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Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation
Packed with breathtaking photographs, this tribute to Alexander
McQueen (1969-2010) celebrates the incredible creations of an iconic, imaginative, and inspirational fashion designer
whose work turned heads and hearts all over the world. He was a major fashion figure, famous throughout the world, especially the US (where he is a celebrity-favourite with clients including Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman) and Japan. McQueen's dramatic designs, also been worn by celebrities including Bjork, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, met with critical acclaim and earned him the British Designer of the Year award four times. This book is a must-have for fashion lovers everywhere.
McQueen (1969-2010) celebrates the incredible creations of an iconic, imaginative, and inspirational fashion designer
whose work turned heads and hearts all over the world. He was a major fashion figure, famous throughout the world, especially the US (where he is a celebrity-favourite with clients including Sarah Jessica Parker, Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman) and Japan. McQueen's dramatic designs, also been worn by celebrities including Bjork, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, met with critical acclaim and earned him the British Designer of the Year award four times. This book is a must-have for fashion lovers everywhere.
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 26, 2014
2,5 Stars!
I loved the beautiful cover -mostly because 2009 Fall along with Fall/Winter 2008 are my favorite, no matter the controversy- and most of the pictures the book containes..
The introduction is very flattering but when the timeline of his work starts i found some mishaps..
I think a bit of his dream-like vision is captured very nicely in this book and the fact that he was firstly an artist at heart and then a designer.. But Alexander McQueen had another well-known side more dramatic, boisterous, pompous and absolutely unique.. That's why he was a genious..
I wasn't able to locate some of his finest work and there is no mentioning on his earlier work from 1992.. The timeline starts with 1995 which is just disappointing and even then there are only 3-4 references until 2000's ..
It is very sad that there wasn't even one of his sketches.. a huge minus for me.. It's not a tribute it's more of a deficient book that didn't had the place or the time to atleast put a trademark looks lexicon together for such a huge fashion figure..
Where is McQueen's vitality, imagination and perfectionism?I personally saw none of those things.. It's a shame really..
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK
- Some captions are too vague..
- The writing is mediocre..
- Too many things missing..
- His last 16 looks should all be part of the book..
- The lay-out had no consistency..
- I would prefer if the book didn't only contained pictures of his creations only from the catwalk.. And even then not the catwalk.. All the perfect, magical spectacle, absent..
shame, shame shame!
I loved the beautiful cover -mostly because 2009 Fall along with Fall/Winter 2008 are my favorite, no matter the controversy- and most of the pictures the book containes..
The introduction is very flattering but when the timeline of his work starts i found some mishaps..
I think a bit of his dream-like vision is captured very nicely in this book and the fact that he was firstly an artist at heart and then a designer.. But Alexander McQueen had another well-known side more dramatic, boisterous, pompous and absolutely unique.. That's why he was a genious..
I wasn't able to locate some of his finest work and there is no mentioning on his earlier work from 1992.. The timeline starts with 1995 which is just disappointing and even then there are only 3-4 references until 2000's ..
It is very sad that there wasn't even one of his sketches.. a huge minus for me.. It's not a tribute it's more of a deficient book that didn't had the place or the time to atleast put a trademark looks lexicon together for such a huge fashion figure..
Where is McQueen's vitality, imagination and perfectionism?I personally saw none of those things.. It's a shame really..
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK
- Some captions are too vague..
- The writing is mediocre..
- Too many things missing..
- His last 16 looks should all be part of the book..
- The lay-out had no consistency..
- I would prefer if the book didn't only contained pictures of his creations only from the catwalk.. And even then not the catwalk.. All the perfect, magical spectacle, absent..
shame, shame shame!
July 6, 2010
Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation is an ambitious title for a work meant to address the legacy of a man who was clearly one of the greatest sartorial artists of our time; and while this book does provide a solid introduction and overview of Alexander McQueen's work, I'm afraid overall it falls short of my expectations. Aside from being full of wonderful photographs, there isn't much going on here. The text is riddled with problems: several of the photos are incorrectly dated; and the descriptive captions are repetitive, not particularly insightful, and often factual inaccurate where historical periods and artistic styles are cited. On the whole I'd say the pictures in this volume make it a worthwhile purchase for McQueen fans and those generally interested in the history of modern fashion, but personally I'm holding out for a comprehensive Taschen-style retrospective that does a more thorough job of exploring the full scope of McQueen's artistic vision.
July 25, 2012
Regardless of the minimal text, the book is absolutely visually stunning. I do feel however, the layouts could definitely have used more visuals.
January 13, 2012
More style over substance with this book. It is visually stunning, but then how can McQueen's work not be.
The commentary by Knox is poor, verging on pointless. Knox doesn't add anything to the work in terms of knowledge of the inspirations and processes behind the collections. It seems to be a very ill informed approach. The book is also pitted with errors and inconsistencies. For instance McQueen's S/S 2001 show are cited correctly within the text but the image titles are inaccurately labeled S/S 2000. She also completely disregards any mention of the collections correct name: VOSS. Also to reiterate my previous point, I shall use the same collection as an example, she writes:
'The Spring/Summer show wrapped by revealing another cube within the psychiatric ward masquerading as a runway, in which lay a large woman (considerably bigger than the other models) reclining nude, her face covered by an iron mask adjoined to a network of plastic breathing tubes. Moths fluttered within, the final accent on the twisted and sinister Francis-Bacon-meets-Sigmund-Freud theme running throughout the sublime presentation.'
Aside from the fact of what I find to be a little offensive in terms of a description being referred to as the 'large woman', Knox seems to not to have even been bothered to research the woman's name; who is in fact fetish writer Michelle Olley.
The book is lacking detail behind the actual shows and their collections is a current theme throughout the book. I want more details, for instance she could have said: How Olley sits staged in a pose that was inspired by the Joel Peter Witkin photograph Sanitarium. Where a twenty stone-middle aged woman covered in a pig mask breathing apparatus is attached via tubes to a monkey. How the concept of the show was what McQueen described as 'decay-oppression'. How within the show McQueen wanted to turn traditional ideas of women's shape and beauty on its head. Knox however, doesn't even touch upon the symbolism of the moths- which is that they eat clothes, hence causing decay and this adds another layer to the taboos and destruction of fashion theme that runs throughout. Which is also referenced through the use of numerous boxes the show is staged within and the two way mirrors- reflecting upon the different layers of beauty and how it is not just skin deep. More than skin deep being a term which cannot be applied to this book I am afraid.
The commentary by Knox is poor, verging on pointless. Knox doesn't add anything to the work in terms of knowledge of the inspirations and processes behind the collections. It seems to be a very ill informed approach. The book is also pitted with errors and inconsistencies. For instance McQueen's S/S 2001 show are cited correctly within the text but the image titles are inaccurately labeled S/S 2000. She also completely disregards any mention of the collections correct name: VOSS. Also to reiterate my previous point, I shall use the same collection as an example, she writes:
'The Spring/Summer show wrapped by revealing another cube within the psychiatric ward masquerading as a runway, in which lay a large woman (considerably bigger than the other models) reclining nude, her face covered by an iron mask adjoined to a network of plastic breathing tubes. Moths fluttered within, the final accent on the twisted and sinister Francis-Bacon-meets-Sigmund-Freud theme running throughout the sublime presentation.'
Aside from the fact of what I find to be a little offensive in terms of a description being referred to as the 'large woman', Knox seems to not to have even been bothered to research the woman's name; who is in fact fetish writer Michelle Olley.
The book is lacking detail behind the actual shows and their collections is a current theme throughout the book. I want more details, for instance she could have said: How Olley sits staged in a pose that was inspired by the Joel Peter Witkin photograph Sanitarium. Where a twenty stone-middle aged woman covered in a pig mask breathing apparatus is attached via tubes to a monkey. How the concept of the show was what McQueen described as 'decay-oppression'. How within the show McQueen wanted to turn traditional ideas of women's shape and beauty on its head. Knox however, doesn't even touch upon the symbolism of the moths- which is that they eat clothes, hence causing decay and this adds another layer to the taboos and destruction of fashion theme that runs throughout. Which is also referenced through the use of numerous boxes the show is staged within and the two way mirrors- reflecting upon the different layers of beauty and how it is not just skin deep. More than skin deep being a term which cannot be applied to this book I am afraid.
August 18, 2011
I find myself torn as to what to rate this book. Alexander McQueen is, as the book is appropriately titled, a genius. His creativity, talent and attention to detail is second to none. Since a majority of this book is images from his collections I would feel it should get 5 or more stars. Now as far as the actual book (setting aside the amazing images), it seems as if it was a rushed production and hastily thrown together. There are only a few pages with actual information about the late designer, leaving the reader longing for more information on the man behind the exquisite designs. Some images are missing captions, some captions seem as if they were thought up by a sports commentator. I also noticed one particual piece had 2 images from different angles (it was most certainly the same show- same model- same hair- same makeup, every detial identical) presented as being from different collections. There was also another occurence of a piece being presented twice (as different pieces) in the same collection. Again with all details the same. As far as production of the book, I would give it only 1 star.
The above being said I am going to rate it in the middle with 3 stars. Only look at this book as purely a Picture Book to sit on a coffee table.
The above being said I am going to rate it in the middle with 3 stars. Only look at this book as purely a Picture Book to sit on a coffee table.
July 22, 2018
Beautiful pieces, stunning pictures, brilliant ideas. However, I wish there would be more about Alexander McQueen as a designer, and not just runway looks with vague descriptions. He did so much more than this, he stayed on top throughout his career and created pieces people hadn't seen before. Personally I thought the book was way to short, and so many things were left unsaid. I would have loved to see sketches, more details, and a little more information. That being said, the book was not bad at all. I actually enjoyed it a lot, I just wished there was more to it.
August 24, 2020
I was hoping for full collections for some of the years. But the information about the items shown was very detailed. Would’ve liked more about the first collection presented after his death. The few pictures at the back weren’t quite enough. I would’ve liked to know more about how Burton made the decisions she did on completing them.
A true genius.
A true genius.
May 9, 2018
The photos are the best bit. I wished there was more text in a bigger font as well.
Nobody ever seems to write about the construction of couture - the craft that underpins the art. I'd love to have information about how the gowns were made.
Nobody ever seems to write about the construction of couture - the craft that underpins the art. I'd love to have information about how the gowns were made.
November 15, 2024
Pretty good. Big color photos with a little bit of context on the looks. The author was dismissive of the criticisms that McQueen was sexist/misogynistic, though, which I didn't appreciate. Would have liked her to actually refute that or discuss in more detail rather than just brushing them off.
December 31, 2017
I love this book so much!
Photo Review: http://www.designyouruniverseblog.com...
Photo Review: http://www.designyouruniverseblog.com...
August 18, 2018
Easily one of my favorite designers.
March 30, 2022
A very nice insight into McQueen's works, from his early collections up to his death
February 27, 2023
cute obrazky ale i wish ze by tam bylo vic info a references o tech collections cuz ty descriptions byly celkem kratky...ale furt somewhat informative
January 3, 2025
read for uni. i worship him.
August 4, 2025
جزئیات و نوشتههای کتاب خیلی کم بود و عنوان کتاب بیربط به توضیحات داخل کتاب بود.
January 2, 2026
Good for the absolute basics about McQueen, but not enough if your interests are deeper in fashion.
September 4, 2014
Fashionistas and artlovers were devastated by the suicide of designer Alexander McQueen in 2010. Inarguably, he was gone too soon, but not before he blessed the design and fashion world with his incredible visions materialised. He was the Lewisham-born lad who was would have looked equally at home traipsing through the council estates with his pitbulls as he did on the catwalk. In fact, he would have looked much more comfortable on the street.
A 16-year old dropout, he managed to secure an apprenticeship in tailoring on Savile Row, followed by gigs with theatrical costume designers and Milanese fashion house, Romeo Gigli. His skill and uniqueness was embraced by Central St Martins when he returned to London to enrol in the early 90s.
His story, lushly illustrated with full page photographs, is told in Alexander McQueen: Genius Of A Generation by fashion blogger, Kristin Knox aka The Clothes Whisperer. Knox brilliantly and succinctly describes McQueen’s role to “compel the wearer or beholder to surrender to the fantastical and sinister world of which McQueen was the sole artificer...an enfant terrible.”
Fabulous photos include the bumsters in 2001, glass-boxed butterfly-laden models, the armadillo heels that famously adorned Lady Gaga. Whether antlered, red-eyed, covered in sequins and crystals, or toting the skeletons of foxes around their necks, his vision of women was as powerful, warrior like creatures that were part animal, part mystical goddess.
Knox recognises that there is no need for pages and pages of tightly packed text required to tell McQueen’s story. His life was his work and it best speaks for itself. The back cover image is bittersweet; McQueen gives his final wave on the catwalk and for us, it is the finale of a lifetime.
Alexander McQueen: Genius Of A Generation
Kristin Knox
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default....
A 16-year old dropout, he managed to secure an apprenticeship in tailoring on Savile Row, followed by gigs with theatrical costume designers and Milanese fashion house, Romeo Gigli. His skill and uniqueness was embraced by Central St Martins when he returned to London to enrol in the early 90s.
His story, lushly illustrated with full page photographs, is told in Alexander McQueen: Genius Of A Generation by fashion blogger, Kristin Knox aka The Clothes Whisperer. Knox brilliantly and succinctly describes McQueen’s role to “compel the wearer or beholder to surrender to the fantastical and sinister world of which McQueen was the sole artificer...an enfant terrible.”
Fabulous photos include the bumsters in 2001, glass-boxed butterfly-laden models, the armadillo heels that famously adorned Lady Gaga. Whether antlered, red-eyed, covered in sequins and crystals, or toting the skeletons of foxes around their necks, his vision of women was as powerful, warrior like creatures that were part animal, part mystical goddess.
Knox recognises that there is no need for pages and pages of tightly packed text required to tell McQueen’s story. His life was his work and it best speaks for itself. The back cover image is bittersweet; McQueen gives his final wave on the catwalk and for us, it is the finale of a lifetime.
Alexander McQueen: Genius Of A Generation
Kristin Knox
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default....
December 1, 2015
Perhaps an adequate, if abbreviated, introduction for the uninitiated, this is by no means the all-encompassing tribute that it claims to be. Littered with errors and an overabundance of Lady Gaga mentions, and condensed to the point that some collections are represented by a mere single image, the main emotion this book left me with is frustration. I don't know how many times I was internally bemoaning that a certain piece was not included. If you're looking for a comprehensive and artfully done memorial, this is not it.
March 23, 2015
The photos in this book are gorgeous!
The writing, however, is quite minimal.
This would not make a very good reference book if that is what you are looking for.
It focuses almost exclusively on catwalk images with nothing on how he advertises, how his clothes are made and very little on celebrity wear.
Photo descriptions are limited to the show the look appeared and a a description of the image.
The writing, however, is quite minimal.
This would not make a very good reference book if that is what you are looking for.
It focuses almost exclusively on catwalk images with nothing on how he advertises, how his clothes are made and very little on celebrity wear.
Photo descriptions are limited to the show the look appeared and a a description of the image.
October 3, 2010
This book really feels like a hastily assembled tribute magazine with a heavier binding, but it's great to have a lot of those magazine images neatly bound instead of shoved into a folder in my filing cabinet. I'm sure I'll still hang onto it even once I've gotten whatever future comprehensive catalog of his work is produced.
February 1, 2012
Although it's interesting to read how the author analyze clothes and the themes behind them, her perpetual McQueen-ass kissing is a bit unnerving.
My housemate saw this book and he commented, "This guy has to be gay. He hates women. He makes women dress up in these ugly clothes." I am unconvinced as to the greatness of McQueen's talent even after reading this book.
My housemate saw this book and he commented, "This guy has to be gay. He hates women. He makes women dress up in these ugly clothes." I am unconvinced as to the greatness of McQueen's talent even after reading this book.
July 30, 2010
He was pure Genious. i cannot say enough about this book, and just looking through the pages of the lustful photographs of his art(clothing) makes me want to push my own art(clothing) even further.
he is and will always be an inspiration to me
he is and will always be an inspiration to me
January 25, 2011
the book provide a brief background and introduction to the designer. Along with about 100-pages gallery of his design over the years. I think the book will be a good introduction to the designer and his design aesthetic... (i personally would love if the book go a little deeper)
July 8, 2012
Concise review of Alexander McQueen's work, plus the photos are truly superb, showcasing the genius of his designs and the excellent workmanship. But to me, it showed at the same time a spiritual dimension to his aesthetic that is disturbing. I feel sad for him.
November 3, 2013
This book had excellent photos of all the different outfits the models wore in his shows. He created outfits that too him were his own nightmares. Everything was autobiographical. What an amazing man he was. He will always be remembered.
March 2, 2011
Gorgeous. I may wear used clothes, but God Save McQueen.
June 12, 2011
The pictures are pretty but it is a glorified magazine and not a proper history or even a real coffee table book. But I knew that going in to reading it!
October 31, 2011
I think he is the most wonderful designer in this world and yet he was called by the God to design clothes for angles, wish him rest in peace in his heaven.
June 16, 2012
Beautiful pictures (of course). Commentary left a lot to be desired.
August 29, 2014
Not the best collection of his work. Some of the photos used were poor quality.
Still pretty cool, though.
Still pretty cool, though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews