James Phillips’ new play McQueen offers a lavish tribute to one of Britain’s most acclaimed fashion designers. That Alexander McQueen was to tragically take his own life at 40 only (ghoulishly?) adds to his iconic mystique – though as the play opens with McQueen contemplating his own mortality and then proceeds to take us through what is suggested to be his last night alive, the narrative’s structure at times suggests a re-branded Arthur Miller. In place of Salesman, think Death Of A Designer.
McQUEEN – St James Theatre
“What is it about men with watching eyes…?” asks the ghost of Isabella Blow, she of the troubled soul and hilariously witty hats. One such man was the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who like his friend and patron finally killed himself.
Photos: Theatre gets ultra fashionable in McQueen
In my theatregoing experience, James Phillips‘ new play, McQueen, which premiered this week at London’s St James Theatre, is the first play I’ve come across to take a serious – and respectful – look at the fashion world in a dramatic context.