#SavageBeautyIllustrated Winners’ Q&A



March 10, 2015

We are delighted to present the five winning illustrations from our University of the Arts London Alexander McQueen #SavageBeautyIllustrated competition.

UAL_WINNERS_INSTA

The students’ illustrations have been reproduced as open edition giclée prints and are available to order now from the V&A Shop in store and online in celebration of Alexander McQueen #SavageBeauty exhibition at the V&A. Congratulations to Jonny Drewek, Carmen Christine Whiteley, Amanda Yam, Joo Yeon Kim and Vanessa So Wing Ni. Read on to discover how Alexander McQueen influenced each student’s work and delight in our joint mission to inspire creativity and to drive and excite the next wave of designers, artists and illustrators.

Amanda Yam

A3_AMANDA YAM

V&A: What are you studying at UAL?

AY: BA Fashion Design, Womenswear at Central Saint Martins.

V&A: What comes to mind when you hear the name Alexander McQueen?

AY: Power and parodies as well as the intentionally provocative.

V&A: What medium did you use to create your piece? Is it something you usually work with, and if not, how did you choose it?

AY: First acrylic paint and then Photoshop. It depends on the style of illustration but mostly, I start with a painted base. For this, I wanted to create strong lines and definitive shapes, with movement from the brush. Also, acrylic dries the fastest.

V&A: In our brief we asked students to choose an Alexander McQueen collection, moment or specific outfit to draw inspiration from. Which did you choose and why?

AY: The dress from the autumn/winter 2009 collection, The Horn of Plenty. I liked the contrast of the couture influence in the silhouette and the graphical element of the Escher-inspired magpie print.

V&A: What was the thought process behind your work?

AY: I thought about the kind of work I would be drawn to, as a print. Simple, clean and bold was what I had in mind.

V&A: If there’s one piece of Alexander McQueen’s work you could own, what would it be?

AY: The spray painted dress from the finale of his spring/summer 1999 show, No. 13

V&A: Who would you love to see buying one of your prints from the V&A Shop? (real or imaginary)

AY: It’s a tie, between Dumbledore and Taylor Swift.

 

Carmen Whitely

A3_CARMEN CHRISTINE WHITELEY

V&A: What are you studying at UAL?

CW: BA Costume Interpretation at Wimbledon College of Arts

V&A: What comes to mind when you hear the name Alexander McQueen?

CW: An extraordinary imaginative icon. A huge risk taker and inspiration to the creative industry. McQueen has such a powerful impact on designers in the world of fashion because of his magnificent and conceptual creations. I can’t think of a single person who doesn’t know of McQueen’s innovative work.

V&A: What medium did you use to create your piece? Is it something you usually work with, and if not, how did you choose it?

CW: I chose to use charcoal, graphite, chalks, ink, and very rough hand-embroidery; anything that came across as angry and dark. I always adapt the medium I use in order to create an illustration with the correct character. For this illustration, I wanted to elaborate the concept of death behind McQueen’s collection The Horn of Plenty, so I felt it necessary to use heavy media quickly and aggressively.

V&A: In our brief we asked students to choose an Alexander McQueen collection, moment or specific outfit to draw inspiration from. Which did you choose and why?

CW:  I decided to focus on one of McQueen’s collections that I feel is the most meaningful – The Horn of Plenty, Autumn/Winter 2009, which was dedicated to his mother Joyce Barbara McQueen. From this I chose his black duck feather dress. In this gown alone I feel everything McQueen wanted to say is portrayed; sadness, life, death, good, and evil.

V&A: What was the thought process behind your work?

CW:  I wanted to express the illustration as he would have when he designed it. Crooked long fingers and scribbled entirely in black feathers, the character behind this work of art could only be described as the angel of death.

V&A: If there’s one piece of Alexander McQueen’s work you could own, what would it be?

CW:  I would without a doubt adore to call his duck feather dress my own. Everything about this fashion piece is beautiful, from the intense thought process behind the design to the final construction – for such a sad concept it is so perfect.

V&A: Who would you love to see buying one of your prints from the V&A Shop? (real or imaginary)

CW:  If McQueen was still with us now, it would be my ultimate dream to see him buy my print. To know that he actually liked the style and idea of my illustration enough to spend a moment of his time buying a print would be bizarre.

 

Joo Yeon Kim

A3_JOO YEON KIM

V&A: What are you studying at UAL?

JK: BA Fashion Design with Marketing at Central Saint Martins.

V&A: What comes to mind when you hear the name Alexander McQueen?

JK: Artistic and illimitable.

V&A: What medium did you use to create your piece? Is it something you usually work with, and if not, how did you choose it?

JK: I used pastel, ink pen and acrylic for the red lip. I usually work with black ink pen to draw objects without doing a rough sketch I just start to draw the outline of the objects. And then I use marker pen for colouring. I choose pastel for this to express the volume of the garment with the beautiful big ruffles on the top.

V&A: In our brief we asked students to choose an Alexander McQueen collection, moment or specific outfit to draw inspiration from. Which did you choose and why?

JK: I chose the Horn of Plenty, Autumn/Winter 2009, because I love that collection the most. It was such a strong collection with huge, amazing sculpture in the middle of the show, every model with the sex doll red lips and every different head piece, each like a work of art, were incredible… and of course so were the garments.

V&A: What was the thought process behind your work?

JK: I wanted to point out the silhouette and the prints on the fabric by drawing it simply, as if it were a sculpture without legs or face, and show the layers of ruffles which makes the structure and volumes of the piece so beautiful.

V&A: If there’s one piece of Alexander McQueen’s work you could own, what would it be?

JK: I would love to own the coat from the Horn of Plenty show, that has a silhouette like a diamond with big black and white hound tooth check, but without a sleeves like a poncho.

V&A: Who would you love to see buying one of your prints from the V&A Shop? (real or imaginary)

JK: Maybe my friends and family, also anyone who love fashion just like me.

 

Jonny Drewek

8x10_JONNY DREWEK

V&A: What are you studying at UAL?

JD: BA Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins

V&A: What comes to mind when you hear the name Alexander McQueen?

JD: Clothes.

V&A: What medium did you use to create your piece? Is it something you usually work with, and if not, how did you choose it?

JD: Charcoal stump on jotter pad. I’m normally a biro man but this is a classy gig.

V&A: In our brief we asked students to choose an Alexander McQueen collection, moment or specific outfit to draw inspiration from. Which did you choose and why?

JD:  The ‘Bumster’ jean engaged me way more than anything else. It’s simple, saucy and pretty ridiculous. I also like bums and there’s loads of them to draw on Google.

V&A: What was the thought process behind your work?

JD: I think all fashion is a bit daft so to approach it with a straight face would have been inauthentic. It’s easy for this kind of brief to get lame if you treat McQueen like God. The problem with his elevated status at the moment is it puts him out of reach as the madness of his creations gets sanctified and studied. He was a radical, mischievous guy, and I think he would’ve cringed at a poe-faced tribute. I tried to capture the joy of the Bumster as honestly and immediately as possible, partly because I left it all quite late.

V&A: If there’s one piece of Alexander McQueen’s work you could own, what would it be?

JD: You can’t go wrong with a nice big bird hat.

V&A: Who would you love to see buying one of your prints from the V&A Shop? (real or imaginary)

JD: I’d like Neil Buchanan to re-arrange 60 of them into a Big Art Attack of a shoe. It would look like this:

Untitled

Vanessa So Wing Ni

A3_VANESSA SO WING NI

V&A: What are you studying at UAL?

VN: FdA Fashion Design and Marketing at London College of Fashion.

V&A: What comes to mind when you hear the name Alexander McQueen?

VN: Alexander McQueen’s fashion show is the first show that I ever saw while I was in secondary school, it was this that brought me all the way from Hong Kong to study fashion in London. As I was a dancer before, I especially admire the fashion shows of McQueen. I would say it is more like a performance that presents the mood of his collections. With his braveness of garment making and tailor skills, he is one of my favorite designers.

V&A: What medium did you use to create your piece? Is it something you usually work with, and if not, how did you choose it?

VN: I used pencil, marker and acrylic on “Coiled over paper” in this illustration to show a strong, sharp and metallic feeling. I usually use pencil because I always have one stick in my hair. However, my drawings are not limited by any medium. Sometimes I use tea packs or sugar or even through a balloon with ink to the paper.

V&A: In our brief we asked students to choose an Alexander McQueen collection, moment or specific outfit to draw inspiration from. Which did you choose and why?

VN: The “Coiled” Corset from one of Alexander McQueen’s early collection, Autumn/Winter 1999-2000 The Overlook. Combining jewellery design with garment, this body jewellery gave a very strong look of McQueen. The collection was presented inside a snowing glass room. The collection and the garment are still influencing the fashion industry, performing arts and jewellery designs today.

V&A: What was the thought process behind your work?

VN: I wanted to show the detail, accuracy and craftsmanship of the “coiled” corset, through single pencil lines combined with the mixing of markers and silver acrylic to show the reflection of the aluminum. Oversize drawings let people enjoy thinking outside of the paper. McQueen’s garment are for people who truly love fashion, but everyone can appreciate a McQueen piece at home on paper, where the styling is not fixed by how I draw, it is from people imaging how it should be, and different people can find a different discovery.

V&A: If there’s one piece of Alexander McQueen’s work you could own, what would it be?

VN: Skip. This is too hard to answer.

V&A: Who would you love to see buying one of your prints from the V&A Shop? (real or imaginary)

VN: Anyone who loves McQueen’s work.

 

 

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