Nihilism (Alexander McQueen collection): Difference between revisions

''Nihilism'' was McQueen's first professional runway show.{{Sfn|Wilcox|2015|p=327}} The [[British Fashion Council]] provided some backing; it was the first time they had done so for a new designer.{{Sfn|Crowe|2010|pp=131–132}} Nonetheless, their budget was so low that Niland recalls the main part of her role as "stylist" for the show being one of talking people into providing free things for them.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=110}} She described lying to the owners of the venue, the [[Bluebird Garage]], to secure their reservation.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=110}} At the time, the Bluebird had a reputation as a hub for drug use and criminal activity.{{Sfn|Gleason|2012|p=19}}{{Sfn|Fairer|Wilcox|2016|p=338}} Cultural theorist Per Strömberg described the choice of location as emblematic of the "underground and somehow underdog approach" of [[London Fashion Week]].{{Sfn|Strömberg|2021|p=118}} Invitations were made from pages torn out of an old encyclopedia and hand-stamped with the show details.{{Sfn|Bethune|2015|p=305}} Lighting, seating, and promotion were all provided by unpaid friends of friends.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=110}} Even the models worked for free, as they were mainly signed on through Niland's industry contacts.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=110}} McQueen's friend Chris Bird recalled them "throwing the clothes into bags" to take home in lieu of payment.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|pp=110–111}}

The show was staged on 18 October 1993, and was the finalefinal ofpresentation for that year's London Fashion Week.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Spindler |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Spindler |date=20 October 1993 |title=Review/Fashion: A mostly minimal look in London |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/20/news/review-fashion-a-mostly-minimal-look-in-london.html |access-date=18 September 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |pages=C13}}</ref>{{Sfn|Gleason|2012|p=19}}{{Sfn|Fairer|Wilcox|2016|p=338}} There was a great deal of anticipation about the show before it opened. Katie Grand, then the fashion director for culture magazine ''[[Dazed and Confused (magazine)|Dazed and Confused]]'', described it as "one of those nineties happenings where no one quite knew what we were going to see".''{{Sfn|Crowe|2010|pp=131–132}}'' There was very little seating, so most of the audience – about 300 people, mostly CSM students and some fashion journalists – stood.{{Sfn|Crowe|2010|pp=131–132}}{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=112}} McQueen's mother and Isabella Blow were seated in the front row.{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=112}} The show started 30 minutes late.{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=112}}

Niland handled overall styling, with make-up by [[Lisa Butler]].{{Sfn|Fairer|Wilcox|2016|pp=|p=24}} A contemporary newspaper quotes Colin Roy as the hairdresser, but in the [[Robert Fairer]] and [[Claire Wilcox]] book ''McQueen Unseen'', they list [[Eugene Souleiman]] and Barnabé.{{Sfn|Fairer|Wilcox|2016|pp=|p=24}}<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Alexander |first=Hilary |author-link=Hilary Alexander |date=11 November 1993 |title=Comedy of horrors |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-comedy-of-horrors/149996516/ |access-date=19 September 2024 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |pages=17}}</ref> The soundtrack, largely consisting of [[grunge]], [[Punk rock|punk]], and [[House music|house]] music interspersed with silence, was arranged by Niland.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=111}} Selected tracks included "[[Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep]]" by [[Radiohead]], "[[Pretend We're Dead]]" by [[L7 (band)|L7]], "[[I Wanna Get High]]" by [[Cypress Hill]], and [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] songs.{{Sfn|Gleason|2012|p=19}}{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=112}}{{Sfn|Watt|2012|p=62}} Niland recalled McQueen being angered by her use of "Creep". According to her, he did not understand that the choice was intended to be ironic, a boast that despite being an outsider, he had talent worth recognizing.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=111}}

The models were styled to look filthy and aggressive, with inspiration from the [[punk subculture]].{{Sfn|Bethune|2015|p=305}}{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=111}} Some were smeared with what appeared to be mud or blood.{{Sfn|Fairer|Wilcox|2016|pp=|p=24}}{{Sfn|Fox|2012|p=37}} Makeup was used to give a hollowed look to their eyes.{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=111}} Hair was streaked with red and "pinned up haphazardly" or styled into [[Mohican haircut|Mohican haircuts]].{{Efn|"[[Mohican haircut]]" is the British term for a haircut usually referred to as a "Mohawk haircut" in [[American English]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010 |editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Angus |title=Mohican |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199571123.001.0001/m_en_gb0528240 |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=[[Oxford Dictionary of English]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422182743/https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3hmb3JkcmVmZXJlbmNlLmNvbS92aWV3LzEwLjEwOTMvYWNyZWYvOTc4MDE5OTU3MTEyMy4wMDEuMDAwMS9tX2VuX2diMDUyODI0MA-- |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010 |editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Angus |title=Mohawk |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199571123.001.0001/m_en_gb0528200 |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=[[Oxford Dictionary of English]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422182720/https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3hmb3JkcmVmZXJlbmNlLmNvbS92aWV3LzEwLjEwOTMvYWNyZWYvOTc4MDE5OTU3MTEyMy4wMDEuMDAwMS9tX2VuX2diMDUyODIwMA-- |url-status=live }}</ref>|name=Hair}}{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=111}}{{Sfn|Gleason|2012|p=21}} Hairdresser Colin Roy described achieving this effect using "sumo wax", an imported product used to style the distinctive topknots of [[Sumo wrestler|sumo wrestlers]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Asahi1">{{cite web |author1=Kenichi Hato |author2=Kensuke Suzuki |date=18 November 2020 |title=The few good men who prop up sumo's topknot a dying breed |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13941587 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120014625/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13941587 |archive-date=20 November 2020 |access-date=15 January 2024 |work=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]}}</ref> Many models were wrapped in [[cling film]] because McQueen and Niland realised at the last minute that there was no budget to purchase underwear for them.{{Sfn|Wilson|2015|p=110}} ModelsThe models were encouraged to act aggressively, giving the show what curator [[Claire Wilcox]] described as a "threatening mood".{{Sfn|Fairer|Wilcox|2016|pp=|p=24}} Some made [[Obscene gesture|obscene gestures]] such as [[the finger]] toward the audience.{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=111}} One androgynous-looking male model walked the runway shirtless to "shock guests with the gender confusion", as Thomas put it.{{Sfn|Thomas|2015|p=112}}