Has the Royal Wedding Gown made the McQueen brand too Commercial?

[Street_a_Licious]

don't forget the McQ collection for Target. pretty mainstream, no?

 

[KKnardi]

^yes. the brand has always been commercial in a sense.

I think the hype of mcqueen right now is projecting an image of the company as super exclusive...

 

[mikeijames]

there's been McQueen fragrances already. but i agree in regards of them suddenly releasing a very mainstream fruity floral fragrance, then that would definitely sell well.

very true. i define commercial as anything that the teenage mall crowd or the 'real housewives' boutique lot would snatch up in the name of conspicuous consumption. the array of vuitton/gucci/prada/chanel/dior bags fit this bill. as do ysl/louboutin/choo/blahnik shoes. as do most fragrance lines.

while mcqueen might move further outside the 'insider' arena and more into the 'niche' territory, it's not quite commercial or mainstream yet.

another true test if something is commercial? a rash of imitations.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

Considering Laday Gaga was galavanting around in the armadillo heels in one of the most popular music videos of all time long before the royal wedding... I think it's safe to say that McQueen has been "commercial" for a while. Indeed, I have friends who know little of high fashion beyond McQueen, thanks to Gaga.

Perhaps it's because I'm such a high fashion fan, but honestly- I could not imagine the royal couple having gone with anyone else. As tragic as it is, Lee's suicide really did catapult the brand: hands down the most A List name in British fashion right now. The only other designers I even momentarily considered getting the commission were Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig or Vivienne Westwood, who really is punk rock enough to have probably said no (Suzanne Neville was my dark horse choice). Even though there are many royal brides that go down the "little known, home grown" designer route, everything about McQueen has just been so high profile over the last year it was just inevitable in my eyes.

 

[blondegypsy]

For me personally, the disappointment doesn't lie with whether Kate's wedding dress will make McQueen more commercial or not... I was more dissappointed that Sarah Burton seemed to design a dress that looked like classic Dior. I understand being couture she would have needed to take her customer's taste and the event into account so it of course needed to be more reserved in its style, but I still would have been more impressed if it kept a bit of the McQueen flair in it.

 

[FakeFlower]

The wedding gown did not represent McQueen at all, but I think it takes more than one dress to change the whole company with what it's known for.

 

[theatretokens]

For me personally, the disappointment doesn't lie with whether Kate's wedding dress will make McQueen more commercial or not... I was more dissappointed that Sarah Burton seemed to design a dress that looked like classic Dior. I understand being couture she would have needed to take her customer's taste and the event into account so it of course needed to be more reserved in its style, but I still would have been more impressed if it kept a bit of the McQueen flair in it.

you dont think she was advertising her services? that dress was for her cv

 

[blondegypsy]

you dont think she was advertising her services? that dress was for her cv

Definitely! I completely agree!

Don't get me wrong, the dress was elegant and it looked good on Kate. However, she was still representing the McQueen label when she took on this dress and even if she wasn't, as a designer it would have been nice to see something a little more unique to her own style rather than so incredibly similar to another very well known label.

 

[thejarc]

^yes. but if they put out a fragrance in the near future...

Two fragrances (My Queen and Kingdom) have been out for a while now.

 

[rouge_red]

Sounds a bit like the discussion "real music fans" have when their favourite underground band is having success. Plus, as other members have pointed out - the brand has always had its commercial side. Be happy if the ideas McQueen had are successful and recognized by a greater audience. Noone will take your appreciation of his designs away from you, it might even spread. Nothing wrong with that, huh?

 

[ultramarine]

Oh, please!

How DARE you say Lee would have refused!

He ACCEPTED a bloody CBE from her Majesty the Queen of England, before.

He said he did it because of his mom but still I know in my heart of hearts he'd jumped at it (otherwise his mum would have given a time out and he just couldnt say no to her).

The dress is McQueen, like it or not, Sarah is part of the McQueen house's DNA and it brought the principle of demi-couture Lee's house possesses.

 

[Squizree]

Catherine's dress was ONE of a kind, for a VERY special occasion and will NEVER be seen again. I don't see how this commercializes anything. It made Alexander McQueen more of a household name, but it didn't commercialize it. They're not synonymous.

 

[Jessica18Toronto]

Forget the Royal dress, the skeleton scarf is the most commercial piece ever.

 

[LegsXI]

Do you think no matter what designer Kate chose the dress would have looked relatively the same? Just wondering..

 

[Jessica18Toronto]

Do you think no matter what designer Kate chose the dress would have looked relatively the same? Just wondering..

Yes, 100%. This was their version of Kate's dream dress probably.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Forget the Royal dress, the skeleton scarf is the most commercial piece ever.

Without a doubt. That's why i think the idea of this thread is kind of laughable. When you see BB contestants wearing the skeleton scarf, Jade Goody had one, I think it's safe to say you're brand is already "too commercial".

 

[Kite]

The Skull Scarf has the same fashion/pop culture qualities as the Louis Vuitton Monogrammed crap and anything with the interlinking 'C's of Chanel.

I dont think the word 'Commercial' is being used in the right way here. Armani is a word renowned and household name, but I wouldn't say he was that commercial, he still has an air of sophistication and class about his products.

Every brand has to evolve somehow. McQueen had a chance to be apart of one of the biggest events of the next 50 years....im sure any brand would have jumped at the chance.

 

[Aquitaine]

Do you think no matter what designer Kate chose the dress would have looked relatively the same? Just wondering..

Burton also reportedly revealed that the design of the dress was a 50/50 collaboration with Kate Middleton, adding that "it was made for her and has a lot of her personality in it", strengthening the theory that Middleton plundered pictures of Grace Kelly's wedding gown to present to Burton.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/06/royal-wedding-dress-designer

It would have looked more or less like the wedding dress by Burton whatever the designer chosen.

It was a very well done dress without soul.

Imo McQueen didn't got more famous or commercial because of the dress.

 

[softgrey]

Without a doubt. That's why i think the idea of this thread is kind of laughable. When you see BB contestants wearing the skeleton scarf, Jade Goody had one, I think it's safe to say you're brand is already "too commercial".

what is BB and who is jade goody pls?...

 

[hautechild]

^ Big Brother (referring to the UK version) Jade was a former contestant who became a minor celeb for all the wrong reasons, as such people do.

Someone asked me recently if I thought that had McQueen himself still been alive, did I think that he would have been asked to design Kate's dress. And I, personally, think that probably he wouldn't.

There wasn't really any of the McQueen aesthetic in the dress, even with it's softer direction under Burton. Although, as others have said, it was a custom wedding dress and it had to please masses. I would have liked to have seen something more "McQueen" and more interesting, but that may not have been suitable for the royal wedding. Has it made the brand more commercial? It may have made it more well known, but there's been a lot of interest in the brand following Lee's death in any case.