Book Review: Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation

By -
Book: Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation by Kristin Knox. Published by A&C Black 2010.

Pros: The pictures are large and lovely.

The book is around $20, cheap for a fashion book.

Cons: This book is a newspaper obituary when we want a full on memorial.

No Oyster Dress (left)? Many important looks in the evolution of his design and career peaks were left out. Meanwhile, some of the pieces were pictured twice.

Many typos on the years.

The writing is repetitive, and there's little here you can't learn from Wikipedia or the original Guardian article so frequently referenced. Heck, this blog post by a British economics student has more info and pics, and I'm certain he had less access than the author of this book.

There's little explanation of what the idea behind the show was or what the spectacle of a show was.

At least nine main seasons are missing,including "The Golden Shower", the show with water on the runway, and "The Overlook". Only one image from any of the Resort shows pops up (and it's tossed in with another season); Pre-Fall is completely ignored. Menswear got two pictures; McQ got nothing. If you expect more than one image per show, this list would be even larger.
All these shows were left out.

What I really want from a book on McQueen:
  • Original sketches
  • Photos of his workshop
  • Quotes from people he worked with including his head seamstress and Sarah Burton
  • A list of influences
  • Photos of dresses on mannequins with the drama and makeup striped away
  • Shoe, bag and jewelry shots
  • A full address of the misogyny accusation
  • A detailed rundown of each collection
  • Shots of runway to store translations
  • More info about his time at Givenchy
  • If someone thought to put together a dvd of his runway shows, the fashion loving public who've collectively dreamed of attending such an event would be forever grateful.

    • Comments

    Unknown said…
    I've just recieved this book and think it's amazing, but now that I've read your review I realize how little information there really is in it and how many pictures are missing. Thanks for your review- it's really interesting.
    www.styleisalwaysfashionable.blogspot.com
    January 3, 2011 at 2:50 PM
    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Shop: Green Tree Jewelry

    By -
    Image
    Shop: Green Tree Jewelry Why We Love It: It is unintentionally "big cat" theme week here at FMF. Hence the the two sets of big cat earring featured up front. However, this shop has a lot more to offer than cats of all sizes. These laser cut wooden earrings range from fun swirling designs to intricate peacocks. Best of all, the earrings I've featured here today all cost only $12.95. (Although the shop sells some other higher priced goods). Price Range: $12.95 - $79.95 Links: Facebook Favorite Items: Click through the slideshow below to see some favorite items. View this collection on Polyvore Shop: Green Tree Jewelry by fashionbeccafabulous on polyvore.com Pictured: Tiger Earrings ; Koala Earrings ; Ring-Tailed Lemur Earrings ; Radishes That Hang On Your Ear Earrings ; Cup of Coffee Earrings ; Scissors Earrings ; Rhino Earrings ; Peacock Earrings ; Lion Earrings (also pictured above) All linked earrings cost $12.95.
    Read more

    Happy 10th Anniversary... and goodbye.

    By -
    Image
    What we looked like in 2009 Ten years ago I created, Fashion Me Fabulous, wrote up a handful of posts, picked a layout and send it all to my friend, Jael. “I’ve started a fashion blog. What do you think?” She gave me a few tips, wrote a couple “guest posts” and before long became my blogging partner. Together, we built a blog and community I could have never built alone. From the end of 2007 to the end of 2014, Fashion Me Fabulous ran regular content about fun, affordable fashion. Jael and I covered fashion week , reviewed fashion books , wrote about fashion history and did more shopping than seems humanly possible to search out the best clothes and accessories . We explored our personal styles , scoured Etsy for unique creations . I watched every single episode of Project Runway and blogged about it. Jael created an amazing presence on Polyvore . We learned all sorts of things about coding and websites and content and graphic design and so on. (You can tell if you look at
    Read more

    Dramatic Makeup

    By -
    Image
    October is the perfect month for anyone who loves a dramatic look. Because of Halloween, you can get away with more in the makeup department than you can the rest of the year. You want to try false eyelashes? Go for it. You want to color your eyebrows? Do it. Color outside the lines with eyeshadow? Why not? Live it up so much in October that people will think black lipstick in November is practically normal.
    Read more