A new off-Broadway production centering on the life of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen is set to debut just ahead of New York Fashion Week.
Named House of McQueen, the show is written by Darren Cloud and directed by Sam Helfrich, with Gary James, the nephew of the late designer, serving as creative director.
A retelling of McQueen’s life, the production aims to highlight his groundbreaking work and the personal journey behind it, which is marked by triumphs, challenges, and an enduring creative legacy that will likely resonate with a new generation.
“We are trying to touch on issues that are relevant to a younger generation, issues like bullying, rejection, homophobia, depression, and even suicide in the hope that this is a healing story,” said Rick Lazes, executive producer of the show, in an interview with Vogue.
For James, who worked in McQueen’s menswear department for seven years and was responsible for designing the brand’s now-iconic show invitations, regarded as collector’s items today, preserving and honoring his uncle’s enduring legacy is vitally important. “A lot of the younger generation don’t really understand the person behind the brand,” said James to Vogue.
More than ten years in the making, the production joins the growing list of retrospectives launched since Alexander McQueen’s passing 15 years ago. For example, the Costume Institute’s landmark 2011 exhibition, Savage Beauty, celebrated his visionary work, followed by Dana Thomas’s 2015 biography, which explored his meteoric rise and personal struggles.
The 2018 documentary directed by Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui took a closer look at his creative genius, while the enduring impact of his muse and patron, Isabella Blow, will soon be revisited in the forthcoming biopic The Queen of Fashion.
Following the show’s premiere in early September, complementary production is set to launch in Los Angeles a few weeks later. Titled Provocateur, the immersive installation leverages advanced technologies, including holography and projection mapping, to chronicle pivotal chapters of McQueen’s life, from his early years at home and studies at Central Saint Martins to his formative experience in a Savile Row tailor shop, according to co-creator Lazes.
The installation includes an interactive virtual component developed in partnership with Dressx, allowing visitors to digitally “try on” archival looks from McQueen’s Horn of Plenty and No.9 collections.
Kering, the parent company of the McQueen brand, which dropped the late designer and founder’s first name from its marketing following the arrival of creative director Sean McGirr last year, has no official involvement in either projects.
However, a selection of archival designs by McQueen, generously loaned by private collectors, will be exhibited in a venue adjacent to the theatre where House of McQueen will run.