Coat

Alexander McQueen
About 1995
Museum no. T.33-2011

This coat captures McQueen's romanticism with its vibrant hue and rustic embroidery in addition to highlighting his construction skills with its crisp tailored lines.

Jumpsuit

Alexander McQueen
1997
Museum no. T.79-1997

Traditional masculine styling is subverted by McQueen in this tailored garment, which combines emphatic shoulders and peaked lapels with softly draped fronts and flowing straight pants. The soft, pale-pink fabric is perfect for the suit's draped and loose cut. The successful marriage of apparently contradictory elements is a feature of McQueen's bold, confrontational creations. These brought the young designer rapid and widespread acknowledgement of his talent.

Suit

Alexander McQueen
1997
Museum no. T.90:1, 2-2011

The Raffia Dress

Alexander McQueen
2000
Museum no. T.919-2000

By deconstructing the dress’s traditional silhouette Alexander McQueen challenges tradition. Here McQueen employs a sculptural shape that while exquisitely constructed, emphasises a disconcerting asymmetry. Thus in McQueen’s hands the dress has moved well beyond a conventional interpretation of a wardrobe staple.

Evening Dress

Alexander McQueen
2010
Museum no. T.110-2011

Plato's Atlantis

Dress
Alexander McQueen
2010
Museum no. T.11-2010

This dress forms part of McQueen's Spring/Summer 2010 collection. The design features a vibrant, digitally printed textile with layered photographic images of a variety of reptile skins. Shown on the catwalk with vertiginous, claw-like shoes, the look dominated fashion pages and commentary in the months after McQueen's fashion show. This catwalk presentation was also notable for being one of the first to be streamed live onto the internet, where people could watch it in real time, free of charge.

Evening Dress

Alexander McQueen
2010
Museum no. T.109-2011