We know Alexander McQueen as the designer who in early 90s London turned the fashion world on its head. But when news broke that a documentary of his life was in the works, fashion obsessives were understandably a little apprehensive, questioning whether or not we had waited long enough to look back on a legacy cut short; one that still felt so raw to so many.
But it seems like McQueen, which had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival last month, is the respectful celebration of the designer’s life and work we all needed — and he deserved. Now, in a brand new full-length trailer released today, we get a closer look at our most anticipated fashion film of the year.
Illustrated by home videos, documentary outtakes and archival footage of his monumental runway shows, the full-length trailer captures McQueen’s “rags-to-riches” journey. From his beginnings as a Central Saint Martins student, scraping together dole money to buy fabrics, to the collections that cemented him in our minds as an unequivocal fashion icon, the trailer captures his anarchic spirit perfectly. “I don’t want you to walk out feeling like you’ve just had Sunday lunch,” he tells an interviewer, as we watch the live creation of the iconic, spray-painted dress, worn by Shalom Harlow for Spring/Summer 1999. “I want you to feel repulsed or exhilarated – as long as it’s an emotion”.
Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s feature length look into McQueen’s life is, according to i-D’s Hannah Ongley, “[as] vivacious as it is tortured”, and sees some of McQueen’s closest collaborators chime in on his life. Detmar Blow (widow of Isabella), McQueen’s assistant designer Sebastian Pons and his own sister Janet all agreed to be interviewed for the film, making this a worthy contender for the most thorough exploration of the designer’s life to date. You can read Hannah’s full interview with the film’s directors here, and watch the new trailer below.
McQueen arrives in cinemas 8 June.