Alexander McQueen: After Lee

[reese06]

I hate to say it but I think that McQueen should close its doors. McQueen's thought process was so unique to him that it can't be duplicated.

 

[Janard Williams]

Theyskens? maybe? no?

 

[Salvatore]

It should stop, simply .
Let it rest with him .

 

[farou7a]

As much as I love McQueen and adore his creations I've never really seen his label as an "empire" so to speak. Unlike YSL and Coco Chanel and whoever else, McQueen still hadn't reached that point where his label was globally known and recognizable; it was still somewhat unfamiliar. He left the whole thing unfinished. I'm not very sure anyone can complete his legacy the way McQueen did it.

I'd love McQueen to become a household name and still be the most inspiring label of our generation but there is also the EXTREMELY high risk of the label turning into another Emanuel Ungaro. That would be disgusting.

i didnt know so many ppl disliked ungaro!

but true say.

in my opinion, they shouldnt continue without him, but then again, they cant just STOP making McQueen products?

its a bit confusing!

 

[Meg]

Well Lee himself stated in an interview (I can't remember which one...) that he hoped his name and house would live on long past his death, so clearly he always had intentions that it would continue.

As others have stated though, Gucci Group owns more than a 50% share in the brand (as far as I'm aware) and they will have last say. It'd be a shame to lose such an amazing brand but only time will tell if there is someone who can match Lee's genius...

 

[Donatello89]

it's only a business

 

[Littleathquakes]

I've read that Gucci group is just tugging at people's emotions right now because it's such a sensitive issue. They don't want to seem callous so that's why they're doing these vague statements regarding the future of the brand.

But ultimately they will close down McQueen, it's not profitable and now without the brainchild behind it, there is no chance will be revived in the taste that customers are accustomed. It's even written that the Gucci group didn't even include McQueen in their profit statements because it was so small compared to YSL, etc. This is the perfect opportunity for them to get rid of it with a seemingly valid excuse.

 

[farou7a]

true ^

 

[Salvatore]

I've read that Gucci group is just tugging at people's emotions right now because it's such a sensitive issue. They don't want to seem callous so that's why they're doing these vague statements regarding the future of the brand.

But ultimately they will close down McQueen, it's not profitable and now without the brainchild behind it, there is no chance will be revived in the taste that customers are accustomed. It's even written that the Gucci group didn't even include McQueen in their profit statements because it was so small compared to YSL, etc. This is the perfect opportunity for them to get rid of it with a seemingly valid excuse.

So very true . If it every opens again, it will be years upon years .

 

[indie]

But I guess there will be a market for his more 'commercial' products ie the skull scarf that I feel gucci group would want to continue the production...but then again it would be really sad if they milked that...

 

[Master Wood]

Yes I'm so pleased there is somewhere I can post this. Is anyone else worried that this decade is going to cease the end of this type of fashion? McQueen is now gone... Irreplaceable! Galliano is nothing anymore not wholeheartedly since 2004 have I seen the magic I once saw. Lagerfeld is almost certainly going to be done by the end of the decade, and ever since Gareth Pugh moved to Paris his collections have been abysmal and has succumb to the clinical glamour of Paris and the money it has. Guesquiere is a visionary but lacks the in your face element synonymous with the British designers. The situation is getting so depressing. There is no one left producing the magic which makes the fashion industry so intoxicating.

I too believe they should in someway present Lee's last collection although s/s 2010 was one of his best and a nice round number to finish things on. To say closing the house is stupid because of all Lees hard work is mildly offensive, I'm pretty sure after all this time he didn't do all this just to have a couple of shops and an accessories line, his visions were more than lasting contribution.

 

[Salvatore]

Yes I'm so pleased there is somewhere I can post this. Is anyone else worried that this decade is going to cease the end of this type of fashion? McQueen is now gone... Irreplaceable! Galliano is nothing anymore not wholeheartedly since 2004 have I seen the magic I once saw. Lagerfeld is almost certainly going to be done by the end of the decade, and ever since Gareth Pugh moved to Paris his collections have been abysmal and has succumb to the clinical glamour of Paris and the money it has. Guesquiere is a visionary but lacks the in your face element synonymous with the British designers. The situation is getting so depressing. There is no one left producing the magic which makes the fashion industry so intoxicating.

I too believe they should in someway present Lee's last collection although s/s 2010 was one of his best and a nice round number to finish things on. To say closing the house is stupid because of all Lees hard work is mildly offensive, I'm pretty sure after all this time he didn't do all this just to have a couple of shops and an accessories line, his visions were more than lasting contribution.

I am glad you brought this up . I was thinking right after he died that the industry is moving towards being dead . Yes, there is Tisci and Ghesquière providing us with some great pieces, but there's nothing that is spectacular like at the beginning of the 2000s . It's very scary to think that it's coming to this and I hope that somehow, soon, the industry starts to reverse itself .

I think fashion has gotten out of hand with all of these collections they're having causing the designers to overwork and it feels that, for some, their creativity is running dry .

 

[rayoflight]

Maybe McQeen will become like Balenciaga before Ghesquiere or Chanel before Lagerfeld, not really closed down, not producing any "fashion", but still producing perfume, accessories, "core"/"heritage" items and such.
Personally I think that fashion houses should be closed down after their founders die, but thats not how business work, sadly. Even Dior, who himself wanted to close down his house, didn't get his wish.

 

[Mr-Dale]

I really hope they will close the house altogether. Can you imagine some assistent team taking over and destroying the myth around the house with one single collection (think Valentino). I do not want that to happen. It's sad though, cause I too fear that this may be the end of this type of extreme high fashion. Noone is doing it anymore. Maybe someone will stand up and fill this void or maybe others will return to their extremities, but I don't see it happening. It's all about the money these days and everyone who used to fantastic 'extreme' high fashion stopped doing it. Galliano, Viktor & Rolf, Theyskens...Gareth Pugh is sorta meh these day. Tisci delivers, but it's another kind of fashion that doesn't fit this description. Gaultier is the last one who can produce an over the top fantasy haute couture collection as long as he doesn't touch upon gimmicky items (the first section of his latest couture collection for example) It's a sad moment in fashion.

 

[Littleathquakes]

and that presents another problem: the next person to come up with extreme fashion will be labeled as a McQueen wanna-be and dismissed as nothing more than such. that person's artistry, vision and taste will be pushed aside, and no one wants to be that person. I'm sure there are plenty of unknown designers with similar tastes who were never given the opportunity to shine.

 

[snowqueen]

Well Lee himself stated in an interview (I can't remember which one...) that he hoped his name and house would live on long past his death, so clearly he always had intentions that it would continue.

Ok call me nieve, maybe I am being a little but if this was the case hopefully and surely being the business man he was (ultimately what he was when it came down to it) would he have not made pervisions for his death?? I mean as in having the neccessary procausins in place such this ever arises. Sort of a will type thing I guess. But then ultimately it would be down to gucci group big bosses etc to deside the outcome and future. Once hes dead all right to a choice or what ever is sadly lost

Also as well I know he was a visionary with so many new and fabulous ideas. But the likes of Coco Chanel were all visionarys with lots of new and fabulous ideas in there day to and there brands and names still live on today.

I dont claim to be a business woman or even know how businesses work or any of that bu this is just my opinion.

All though i dont believe they will ever match up to him, but I think someone like his assistant whos worked with lee and knew him well etc. could become a very close second and carry on the label in a way im sure he would have aproved of.

 

[Lisa~~~*]

Just a crazy thought, I think that the combination between Viktor&Rolf + Galliano + Alber Elbaz + Nicolas Ghesquiere would make just the closest verisimilitude prototype to Mcqueen's DNA. The question is how (the ***) are we going to find all those unique composition and then perfectly gathering them together into one person!

 

[Lisa~~~*]

A Brand's Uncertain Future

Can a fashion house succeed without its creator

By CHRISTINA PASSARIELLO

PARIS—The sudden death of Alexander McQueen leaves Gucci Group, the parent company of the British designer's eponymous fashion house, to decide whether it can chart a future for a brand that was inextricably linked to its creator. Mr. McQueen was due to present his fashion collection on Paris' runway in less than a month.
While the Alexander McQueen fashion house was lauded for its daring designs, its financial performance was less successful. Gucci Group, part of French retail-to-luxury group PPR SA, spent years pushing it to make money, and the company only turned a profit in 2007, seven years after Gucci bought a majority stake in it.
Mr. McQueen's "creative force was inspiring to me and all those who were fortunate to know and work with him," Gucci Group Chief Executive Robert Polet said in an email. "He has left us too soon; he had so much more to give, but the legacy he leaves us is a rich one and one that we will cherish and honor." Gucci Group declined to comment about the future of the fashion house.
Other fashion houses have struggled without their namesake designers. The labels of Bill Blass and Geoffrey Beene, who died after decades of designing, have passed through many owners and designers in recent years without regaining their original status and sales.
In 2000, when his London-based label was just a startup, Mr. McQueen sold a 51% stake to Gucci Group, joining storied fashion houses Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga in a new luxury-goods group. Gucci Group funneled some of the profits made by the much larger Gucci brand into stores for McQueen and other labels. Gucci Group does not break out sales and profits for McQueen.
In its attempt to help the label grow, Gucci Group rolled the McQueen brand out into new product categories. In 2003, the designer launched his first perfume, Kingdom, manufactured by a division of Gucci Group.
In 2007, McQueen turned a profit for the first time, sliding in under Gucci Group's deadline for the brand to move into the black. But while sales have steadily grown over the years, McQueen has few of its own stores, relying mostly on wholesale sales to retailers. That has left it exposed to the economic crisis as department stores slashed orders.
The launch of a less expensive fashion line, McQ, in 2006, has helped open new doors for the house. The McQ collection was due to be presented in New York Thursday, but the event was canceled after news of Mr. McQueen's death.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page W2

Source : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703382904575059854260457206.html

 

[Lisa~~~*]

Gucci faces cash crunch after loss of star name Alexander McQueen

Jim Armitage
12.02.10

Gucci, the luxury goods giant behind Alexander McQueen, could lose tens of millions of pounds in future earnings after the designer's death, analysts warned today.
The fashion house could haemorr-hage money unless it can bring in new talent to continue the success it enjoyed under McQueen.
Gucci, which owns 51 per cent of the label, invested millions of pounds a year in financing McQueen's three stores and promoting his ranges through flamboyant catwalk shows in the hope of building him into an even more valuable brand — as it did for Stella McCartney.
Liberty, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols said the designer's signature skull scarves and rings and more expensive clothes and bags were “flying off the shelves” yesterday afternoon.
A spokeswoman for Harvey Nichols said: “Ladies are coming in to buy the show pieces. They see them as investments, like beautiful works of art that will increase in value. They want to own part of his legacy. We expect to sell out of several items in the coming days and weeks.” Liberty said his black and white, and black and grey, silk scarves had already sold out, although more were on order. The store will transform its windows on Monday into a tribute to McQueen called “Former Queen and Country”.
“We will be mixing the current McQueen range with his iconic classic pieces,” the spokeswoman said.
An analyst at a leading City bank warned Gucci may now be bracing itself for large losses. He said: “I don't think he had yet developed the global presence of an Yves Saint Laurent or Chanel for his name to survive his death. It's tragic but I'm afraid Gucci will struggle to keep his label alive. They'll have to write this one off.”
But other analysts argued the McQueen name, like Gucci's Balenciaga brand, was strong enough to survive.
Milton Pedraza, of New York research group The Luxury Institute, said: “Alexander McQueen's death is, undeniably, a tragedy, but just like Coco Chanel and many other great designers there is the opportunity to continue his legacy.
“Gucci can take the DNA, the creative genius of Alexander McQueen, and have other designers take it to the next step forward. He may have died at 40 but he was so distinct and had established himself enough, I think.”
McQueen also designed for other parts of Gucci, including a big-selling range of shoes with its Puma brand.

Source : http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...-after-loss-of-star-name-alexander-mcqueen.do

 

[Caffeine]

Maybe McQeen will become like Balenciaga before Ghesquiere or Chanel before Lagerfeld, not really closed down, not producing any "fashion", but still producing perfume, accessories, "core"/"heritage" items and such.
Personally I think that fashion houses should be closed down after their founders die, but thats not how business work, sadly. Even Dior, who himself wanted to close down his house, didn't get his wish.

I like this idea. Perhaps another grad from CSM?
I also hope that they can produce an exhibit to show all his prior designs. Wherever it is, I'll go see it!