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AlexanderMcQueen 2002 Shredded Silk Chiffon Wool Black Evening Gown

Name: AlexanderMcQueen 2002 Shredded Silk Chiffon Wool Black Evening Gown
Brand: Alexander McQueen
Price: 13193.72 AUD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

About the Item

British Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) designed this curvaceous uniquely-draped wool and hand-shredded silk-chiffon black cocktail-dress evening-gown for his Autumn/Winter 2002-2003 collection "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", which set a ready-to-wear $37,500 auction record in 2020 for its complimentary black billowing silk coat. Comparatively, a 1stDibs midi-dress listing similar to ours from his subsequent fashion-season collection for a raw-edge-cut silk chiffon red dress for Spring/Summer 2003 in good condition sold for $10,144. Our intricate ruched semi-transparent silk chiffon and sleek lined opaque wool hourglass midi dress is in very good condition. Although made in Italy, the tagged size 38 will suit a French 38/US 4-6. Like the 2020-auctioned coat from Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, the gown is also among the few that encapsulate this collection according to Alexander McQueen, who was quoted by magazine Numero: "This collection was inspired by Tim Burton. It started out dark and then got more romantic as it went along." This is why The Met Costume Institute showcased a runway ensemble including the aforementioned coat in its museum retrospective, "Savage Beauty", a year after the designer died, when he was acknowledged as the most imaginative and provocative fashion designer of his generation. The mostly wool draped, gathered, swagged and flounced gown is topped by a mock underlay of silk chiffon, which is ruched from the sheer bust around the low wide neckline into cap sleeves that may be slipped off the shoulder. Giving a medieval-French-milkmaid style a provocative rock-n-roll edge, the hems of the delicate sheer neckline and tiny sleeves are finely distressed like a punk version of eyelash lace. Tailored to McQueen's high Saville-Row standards as a masterful manipulator of wool fabric, the ultra-feminine gown is distinctly contemporary with its sleek deep draping from curvilinear seams flowing from a high-waisted tight bodice, which will make the hips appear voluminous. Uniquely, a swag forms at the front lower legs with the majority of wool fabric gathered at the back center. This creates a rear raised hem that McQueen has constructed into a double triangular flounce to enable multi-directional movement of it while walking. The unique construction prevents any restriction at the hips, so the wearer only needs a trim waist to look their best. In the back center, there is invisible zip closure and hook-and-eye fastening. To appear more like long gowns, McQueen visually "extended" the length of his black midi-dresses on the runway with black knee-high boots. A similar gown was the Parisian fashion-show finale, while the stage makeup on the model's face was fashioned into a black-and-white eye mask recalling the American rock band Kiss. Vogue magazine wrote about the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious debut: "Best of all, he's softened his sometimes severe hand so that the idea of wearing these pieces seems not just possible, but quite appealing." Of note, in the several years prior to creating this dress, McQueen learned to technically soften and lighten his masculine tailoring while he was the womenswear artistic director of Givenchy, such as for his couture dresses designed for the French fashion house from 1996 to 2001. Notably regarding provenance, the sole owner purchased it when McQueen opened his namesake New York boutique in Manhattan's Meatpacking District in Summer 2002.

Designer:
Alexander McQueen
Brand:
Alexander McQueen
Dimensions:
Marked Size: FR 38 (EU)
Style:
romantic gothic (In the Style Of)
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
2000-2009
Material Notes:
The wool fabric of the sleeveless gown is seamed, draped, gathered, swagged and flounced, while the silk chiffon is ruched and hand-cut as a faux underlay including the bust, neckline and cap sleeves.
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3244218109252

Shop All Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen

British fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen, the original creative engine behind the Alexander McQueen label, was beloved for his expert tailoring and theatrical runway shows. After his suicide in 2010, fans left tributes to the man and his talents outside Alexander McQueen boutiques worldwide. Record-breaking crowds visited the posthumous retrospective of the designer’s work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Victoria and Albert in London.

The inspirations for vintage Alexander McQueen bags, dresses, jackets and other items came from many quarters — film, music, current events, history, his heritage and fashions of the past. The designer's runway presentations were not just displays of clothing but were personal expressions of the zeitgeist, often touching on our cultural anxieties and concerns. McQueen’s own thoughts and feelings about love, death, gender, genocide, colonialism, global warming and the extinction of species all appear in his pieces.

McQueen certainly shook up fashion; he was a born Rottweiler. His upbringing on a council estate in north London played a part, but his family was close and supportive, not dysfunctional. He was proud of his Scottish heritage: He was a defiant fashion warrior. His historical themes and shows — such as “Highland Rape,” 2002, which was inspired by England’s “rape of Scotland,” as McQueen called it — always invoked powerful reactions from his audience of fashion pros.

“What you see in the work is the person himself. And my heart is in my work,” McQueen told Harper’s Bazaar in 2007.

It is perhaps this heart, and the heart’s exposure, that drew the crowds and made McQueen's creations both popular and emotionally resonant. Because the work was personal and thus layered with feeling, the motifs — decorative embellishments and fabric choices — have meaning. In other words, in McQueen’s oeuvre, plaid is more than simply a pattern.

Find vintage Alexander McQueen fashion and accessories — including the designer's coveted bags and comfortable, stretchy jersey knit dresses and gowns — on 1stDibs.

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