Cover for Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
McQueen’s iconic fashion juxtaposed with historic textiles and works of art, revealing the designer’s dynamic approach to storytelling.
Edited with text by Clarissa M. Esguerra, Michaela Hansen. Text by Meghan Doherty, Linda Komaroff, Leah Lehmbeck, Erin Sullivan Maynes, Rosie Chambers Mills, Mei Mei Rado, Britt Salvesen
Designed by James Gamboa
Published 2022 | ISBN: 9781636810188

One of the most significant contributors to fashion between 1990 and 2010, British designer Lee Alexander McQueen was both a conceptual and a technical virtuoso. His critically acclaimed collections synthesized his unique training in Savile Row tailoring, theatrical design and haute couture with a remarkable breadth and depth of encyclopedic and autobiographical references spanning time, geography, mediums and technology. McQueen’s singular viewpoint produced exquisitely constructed, thought-provoking, often subversive or allegorical fashion.

Taking a reflective look at McQueen’s artful design process, this book documents the designer’s diverse sources of inspiration by displaying McQueen’s imaginative fashions alongside related artworks. McQueen’s encyclopedic references range from ancient Greece and Rome to Tibetan silk brocade patterns, 17th-century Dutch painting, the prints of Goya and the films of Stanley Kubrick. In each of these cases and beyond, examples of McQueen’s imaginative and extraordinary work are displayed alongside artworks from LACMA’s permanent collection. Spanning art from a multitude of mediums, eras and cultures, this publication provides a new and innovative assessment of McQueen’s work and highlights his mindful approach to storytelling and construction through fashion.