The Art of Storytelling Behind Runway Fashion Observed Through Lee Alexander McQueen’s Autumn/Winter 2009/2010 Show "The Horn of Plenty"

Written By TFN Staff Writer: Olivia Sims

(Behind-The-Scenes & Runway Visuals overlay edited with photos of Lee walking the runway from The Horn of Plenty, Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2009-10 – edits by Olivia Sims)

Why are fashion shows so weird? Why are fashion shows absurd? Why do fashion shows exist?  

If you were to begin typing into Google “why are fashion shows ____”, it tends to lend a helping hand completing your thought by filling in the blank with suggestions including questions like these. While this could be insulting to those involved or mesmerized with the industry, it can be seen as a compliment that runway shows raise questions. The fact alone that people are asking questions such as these proves that designers and creative minds are doing their job efficiently. By inducing perplexity and confusion, this makes individuals wonder why exactly collections are unveiled in ‘absurd’ or ‘weird’ approaches – grasping the attention of those not even intrigued by fashion in the first place. Runways have this tendency to carry an abnormal reputation for being out of the ordinary, causing people to have strong reactions due to this raw expression of creativity. In other words, the eye is enticed by what is yet to be seen on a regular basis, making the most authentic and bewildering shows the most attention-grabbing. 

For those who aren’t interested in designer fashion, runway shows can be looked upon as nothing more than a marketing strategy, bringing ‘ridiculous’ visuals to life in order to display and showcase expensive clothing. They tend to get the reputation of being flat-out strange, from those unfamiliar with the depth of the industry. There is much more to such a strategy than what most expect, alongside intricate details that must come together almost seamlessly in order to successfully tell a story that entices the audience and best communicates the brand that the show is representing. Runways can double as political statements while interweaving ideas of addressing inequality to climate change, either embodied by the garments themselves or through performance.  

Fashion shows are not just about clothes or being perceived as pretty. It is an artform. Theatrical runway shows can be seen as a form of performance art, as designers utilize the concept of escapism to their advantage to remove the audience from reality. Designers are artists who wish to express underlying meanings behind their collections, while taking advantage of methods of performance in order to better present themselves. Yet, the runway demonstrations of today lack the grand gestures of storytelling they used to radiate so shamelessly and rebelliously through previous decades. Supermodels became prominent features in media and celebrities in their own right, the fashion industry in the glorious 1990s, leading into the 2000s brought a spotlight on designers such as Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeled, Prada’s Miuccia Prada, Versace’s Gianni Versace, Manfred Thierry Mugler, Jean-Paul Gautier, and of course Lee Alexander McQueen; to name only a few significant figures in high fashion during these decades. Nevertheless, shows were not only taken on as a form of marketing, but were made extravagant experiences by some. These experiences were seen as more influential, iconic, and unforgettable during this fashion era due to the imaginative creative forces behind the scenes working to bring the art of storytelling and theatrical fashion into the ambiance of the room. And yet, only few designers are worthy of being associated with the legacy to have excelled in catwalk theatrics - determined by the thoughtful measure of the designer’s overall depth of consideration that goes beyond what just the garments have to say for themselves, but the corresponding attributes that go into designing an experience for the garments to be brought to life. There is a deeper concern for the ambience, atmosphere, or aura present within the room, alongside the underlying meanings and references associates with each look upon a model, which contributes towards how these collections are perceived and experienced. One of these notorious figures who infused significance behind the most precise of details and ultimately excelled in this art was the great Lee Alexander McQueen.  

“The shows are about what’s burned in my psyche… I would go to the end of my dark side, pull these horrors from my soul and put them on the catwalk… If you leave without emotion, I’m not doing my job properly.”  

- Lee Alexander McQueen 

What would end up being McQueen’s final Fall/Winter collection prior to his suicide in February 2010, Lee Alexander McQueen’s Fall/Winter 2009/2010 show entitled, The Horn of Plenty was an assault on the fashion industry itself as it simultaneously dissected his own design history, marking his fifteen-year anniversary in the industry, while inflicting terror and an overall hauntingly beautiful aesthetic. While this collection, inspired by 1950s couture, is known for being a time capsule of his designs, McQueen also referenced classic and famous couture styles such as the Chanel tweed and Christian Dior houndstooth. This connection is perchance McQueen’s way of mimicking such famed looks to make a statement about the inauspicious presence of the fashion cycle.  On behalf of the idea behind this show being a time capsule for his previous works, The Horn of Plenty featured the soundtrack to McQueen’s Voss (2001) show, while incorporating re-imagined pieces from other shows including a snakeskin print skirt deriving from his Golden Showers (1998) show. An overarching juxtaposition of glamour versus trash was centered at the heart of the runway’s presence, literally and figuratively speaking, as the space itself incorporated a centerpiece of a large pile of trash composed of various pieces of McQueen’s previous runway collections. The references to earlier shows mounted into a heaping pile of ‘trash’ works in favor of McQueen’s set design intentions of exploring the concept of recycling and renewal under the grander exploration of man versus nature. Hints of previous shows of his are scattered throughout the runway through set design, ambiance, and the designs themselves. The energy of the space is heavy, as the models walked a circular runway around the towering mound of prior endeavors explored by the designer himself, embedded within a dark environment. The collection consisted of stiff fabrics which were worked into immensely detailed silhouettes with countless ruffles and high collars. Some of the statements serve more as abstract sculpture than ‘ready-to-wear', as McQueen worked to blur the lines between couture and ready-to-wear through his craftsmanship. The highly abstract pieces deemed to be ‘unwearable’, are to be seen as an art exhibition, as the collection can be identified as a general mood board, or exaggerated version of the actual collection consumers will find in store afterward. In other words, runways have the tendency to show what will then be translated into wearable garments after the performance. Runway pieces are like muses and serve as a base on which collections rely and are a way for the designer to display their creativity and skill to the public.  

McQueen was the kind of artist who was driven to tackle his demons by creating art. His work progressively got darker and exposed his madness nearing the end of his career which is in reflection of his own dissolving mental health. Lee, suffering from mental illnesses, poured the dark thoughts of his being into his work – resulting in unforgettable contributions. While considering the name of this specific collection itself, the phrase, The Horn of Plenty, is overall defined as a cornucopia - a decorative horn-shaped wicker basket commonly used as a centerpiece for a Thanksgiving table setup commonly associated with abundance and nourishment. By taking this general definition into account - could this be McQueen’s way of reflecting on his extensive involvement within the industry? The heaping pile of souvenirs in the center of the runway may be McQueen’s personalized take on the cornucopia’s traditional position in the middle of the table. Also worth considering is this concept in relation to nearing the end of Lee’s life, as this symbolic abundance of the cornucopia may have stood as a form of foreshadowing his end to the public by reflecting on his previous work. McQueen demonstrates a very real component to highly creative work that is not frequently raised to the surface; the benefits of the struggles creative minds endure. While outsiders receive the fruits of the creative’s labor, it is not surprising to hear after the fact of the artists’ hardships, and how these attributes of their life shape the work they produce. While his genius was partially understood by the claim of ‘it is just how his brain worked’, McQueen had a lifelong battle with himself which he romanticized yet tried to escape from through his work. Such dark traumas and mentalities were brought to life through abstraction and underlying messages behind the collections he produced for the industry. Lee’s choice to intertwine personal life with work enabled him to produce raw, significant, authentic, and ground-breaking collections during his time, but ultimately lead him fleeting a life where he pushed himself and his perfectionist mentality to the extreme.  

The Horn of Plenty stands as not only a masterpiece as an artform of storytelling but raises questions about the mentality of the creatives behind the work and the depth of hidden, underlying messages interwoven within the very details of such a performance. Designers such as Lee Alexander McQueen’s runway shows embody more of a personality than remaining loyal to the barriers of traditional purposes and marketing techniques of the catwalk. They test the limitations of what the people can bear, and test our ability to analyze and look for the deeper meanings behind decisions. These experiences are personal and directly or indirectly serve as methods of communication for thoughts even unrelated to fashion itself. Storytelling may be an excellent strategy to entice, but for some creatives like McQueen, it could be a cry for help. An impassionate, bewildering, beautiful plead only understood once it is too late.  

Weirdness and absurdity may be a common conception for the reputation of runway shows to have, but at the end of it all, it is the industry's way of doing its job.  

And a job well done to Lee.  

Full runway show: Alexander McQueen autumn winter 2009-10 The Horn of Plenty 

(Behind-The-Scenes & Runway Visuals overlay edited with photos of Lee walking the runway from The Horn of Plenty, Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2009-10 – edits by Olivia Sims)