Some couture collections have everything including the kitchen sink! Everything gets thrown on to make it look expensive. I find it grotesque when clothes hit you in the face and there's no room for fault. But I don't expect to turn things around all by myself. I'm not a saint.
Interpretation
The quote critiques extravagant fashion while acknowledging that change in the industry isn't solely an individual responsibility.
In this quote, Alexander McQueen expresses his disdain for over-the-top fashion designs that prioritize excess and extravagance over refinement and subtlety. He reflects on the challenging nature of the fashion industry, recognizing that he cannot single-handedly effect change in such a complex environment, and humbly admits to his own imperfections, suggesting that a collective effort is necessary for meaningful transformation.
In practice
During a fashion critique, one might use this quote to discuss the impact of excessive designs in a collection.
My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of [razor-clam] shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make [a dress] out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin [O’Conner] came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really.
I want to be honest about the world that we live in, and sometimes my political persuasions come through in my work. Fashion can be really racist, looking at the clothes of other cultures as costumes. . . . That’s mundane and it’s old hat. Let’s break down some barriers.
I was this young boy and I saw this man with his hands round my sister's neck, I was just standing there with her two children beside me... Everything I've done since then was for the purpose of making women look stronger, not naïve. And so, when everyone started saying I was a misogynist, that really freaked me out. They didn't know me. They didn't know what I had seen in my life. That was the first part of fashion that I hated - people labeling me without knowing me.
I came to terms with not fitting in a long time ago. I never really fitted in. I don't want to fit in. And now people are buying into that.
Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment.
I'm interested in designing for posterity.
Acting is not about anything romantic, not even fantasy, although you do create fantasy.
Fashion is something you attach to yourself, put on, and through that interaction the meaning of it is born. Without the wearing of it, it has no meaning, unlike a piece of art. It is fashion because people want to buy it now, because they want to wear it now, today. Fashion is only the right now.
People are meant to be certain places, and I think I'm meant to be on a sound stage doing situation comedy.
You must in all Airs follow the strength, spirit, and disposition of the horse, and do nothing against nature; for art is but to set nature in order, and nothing else.
As an artist, I want to interpret my feelings - not run across the street and ask what my mother thinks.
It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo.
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