Introduction
Alexander McQueen (1969 – 2010) is well known as the Britain’s baddest bad-boy designer. “Nicey-nicey just doesn’t do for me”, Lee said. (Wilson and Horyn, 2010) He has been countering controversy as headlines hailed him since 1992, the year when he first burst into the fashion world. Even though Alexander McQueen was often misunderstood, he was successful in establishing his own fashion label that is now internationally acclaimed and desirable without compromising his approach towards fashion.
From the start of his career Lee made his viewers with the feeling of awe or wonder or fear or terror with raw presentation of depicting bleak of history and anarchic politics. ”I want people to be afraid of the women I dress”, Lee said. (Bowles, 2010) “Many designers who reference history display a form of historical seamlessness in which the past is perfectly and nostalgically recreated in the present. With McQueen, however, the reference is not as comfortable; the suture lines of his much-discussed “surgical” tailoring techniques are still visible as uneasy grafts of history onto contemporary garments” stated Dr Jonathan Faiers who is the reader in fashion theory at Winchester School of Art. (Faiers , 2011)

Background Information

Le alexander McQueen was born in 1969 and was the youngest of six children; his father was a taxi driver and his mother a social history teacher. He spent his formative years drawing and reading books in fashion as he knew he would be a fashion designer from an early age. He left school when he was 16 with a simple O-Level and completed his A-level in Art at night school. Then he was offered an apprenticeship at the revered Savile Row tailors Anderson and Shepherd. There he learnt the ins and outs of cutting jackets. Then he moved up to Gieves and Hawkes where he applied and developed skills to trousers. Then he started working for big musical shows and continued to master pattern cutting skills. These techniques from earlier centuries can be seen in his works today. He worked for various designers from Koji Tatsuni, Yohji Yamamoto and Romeo Gigli.
He was then offered a MA design course at Central Martin’s College of Art and Design. He took a loan from his aunt and graduated in 1992. His collection was bought by Isabella Blow who gave him the support he needed and became her unofficial public relations agent.
Then in 1996 having produced only eight collections Alexander McQueen was appointed the designer-in-chief in Givenchy, Paris. Then in 2001 McQueen sold 51 per cent share of his label to Gucci Group which sparked another controversy.
Today McQueen is an international brand and has flagship stores in New York, Milan, London and LA. He has been awarded British Fashion Designer of the Year four times, in 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003. He was awarded International Designer of the year in 2003 and British Means wear designer of the year in 2004.
The Girl Who Lived In the Tree (Autumn/Winter 2008/9)
This collection is a dreamy romantic fairy tale inspired by the British and Indian Empire and 1950’s British couture designs worn by Queen Elizabeth the second’s and designed by Norman Hartnell and Sir Hardy Amies. “The Girl Who Lived in the Tree”, is one of McQueen’s most romantically nationalistic collections and is the most memorable collection of all times. In this collection one can see a marriage between British and Indian culture, the current political situation of Britain as there was a use of a lot of military tailcoats during war, and social and artistic factors in his embroiders and cutting techniques.
When asked, “You worked on Saville Row and with Romeo Gigli. Did these experiences leave their mark on you”, Alexander replied,”Saville Row, yes; Gigli did once, but doesn’t anymore. I no longer want to be influenced by anyone. I try to find personal inspirations in the experiences of daily life, in what I see friends do, in what I see in the art galleries, and in the past; but I don’t really let myself be influenced by other fashion designers.”
McQueen’s collections always told a story. The runway kicks off with models dressed in beautiful rags, nipped waist jacket and Victorian line dresses with an S-blend of corset tops, textured hand knitted mohair and washed tweeds which were all in dark or neutral colours. Then as the girl meets her prince, as stated, the runway explodes with colours including crimson velvets; ermine wraps and prints UK flags.
Each and every outfit was complimented with paper flat embroidered maharaja slippers which are inspired from Indian culture. McQueen accessorised this collection with pseudo-Faberge egg evening bag and millions of dollars’ worth of borrowed antique diamond neckpieces and Indian diadems, perfecting the imperial illusion.
Queen Elizabeth II (Political Aspects)

After the World War 2, in 1952 Queen Elizabeth the second was crowned which made the citizens more optimistic towards the future. The Queen wore a crimson velvet robe, trimmed with ermine and embroidered with gold lace along with a special gown which incorporated all the floral symbols of the UK and commonwealth. The beauty of the coronation cloak was its embroidery. It had olive branches and wheat embroidered in it symbolising peace and prosperity. It made a great difference as the world had just come out of Second World War.
This inspired McQueen to use the colours like crimson red, luscious navy blue, fabrics like velvet and silk and traditional techniques of embroidery in this collection.
Use of 1950’s Silhouette and Traditional Techniques
1950 was the period of history where the relationship between fashion and music had been frogged. Christian Dior launched a flamboyant and glamorous women’s wear, the New Look (1947). 1950’s key silhouette was hourglass, with fuller, longer, knee length skirts. There was more sophistication and women showed off their concave posture. Market flooded with lightweight, easy care synthetic fabrics and nylon stockings with flat shoes. (Jenkyn Jones 2011 p 21) Everyone wanted to be fashionable but didn’t want to be too much fancy as the wounds from the war were still very fresh. The use of traditional embroidery techniques and key silhouettes of this era can be noticed in the images above.

Alexander McQueen knew how to use dramatic potentials of tailoring and fabrics to represent cultural, historical and psychological aspects in his designs. He is well known for his craftsmanship, use of traditional embroidery, lace making, feathers and shells, metalworking, embellishments, ornamental surfacing, cutting edge digital prints and stunning selection of textile techniques which can be seen in his designs. McQueen was the most innovative designer of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

This collection was carefully intermixed with military tailcoats, taut pants detailed with military frogging which included traditional embroidery techniques which gave every design a royal and artistic look. There were slim brocades, pantsuits with white high necked shirt, imperial red and velvet jackets, the empire line saris which were then followed by ermine coat covered with gold.
Conclusion
The Girl Who Lived in the Tree was one of McQueen’s most romantic nationalistic collections. It is full of historical, cultural and traditional references which are beautifully demonstrated in each and every design. McQueen was successful to hand his audience his self-imagined fantasy of a beautiful princess, British and Indian romance. This collection certainly exceeded anything he ha achieved in last 14 years of his career. “I learned lightness…. To soften,” he once said.(Andrew Bolton, 2011) “I am 40 now, but I want this to be a company that lives way beyond me. When I am dead, hopefully this house will still be going on. On a spaceship. Hopping up and down and above earth,” McQueen said. (Milligan, 2010) A week after the death of his beloved mother, Lee Alexander McQueen took his own life on…… “Creativity is a very fragile thing, and Lee was very fragile,” said his long-time collaborator Tracy. (Wilson and Horyn, 2010)