Eye is the fifteenth collection by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, released for the Spring/Summer 2000 season of his eponymous fashion house. It was inspired by the culture of the Middle East, particularly Islamic clothing, as well as the oppression of women in Islamic culture and their resistance to it. The collection crossed traditional Middle Eastern garments with elements drawn from Western fashion such as sportswear and fetishwear. Jeweller and frequent McQueen collaborator Shaun Leane provided the collection's best-known design: a yashmak made from chainmail.
The runway show for Eye was staged at Pier 94 on 16 September 1999, during New York Fashion Week. In the days leading up to the runway show, Hurricane Floyd was threatening New York City, and although numerous other designers cancelled shows, McQueen decided to go ahead with Eye. Despite the weather, more than 1,000 guests attended. The show was presented on a runway flooded with several inches of water, dyed black to resemble oil. Sixty-eight looks were presented in the main show, after which a bed of nails rose up from the water on the floor for the show's finale. Strobe lighting played while acrobats dressed in robes descended from the ceiling suspended from wires. When McQueen walked out for his final bow, he dropped his trousers to display boxer shorts styled to look like the American flag.
Critical response to Eye was mixed. While some reviewers enjoyed the theatrical approach, others found that it overwhelmed the clothing. Many critics found that the designs lacked innovation. The frock coats and dresses were consistently deemed the strongest part of the collection. Critical analysis has typically interpreted Eye as a statement about the contrast between the sexual and political values of the Western world and the Middle East. Accessories from Eye appeared at both stagings of the retrospective exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, and clothing from the collection appeared in the 2022 exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse.
Background British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was known throughout his nearly twenty-year career, spanning 1992–2010, for his imaginative, sometimes controversial designs. Over the course of his career, which lasted from 1992 until his death in 2010, he explored a broad range of ideas and themes, particularly sexuality, death, violence, romanticism, and historicism. His fashion shows were theatrical to the point of verging on performance art. As a British designer, McQueen presented at London Fashion Week for much of his career, although he had reprised his early shows Banshee (Autumn/Winter 1994) and Dante (Autumn/Winter 1996) in New York City at the behest of fashion promoter Derek Anderson.
McQueen drew inspiration for his work from a broad range of sources, including history, world religions, art, and his own life. He often used his work to explore themes of female victimisation, resistance, survival, and empowerment, although his aggressive, sexualised designs sometimes drew accusations of misogyny. He examined religious ideas throughout his career: religious motivations for warfare in Dante (Autumn/Winter 1996); martyrdom in Joan (Autumn/Winter 1998), and religious persecution in In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692 (Autumn/Winter 2007). He often played with notions of clothing as armour and vice versa.
Concept and creative process
Eye (Spring/Summer 2000) was the fifteenth collection by British designer Alexander McQueen for his eponymous fashion house. Inspired by Turkish music McQueen heard in a taxi as well as the London Arab community, the collection explored the culture of the Middle East, particularly Islamic clothing. McQueen stated that he wished to examine the oppression of women in Islamic culture and their resistance to it.
To this end, the collection took traditional Middle Eastern and Islamic garments such as harem pants, baggy trousers fitted to the ankle; Islamic veils including the yashmak and niqāb; and the burqa, which fully covers the body and the face, and infused them with elements drawn from Western fashion styles such as sportswear and fetishwear. There were also frock coats and low-rise trousers with keyhole cutouts or scooped hems. Fetishwear concepts included face masks, body-conscious silhouettes, and leather harnesses. Sportswear was presented in the form of football jerseys bearing red crescent moons, and boxing shorts with McQueen's name in faux-Arabic script.
The collection's primary palette was red, black, and white, with metallic and embroidered elements. As was typical for McQueen, tailored items featured heavily, including coats and suits. There were also a number of draped dresses in lightweight jersey. Many items were made from brocade fabric and embroidered leather. Some items had prints resembling traditional Islamic art. The designs were cut to either conceal the body, in the Middle Eastern tradition, or reveal it, in a more Western manner. Garments were decorated with sewn-on coins, bells, and ribbons, reminiscent of belly dancing costumes. Accessories included headdresses made from coins, provided by milliner and frequent McQueen collaborator Philip Treacy. Pieces using diamonds were created by winners of an international jewellery competition.
Another longtime associate, jeweller Shaun Leane, created a yashmak made to look like chainmail, consisting of aluminium plates inset with red Swarovski crystal cabochons. According to Leane, McQueen showed him an antique belt made of filigree metalwork, set with red jewels, which Leane has variously recalled as Ottoman or Moghul, and asked him to produce something inspired by the belt which covered the entire torso and head. That was the extent of the creative brief: McQueen trusted Leane to produce something suitable, and McQueen did not see the finished item until three days before the show. The nose and eyebrow pieces for the yashmak were hand-carved by sculptor Annika Hellgren.
Runway show
Move to New York City
Eye was the first show McQueen had premiered outside of London. The decision was somewhat controversial in the British press, as McQueen's departure left London Fashion Week without one of its largest-drawing names. Lisa Armstrong at The Times of London speculated that McQueen might have been feeling spiteful toward the British Fashion Council, as he believed they had "never properly recognised his part in transforming British fashion over the past few years".
McQueen stated the move to New York was a business decision intended to showcase the Alexander McQueen brand to fashion industry personnel who did not attend London Fashion Week. He viewed this as a step toward developing the brand internationally, and was clear from the outset that he intended to return to England the following season. The move resulted in his show being nearly a week and a half earlier than it would have been in London, prompting a rush for his employees to ensure the collection was ready in time.
Production details
The show was staged in a Pier 94 warehouse at 9:00p.m. on 16 September 1999, during New York Fashion Week. McQueen had initially requested permission to stage the runway show for Eye on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, but the New York City Police Department declined for safety reasons. In the days leading up to the runway show, Hurricane Floyd was threatening New York, prompting closure of schools and businesses. Several other designers cancelled shows, but McQueen decided to go ahead with Eye. Announcing McQueen's decision not to cancel, his publicist, Pierre Rougier, reportedly claimed that the storm "will add atmosphere". Some joked that McQueen had arranged for the hurricane to coincide with his show for the effect. Jeanne Beker of the Ottawa Citizen speculated that he had enjoyed the opportunity to inconvenience "snooty" industry figures. Despite the weather, more than 1,000 guests attended, including several major fashion industry figures: Anna Wintour of Vogue, Kim Hastreiter of Paper, Katherine Betts of Harper's Bazaar, Hal Rubenstein of InStyle, and Patrick J. McCarthy, editorial director of Fairchild Publications.
The show was unusually expensive. Estimates of the budget varied widely; pre-show rumours projected that it would cost anywhere from to . McQueen told The Times in January 2000 that it had cost roughly , while Harper's Bazaar reported in December 1999 that the show had cost . Sponsor American Express, in their third year as McQueen's backer, contributed approximately to the show's budget. De Beers contributed an unspecified amount of funding, and lent a 1,220-diamond necklace and a 407-diamond pin for the runway show. These items were reportedly worth . Other backers included Onward Kashiyama, Swarovski and MAC Cosmetics.
McQueen typically worked with a consistent creative team for his shows. Joseph Bennett returned to handle set design. Overall styling was handled by Katy England, while Gainsbury & Whiting oversaw production. Hair and make-up were handled by Guido Palau and Val Garland, respectively.
Catwalk presentation Models walked down a catwalk filled with several inches of water, dyed black to resemble crude oil, a major Middle Eastern resource. McQueen had previously used liquid runways in Bellmer La Poupée (Spring/Summer 1997) and Untitled (Spring/Summer 1998). The primary make-up look was heavy black eyeliner. The models had their skin darkened with fake tan lotion. Many of the models were styled with headdresses which covered their whole face except their eyes. Others wore black wigs.
Sixty-eight looks were presented in the main show, with an additional nine looks presented during the finale. The show's soundtrack was described by Alex Kuczynski at The New York Times as "ominous disco"; it also included drums and sounds of screaming. The show opened with a black frock coat with heavy silver embroidery, worn with only black underpants beneath. Look 2 combined a black face covering with a black tailored trouser suit, a classic McQueen ensemble. The chainmail yashmak was presented in Look 13, styled with red and silver underpants. For Look 15, Gisele Bündchen wore a bodysuit covered with metallic paillettes and an embroidered headdress. McQueen referenced the burqa in Look 22, a black robe which concealed the face but was cut short in the front, revealing embellished black underwear.
For the show's finale, a bed of nails rose up from the water on the floor. Strobe lighting played while acrobats dressed in robes resembling burqas descended from the ceiling suspended from wires, floating, gyrating, and dancing. Following this, the lights came back up and the models took their final turn. Finally, "Can You Handle It" by Sharon Redd played while McQueen walked out for his final bow in blue jeans. At the top of the runway, he dropped his pants to display boxer shorts styled to look like the American flag. The show reportedly received a standing ovation.
Reception
Eye drew a varied reception from contemporary critics, and retrospectives differ in their assessment of the critical consensus. Author Andrew Wilson reported that the show earned "rave reviews", albeit more for the performance than for the clothes. In contrast, author Katherine Gleason and curator Kate Bethune each reported that reception was mixed, with Gleason writing that critics felt McQueen had "overdone the theatrics".
Presentation A number of reviewers regarded the clothing and show as an overall success. Rebecca Lowthorpe at The Independent called Eye "the highlight of the week" and predicted that it would draw the attention that McQueen was looking for. Michael Quintanilla of the Los Angeles Times wrote that with Eye, "The bad boy did good." Fiona McIntosh, also at The Independent, said that McQueen's theatrical presentation had "managed to upstage Hurricane Floyd".