Review: Incisive doco on famed designer Alexander McQueen
IT’S a poignant and incisive look at the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s life, and the never-before-seen footage is “jawdropping”, writes Leigh Paatsch.
Leigh Paatsch
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ON many occasions, the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen would tell a frustrated interviewer “if you want to know me, look at the work”.
So it is more than apt that this potent, poignant and incisive documentary on
the equally celebrated and maligned McQueen keeps his still-astonishing clothes
to the fore.
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So little verifiable personal information is truly known about the reclusive McQueen — who died by his own hand in 2010 while very much at the height of his powers — that the doco’s relatively small parcel of fresh intel on the man will still be intensely welcomed by those with a fascination for all things fashion.
Never-before-seen footage gleaned from the designer’s own archives is often simply jaw-dropping.
Not just for the incendiary nature of many of McQueen’s confronting design concepts, but also for just how down-to-earth and calmly determined his work ethic remained behind the scenes.
Before the dark clouds surface in the final stretches of McQueen’s storied career —
a section that ranks on par with the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy for the direct sadness it conveys — the film dabs away at a portrait of an artist who was at his happiest working beyond the borders of conventional style.
A captivating work sure to enhance the subject’s stature as one of the great creative influences of our time.
McQUEEN (MA15+)
Rating: Four stars (out of five)
Director: Ian Bonhote (documentary debut)
Starring: Alexander McQueen, Kate Moss, Jodie Kidd, Janet McQueen.
The clothes made him, but what broke him?
Originally published as Review: Incisive doco on famed designer Alexander McQueen
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