to be more personal than professional, a choice that may work for some. I would have preferred to see his clothes, rather than his boyfriends.
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 4, 2024DNF at 35%. Cutting my losses on this one and walking away. This book is about how Alexander McQueen was perceived by people who (barely) knew him. And that’s all very well I suppose but rather than read about how he was perceived, I think I’d rather read about who Alexander McQueen actually was. I’d like to know what he thought and how he felt and not just what others thought of him and how they felt about him. For that reason I think this fails as a biography, or maybe it’s just not the right kind of biography for me. Pass.
December 27, 2015
More like 3.5 stars.
Why I picked it up — I lived in the New York area in 2011, when Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty was on at the Met. I must have gone at least 5 or 6 times, I was completely enamored with that show. It was the first time I had ever considered fashion as art, with clothes as just a medium. So many of his pieces, ideas, and feats of tailoring lodged in my brain and set my imagination aflame. I loved all the historical and mythological references. I idly wondered — not that I'd shown any inclination for it ever before — if I'd missed out by never considering a career in fashion design. (After reading this book, the short answer is no!) But I didn't know anything about the man behind the art, other than that he'd killed himself. So the moment I saw this biography on a shelf, I knew I had to read it and better get to know the creative genius whose clothes could fill me with so much emotion.
The good — The book definitely fulfilled its purpose of giving me a much better sense of who Alexander McQueen was as a person. It filled in lots of details about his life and the struggles and people that shaped it. And of course it's always fun to read a story about how someone comes up from humble origins to make a huge success of themselves. And the costs of that success. So I definitely got what I came for, in that sense.
The less good — It felt like this book had no narrative cohesion. Each chapter represented a period in McQueen's life and read like a fact file of every interesting interview scrap Andrew Wilson had managed to gather about that time. It felt like reading the highlighted bits of somebody's research notes. All seven of McQueen's boyfriends blended together in my head, as did many of his friends and colleagues.
But even more, I felt like some things, important things, were stated over and over and over again without being properly explained. For example, the pressures the fashion industry put on McQueen. There were plenty of quotes from people around him saying he felt trapped or seemed to be under a lot of pressure. Other people commented that they wouldn't wish success in fashion on their worst enemy. And the whole time a part of me was screaming, WHY, EXACTLY??!!
You're really left to sort of guess at it from the odd scraps here and there. Was it the demanding production schedule that forced him to put together so many shows per year? Was it because a lot of people did cocaine? Was it the need to satisfy his financial backers? Is fashion really that much more pressurized than any other industry? There's a glut of anecdote, sentences and quotes that touch on it repeatedly throughout the book. But the author never really goes farther to explain the more big picture themes in any sort of coherent or satisfying way.
I think a better book would have been grouped thematically instead of chronologically: McQueen's family, McQueen's love life, McQueen's professional life, McQueen's party life, etc. It would have allowed for an in-depth look at what was going on in each of those areas, rather than just presenting a mass of quotes and anecdotes chronologically.
Why I picked it up — I lived in the New York area in 2011, when Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty was on at the Met. I must have gone at least 5 or 6 times, I was completely enamored with that show. It was the first time I had ever considered fashion as art, with clothes as just a medium. So many of his pieces, ideas, and feats of tailoring lodged in my brain and set my imagination aflame. I loved all the historical and mythological references. I idly wondered — not that I'd shown any inclination for it ever before — if I'd missed out by never considering a career in fashion design. (After reading this book, the short answer is no!) But I didn't know anything about the man behind the art, other than that he'd killed himself. So the moment I saw this biography on a shelf, I knew I had to read it and better get to know the creative genius whose clothes could fill me with so much emotion.
The good — The book definitely fulfilled its purpose of giving me a much better sense of who Alexander McQueen was as a person. It filled in lots of details about his life and the struggles and people that shaped it. And of course it's always fun to read a story about how someone comes up from humble origins to make a huge success of themselves. And the costs of that success. So I definitely got what I came for, in that sense.
The less good — It felt like this book had no narrative cohesion. Each chapter represented a period in McQueen's life and read like a fact file of every interesting interview scrap Andrew Wilson had managed to gather about that time. It felt like reading the highlighted bits of somebody's research notes. All seven of McQueen's boyfriends blended together in my head, as did many of his friends and colleagues.
But even more, I felt like some things, important things, were stated over and over and over again without being properly explained. For example, the pressures the fashion industry put on McQueen. There were plenty of quotes from people around him saying he felt trapped or seemed to be under a lot of pressure. Other people commented that they wouldn't wish success in fashion on their worst enemy. And the whole time a part of me was screaming, WHY, EXACTLY??!!
You're really left to sort of guess at it from the odd scraps here and there. Was it the demanding production schedule that forced him to put together so many shows per year? Was it because a lot of people did cocaine? Was it the need to satisfy his financial backers? Is fashion really that much more pressurized than any other industry? There's a glut of anecdote, sentences and quotes that touch on it repeatedly throughout the book. But the author never really goes farther to explain the more big picture themes in any sort of coherent or satisfying way.
I think a better book would have been grouped thematically instead of chronologically: McQueen's family, McQueen's love life, McQueen's professional life, McQueen's party life, etc. It would have allowed for an in-depth look at what was going on in each of those areas, rather than just presenting a mass of quotes and anecdotes chronologically.
September 20, 2015
I'm not the target audience for this book. As I write this, I'm wearing an oversized Minion t shirt and a pair of pj bottoms. I know and care nothing for the fashion world. I've heard the names, of course, but to me, that world might as well not exist.
With that said, I loved this book! I had to look up a few basic fashion terms early in, but after that, I was fine, and if you're a fashion fan, you probably won't need to.
What a complicated, determined man. What a beautifully sad story. What a fully lived, unfulfilled life. This was one of those biographies that I dreaded getting to the end of, knowing what was coming, and not wanting it to. This book gave me everything I love in a novel and I was astonished that this was nonfiction. A lot of parts made me angry. How many men did he pass HIV to? How could so many people know how suicidal he was and do nothing? Why did the people in his life who loved him and not "Alexander McQueen, Brilliant Designer", let him get away with the spoiled brat behavior for years? His obsession with death and darkness framed everything he did, but didn't seem to fill his soul until his last few years, when things seemed to get beyond his control.
This book was filled with information, but I wanted more. Why did he decide to rekindle his friendship with Kate Moss? Was the McQ line unimportant to him and that's why he wouldn't show up at the office? What was he doing about his HIV status? That was really glossed over in the book, and that seemed weird. I can't imagine that that specter not showing up in his work, and in his life. The beauty of his work and the ugliness of his dark side were showcased well here, but, what keeps it from getting the fifth star is that there were too many interviews and not enough solid facts. How could someone as addicted and out of control as he was negotiate a brilliant deal with Gucci? Was there any other way to present how he worked besides repeated interviews about how he "picked up a scissors and did a perfect cut, right there on the spot?" There was very little detail about how a theme became an idea became an outfit. It was just "The theme was X and the stage looked like this and the models looked like this." Not helpful. The details of his will seemed odd when you consider that he was upset that Isabella didn't leave her McQueens to him, the fact that he left his family no mementos doesn't seem like something he would do.
There was a lot to take in here, and I'm still thinking about it hours later, but I will definitely be rereading this one a few more times.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of a great book!
With that said, I loved this book! I had to look up a few basic fashion terms early in, but after that, I was fine, and if you're a fashion fan, you probably won't need to.
What a complicated, determined man. What a beautifully sad story. What a fully lived, unfulfilled life. This was one of those biographies that I dreaded getting to the end of, knowing what was coming, and not wanting it to. This book gave me everything I love in a novel and I was astonished that this was nonfiction. A lot of parts made me angry. How many men did he pass HIV to? How could so many people know how suicidal he was and do nothing? Why did the people in his life who loved him and not "Alexander McQueen, Brilliant Designer", let him get away with the spoiled brat behavior for years? His obsession with death and darkness framed everything he did, but didn't seem to fill his soul until his last few years, when things seemed to get beyond his control.
This book was filled with information, but I wanted more. Why did he decide to rekindle his friendship with Kate Moss? Was the McQ line unimportant to him and that's why he wouldn't show up at the office? What was he doing about his HIV status? That was really glossed over in the book, and that seemed weird. I can't imagine that that specter not showing up in his work, and in his life. The beauty of his work and the ugliness of his dark side were showcased well here, but, what keeps it from getting the fifth star is that there were too many interviews and not enough solid facts. How could someone as addicted and out of control as he was negotiate a brilliant deal with Gucci? Was there any other way to present how he worked besides repeated interviews about how he "picked up a scissors and did a perfect cut, right there on the spot?" There was very little detail about how a theme became an idea became an outfit. It was just "The theme was X and the stage looked like this and the models looked like this." Not helpful. The details of his will seemed odd when you consider that he was upset that Isabella didn't leave her McQueens to him, the fact that he left his family no mementos doesn't seem like something he would do.
There was a lot to take in here, and I'm still thinking about it hours later, but I will definitely be rereading this one a few more times.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of a great book!
July 15, 2018
The in-depth interviews with family and friends contribute much to the McQueen literature but Wilson's lack of facility with fashion writing is obvious. So many plodding chunks. And he doesn't have any particularly deep psychological insights into his subject, either. Hopefully someone will be able to build on the primary material assembled here and write McQueen the biography he deserves.
August 3, 2023
dost informative a deffo shifted moji perception o nem a jeho tvorbe a kinda o fashion industry celkove
November 21, 2017
Favourite passages:
“McQueen defied the expectations of his birth, only to be hunted down by personal demons”. The Times
"In her contemplations Helena from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream believes that love has the power to transform something ugly into something beautiful, because love is propelled by subjective perceptions of the individual, not by objective assessments of appearance. This belief was not only shared by McQueen but also critical to his creativity.”
The McQueens were born into the working classes and their father believed that any aspiration above and beyond that would not only lead to personal unhappiness, but would also serve as a betrayal of their roots too.
Cherubic-looking child.
Lee knew that he was not like other boys from an early age, but the exact nature and source of this difference were still unclear to him. His mother picked up the fact that her youngest son was a strange mix of surface toughness and unusual vulnerabilities and did everything she could to protect him. "He was this little fat boy from the East End with bad teeth who didn't have much to offer, but he had this one special thing, this talent, and Joyce believed in him," said Alice Smith. "He told me once that she had said to him, "Whatever you want to do, do it." He was adored; they had a special relationship, it was a mutual adoration.
Escape was uppermost in Lee's mind. By the time he left school in June 1985, with one o level a grade B in art, "I had to draw a stupid bowl of fruit,' he said later he had made up his mind to try and do something with his life. His resources were limited, he knew that, but he reasoned it was worth a try. It's not heard of to be a fine artist in an east London family,' he said. "But I always had the mentality that I only had one life and I was going to do what I wanted to.
“If you were a misfit and you hadn’t fitted in anywhere, then art school was the place where you could feel at home” Professor Louise Wilson
Lee loved it when Mira cut his hair, which was incredibly fine, but he could not sit still for long. Once he asked her to cut a tramline into his hair in the form of a heart monitor that had flatlined, a symbol that he incorporated into his shows and an image that haunted him until his death.
Pg 168 suicide by brick
Pg 257 “They will smarten his collar, straighten his tie and make his accessories conquer the world”
“It’s not about you you know - it’s all about ME!”
“I will veto this idea”
“McQueen defied the expectations of his birth, only to be hunted down by personal demons”. The Times
"In her contemplations Helena from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream believes that love has the power to transform something ugly into something beautiful, because love is propelled by subjective perceptions of the individual, not by objective assessments of appearance. This belief was not only shared by McQueen but also critical to his creativity.”
The McQueens were born into the working classes and their father believed that any aspiration above and beyond that would not only lead to personal unhappiness, but would also serve as a betrayal of their roots too.
Cherubic-looking child.
Lee knew that he was not like other boys from an early age, but the exact nature and source of this difference were still unclear to him. His mother picked up the fact that her youngest son was a strange mix of surface toughness and unusual vulnerabilities and did everything she could to protect him. "He was this little fat boy from the East End with bad teeth who didn't have much to offer, but he had this one special thing, this talent, and Joyce believed in him," said Alice Smith. "He told me once that she had said to him, "Whatever you want to do, do it." He was adored; they had a special relationship, it was a mutual adoration.
Escape was uppermost in Lee's mind. By the time he left school in June 1985, with one o level a grade B in art, "I had to draw a stupid bowl of fruit,' he said later he had made up his mind to try and do something with his life. His resources were limited, he knew that, but he reasoned it was worth a try. It's not heard of to be a fine artist in an east London family,' he said. "But I always had the mentality that I only had one life and I was going to do what I wanted to.
“If you were a misfit and you hadn’t fitted in anywhere, then art school was the place where you could feel at home” Professor Louise Wilson
Lee loved it when Mira cut his hair, which was incredibly fine, but he could not sit still for long. Once he asked her to cut a tramline into his hair in the form of a heart monitor that had flatlined, a symbol that he incorporated into his shows and an image that haunted him until his death.
Pg 168 suicide by brick
Pg 257 “They will smarten his collar, straighten his tie and make his accessories conquer the world”
“It’s not about you you know - it’s all about ME!”
“I will veto this idea”
December 30, 2020
Such an intriguing topic falls into pieces due to the poor execution. I don’t want to question author’s relationship with drugs, but I think it’s very odd that such a big topic in Lee’s life makes first short appearance more than half way through the book and in general the tone of the book is more like that the drugs are something we should not really talk about. I find it actually very disrespectful both to the subject of the book and the readers, when Lee���s interview answer about ideal night out (“With a man named Charlie”) is cited without any explanation, giving the impression there really was someone name Charlie.. Come on, I don’t believe the author of the book is so clueless.
On top of this, the writing style is very erratic and difficult to follow. The author thinks that he’s following some sort of a timeline, but very often starts talking about something, the references some events in the past that are completely new to the reader, than doesn’t really provide any more details, and goes further on a very different topic. If this book was just a summary of collected information before someone made an actual biography, I would accept that. But I find this sort of writing confusing. The author’s editor should have given him more time to work on this and given him feedback. This is an actual rubbish.
On top of this, the writing style is very erratic and difficult to follow. The author thinks that he’s following some sort of a timeline, but very often starts talking about something, the references some events in the past that are completely new to the reader, than doesn’t really provide any more details, and goes further on a very different topic. If this book was just a summary of collected information before someone made an actual biography, I would accept that. But I find this sort of writing confusing. The author’s editor should have given him more time to work on this and given him feedback. This is an actual rubbish.
March 5, 2017
I loved this book and the way it describes his complex life and genius and at the same time his darker side, which in the end ate him up as well as the industry itself. And when the end nears, you just want it to stop, because it is so sad and at the same time inevitable and although I knew it was coming, I cried.
The fashion industry is a cruel place with almost impossible demands if you're on the top of it and fame is a hard thing to handle and Alexander McQueen didn't come from the usual social background or had the image people expect, which I think is very well described here and he was cruelly critiqued for it. You are never better than your latest show.
When I read this book I took myself time to watch every fashion show of his available online and that really heightened my experience of this book and his life and work, even though I had seen most of it before. If you do that, who he was and his work becomes much more understandable.
The fashion industry is a cruel place with almost impossible demands if you're on the top of it and fame is a hard thing to handle and Alexander McQueen didn't come from the usual social background or had the image people expect, which I think is very well described here and he was cruelly critiqued for it. You are never better than your latest show.
When I read this book I took myself time to watch every fashion show of his available online and that really heightened my experience of this book and his life and work, even though I had seen most of it before. If you do that, who he was and his work becomes much more understandable.
January 1, 2016
I'm not a fan of fashion, and knew McQueen primarily through the David Bowie union jack coat and various red carpet dresses. But I had read a good review of this book.
Andrew Wilson's writing grabbed me from the first page. It seems to be a well-researched biography with interviews with family members and close friends. McQueen had talent and drive, but was also shy; had a loving family but also suffered childhood abuse from a family member. His collections were often cited for being misogynistic but he viewed women as powerful. He seemed to be guided by the thought: Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.
All in all, an interesting look at a contemporary artist.
Andrew Wilson's writing grabbed me from the first page. It seems to be a well-researched biography with interviews with family members and close friends. McQueen had talent and drive, but was also shy; had a loving family but also suffered childhood abuse from a family member. His collections were often cited for being misogynistic but he viewed women as powerful. He seemed to be guided by the thought: Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.
All in all, an interesting look at a contemporary artist.
May 15, 2016
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."
"There’s blood beneath every layer of skin."
"I am a romantic schizophrenic."
"I want to be the purveyor of a certain silhouette or a way of cutting, so that when I'm dead and gone people will know that the twenty-first century was started by Alexander McQueen."
"There’s blood beneath every layer of skin."
"I am a romantic schizophrenic."
"I want to be the purveyor of a certain silhouette or a way of cutting, so that when I'm dead and gone people will know that the twenty-first century was started by Alexander McQueen."
November 20, 2015
Well researched and very interesting about early life for McQueen until his appointment at Givenchy. The author struggles to piece together McQueen's life once he becomes famous and the book becomes a little monotonous for the last couple chapters.
December 2, 2015
It was a good bio but needed more meat. With so many people who knew him still alive, this book should have been packed with stories. McQueen was a story to tell if ever there was one.
February 27, 2017
amazing man and such a life cut so short - we all have demons, some just can't be ignored. Love you Lee
July 6, 2021
3.4 stars. I had read a fe other books by Andrew Wilson and decided to pick this one up as well even though I wasn't very knowledged in Alexander McQueen. I'm not very interested in fashion and designers but I was intruiged by the blurb and I found this to be very interesting. Tragic but interesting. Might need to look up more about Alexander McQueen to see his works and so on. Thought I was rather odd there was no pictures of anything he had made or done but it was an okay biography anywho. Might have thought differently if I had known more about fashion and Alexander going into this.
June 16, 2023
[Lu sur Kindle]
A lot of feels.
Difficile de raconter un récit précis de la vie de McQueen. Il n'était que contradictions, semblait raconter beaucoup de mensonges pour faire parler de lui, et n'a pas laissé de lettres ou de carnets (à mes connaissances). Dans cette situation, on doit se baser sur des oui-dires, des entrevues, des discussions avec des gens qui l'ont connu. En sachant cette difficulté, je trouve que cette biographie écrite par Andrew Wilson est un ouvrage qui se veut le plus complet possible, et la recherche qui a été faite est impressionnante; mais pas aussi impressionnant que le travail magistral de McQueen. Un génie tourmenté.
A lot of feels.
Difficile de raconter un récit précis de la vie de McQueen. Il n'était que contradictions, semblait raconter beaucoup de mensonges pour faire parler de lui, et n'a pas laissé de lettres ou de carnets (à mes connaissances). Dans cette situation, on doit se baser sur des oui-dires, des entrevues, des discussions avec des gens qui l'ont connu. En sachant cette difficulté, je trouve que cette biographie écrite par Andrew Wilson est un ouvrage qui se veut le plus complet possible, et la recherche qui a été faite est impressionnante; mais pas aussi impressionnant que le travail magistral de McQueen. Un génie tourmenté.
July 8, 2023
3.5
well documented and written - learned a lot. Not much else to say but damn is suicide one of the most tragic things to exist
well documented and written - learned a lot. Not much else to say but damn is suicide one of the most tragic things to exist
April 23, 2024
For a biography, this shit had me in the emotional trenches frfr. Also, I’m glad my driller Andrew Wilson called McQueen out on his bs and didn’t paint them out to be a moral paragon.
November 13, 2022
And exceptional story but a lot of names and years and thongs to try and remember. Well worth the read
December 19, 2022
Worth a read. But it's a lot. It's mind blowing. Such a full life.
February 25, 2020
Fascinating life story of the hardships and highlights of McQueen
February 7, 2020
I read this book in tandem with Evolution by Katherine Gleason. This way you can see McQueen's work evolve as you learn about the way he lived. I think Andrew Wilson is as fair as he can be. He describes McQueen's early life with extracts from his mother's genealogy notes. This is quite eerie. As much as McQueen embraced his Scottish heritage, he rejected other aspects of his heritage. Throughout his life McQueen rejected and embraced those around him, never seemingly able to accept life in its completeness. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle which led to the inevitable, yet his talent as a tailor and designer never ceased to amaze.
June 13, 2016
Having read about Mcqueen's life over the years via various media sources I expected this book to be intense and a bit gnarly- and it certainly is, but in the most positive of ways.
The authour effortlessly weaves tales of McQueen's dirty, dingy and dangerous London lifestyle with that of Parisian haute couture and perfectly perfect supermodels and what's more he does so without drawing on the tack and cheap sensationalism employed by the Daily Mail et al when writing about McQueen. This in itself is refreshing.
This book is beautiful, tragic, it is most definitely haunting; it makes you look death, life and every dark thought you've had in the face. To be thruthful I couldn't shake this book from my conscious for a few days after reading... It definitely is one of those that 'stays' with you. But it's so good that you don't mind.
I loved McQueen before reading this book, but now thanks to the author's detailed, honest, unbiased account of McQueen's life and work I definitely love and admire him more.
The authour effortlessly weaves tales of McQueen's dirty, dingy and dangerous London lifestyle with that of Parisian haute couture and perfectly perfect supermodels and what's more he does so without drawing on the tack and cheap sensationalism employed by the Daily Mail et al when writing about McQueen. This in itself is refreshing.
This book is beautiful, tragic, it is most definitely haunting; it makes you look death, life and every dark thought you've had in the face. To be thruthful I couldn't shake this book from my conscious for a few days after reading... It definitely is one of those that 'stays' with you. But it's so good that you don't mind.
I loved McQueen before reading this book, but now thanks to the author's detailed, honest, unbiased account of McQueen's life and work I definitely love and admire him more.
July 6, 2016
I had seen the Met's Savage Beauty display so was already a fan of McQueen's from years past. I don't know much about fashion but I know that I enjoy contrast and complexity and challenge. I also love biographies and learning more about people's internal lives. Wilson does a great job of helping us understand who Lee McQueen was through McQueen's own words and actions but also by getting to know many close family members and friends. I wasn't aware of McQueen's physical talent and ability to cut, which must be rare and unusual. I suspect that I wouldn't like McQueen very much if I met him--he partied too much, got into fights, cursed a bunch, and was generally more intense than feels comfortable for me. But, I will say that Wilson did such a good job of helping me get to know Lee that I had the sensation of missing him after his death. That's unusual in a biography in which we all know the ending. Unusual and unexpected--like the man himself.
September 2, 2017
Heartbreaking, beautiful, and wonderful. Rare is it that a book can make me tear up, but this one certainly did. Even if fashion is not necessarily your "thing" this book is incredibly insightful and yet another reminder that the mental health system is broken, not just in America, but everywhere. And more importantly, the different stigmas and assumptions that are placed on people who suffer from mental health issues are inhumane. My interpretation of the story is that like with other creative geniuses, mental health issues are excused, ignored, or belittled because the creations of those who suffer are more important continues to infuriate me.
Gee, this is the longest book review I've ever done. Rant done.
Gee, this is the longest book review I've ever done. Rant done.
January 17, 2016
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson is a free NetGalley ebook that I read during late August - usually when I was at stats class. Thank goodness for the end of that (the class, not the book).
Lee's life is set up in a series of eyewitness-accounted moments, which comes off a little bit disjointed and somewhat posh (given the literary voice of the eyewitness being interviewed), yet a reader is able to pick up on a tiny facet of his personality and design mentality. Before you read this book, it helps a teeny bit if you're already acclimated to fashion, but also if you're familiar with European geography and idiosyncrasies.
Lee's life is set up in a series of eyewitness-accounted moments, which comes off a little bit disjointed and somewhat posh (given the literary voice of the eyewitness being interviewed), yet a reader is able to pick up on a tiny facet of his personality and design mentality. Before you read this book, it helps a teeny bit if you're already acclimated to fashion, but also if you're familiar with European geography and idiosyncrasies.
October 15, 2016
I was surprised how good this bio was. What an amazing life and talent. Such a quick and engrossing read. I think Wilson did a good job of capturing McQueen's many lives: the one with his family, the one known to the public and his gay life. I'd recommend this to just about anyone with the caveat that McQueen was a bad boy and did/enjoyed a lot of really random, crazy, hilarious or awful things. One of the most memorable was his apparent fetish for athlete's foot. According to one of his paramores, he'd let his feet get really bad with it so that they'd itch unbearably and he would get aroused by it.
(Not recommending this to my mom.)
(Not recommending this to my mom.)
July 27, 2018
I remember crying when I heard that McQueen had died. Silly, right? I never knew him, didn't even know much about him beyond his amazing talent. But it's a loss to the world when a visionary artist dies, and that's what he was. That's what the world lost. McQueen has been my favorite designer for years, and this book showed the man behind the genius. It was clear from the darkness in his work that he had darkness in his soul, and this book shines a light on the sources of that darkness. Unfortunately, he didn't ultimately step entirely into that light, and we're all a bit worse off for that.
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