The Life and Death of Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen was a creative genius, but he was also haunted by his many years of abuse and negligence from both family and workplace. His story is far from a happy one, and led him to really hit out at those around him in order to make himself feel better. Yet, those that tried to help were swatted away in favour of profits and keeping McQueen working as much as he possibly could. However, all of the memory of McQueen as a person, not just a work horse, has been largely forgotten or overlooked by the public in lieu of him being seen as a creative that was so overcome by his creativity that his life came to an end. But of course, this was intentional. Since McQueen's passing there has been an active attempt at deifying his memory, in order to keep the company Alexander McQueen running profitably. Can we blame this on the Gucci Group or PPR? No, not really, it's a valuable asset. But, we can blame our consumptive cultures for taking a creative person and allowing him to be wrung dry to the extent that he could no longer survive. LVMH and the Gucci Group (PPR) are equal in this regard, they facilitated the toxic work place that contributed greatly to his mental decline. It's no different in other entertainment companies of course, but so much pressure is hard to take and over the years we have seen the fall of many creatives, from fashion to music to tv for similar reasons. But the difference for Lee Alexander McQueen is that his family have been removed from this process in a way they felt heartless. Now, having spoken up so many times throughout the years, it's certainly worth listening to Lee Alexander McQueen's story and at least trying to learn and move forward from here.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:17 Chapter 1: Early Life and Family
3:30 Chapter 2: Family Life and School
9:19 Chapter 3: Work Experience
14:42 Chapter 4: Central Saint Martins
17:56 Chapter 5: Early Career
24:18 Chapter 6: Fame
32:14 Chapter 7: Givenchy
43:26 Chapter 8: The Storm Before The Calm
50:46 Chapter 9: Gucci
53:25 Chapter 10: The End of Tom Ford and Isabella Blow
57:06 Chapter 11: Renaissance
1:02:50 Chapter 12: Death

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