Alright folks, today I dove into this rabbit hole about Alexander McQueen and Givenchy. Crazy how two completely different vibes smashed fashion forever. Started off simple, y’know? Just wanted to understand the fuss. Ended up down a whole history lesson path.
First, the digging began
Sat down with my laptop, bunch of tabs open, coffee going cold. Hit Google hard. Searched stuff like “McQueen first Givenchy collection” and “Lee McQueen before Givenchy”. Found way more than just pretty dresses.
Stumbling over the early stuff
Turns out McQueen’s whole thing started way before Givenchy called him. Watched clips from his early 90s London shows. Man, it was raw back then! Not polished runways, more like underground art parties. Saw the infamous “bumster” pants – practically gave people heart attacks when they first dropped! You could see his mind didn’t do boring. Everything was sharp, jagged, like the city streets themselves.
Then jumped to Givenchy. Hubert de Givenchy was pure class. Audrey Hepburn. Timeless elegance. Total opposite of Lee’s messy energy. Couldn’t wrap my head around how these worlds would collide.
Hitting the shock moment
Discovered that 1997 shocker news clip. French fashion giant LVMH dragging this punk London kid, McQueen, to run Givenchy. Imagine that scene! Lee, 27, ripped jeans probably, walking into a palace of Parisian chic. Everyone thinking it was a bad joke. Even he apparently hated the idea at first, called it “a job”. The clash felt unreal.
Watched footage of his first Givenchy show (FW 1997). Models with impossible gold horns, alien make-up. The collection was technically sharp, pure McQueen craft, but poured over Givenchy shapes. It was like a volcano erupting inside a library. Audience didn’t know whether to clap or run for the hills!
Sorting through the fallout (for both)
McQueen only lasted a few turbulent years there. Reading his quotes felt heavy. He clearly chafed under the pressure. But here’s the weird part:
- Givenchy wasn’t ruined – It got shaken awake. Loudly. People who loved quiet luxury freaked out, sure, but the whole fashion world paid attention.
- McQueen wasn’t tamed – Yeah, he learned the fancy French techniques, but his own label exploded afterwards with bolder stuff than ever. That Paris pressure cooker ramped him up to 11.
Finally getting the big picture
Sitting back later, my head was buzzing. It clicked:
- McQueen broke the rulebook – Proved you could bring gutter reality & insane theatre to the poshest runways. Changed how designers think about “beauty”.
- Givenchy (the house) survived radical change – Showed even heritage giants could absorb a revolution and stay relevant. That shock tactic? Became normal strategy later.
The crazy part? It made me look at my own work differently. Sometimes you gotta shove your messy truth into places it doesn’t belong. That friction? That’s where stuff ignites, gets remembered. McQueen hated those Givenchy years, but dang, they forced everyone to see things differently. That’s the real change. That tension.
