Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson

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Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson


                I’ve always found Alexander McQueen fascinating. I wasn’t overly aware of his work before he passed but I was aware of some of his designs and was a fan of what I had seen. His suicide sent shock waves through the fashion world and it was then that I became more aware of the impact he had on fashion and the theatricality he brought to the runway. As sometimes happens after someone famous passes, Alexander McQueen became the hot topic and his fashion was thrust into the spotlight. It wasn’t until reading this biography I learned more about the man who was born Lee Alexander McQueen and how the way he lived his life and the clothes he created changed the way many saw fashion.
                Alexander McQueen was very complex. He was a gay fashion designer that struggled with his appearance and his confidence. He had been sexually abused, would later be diagnosed with HIV, did drugs, drank alcohol and had been in abusive relationships. But he knew what he wanted his brand to represent and he was consistently pushing the envelope with both his clothes and his runway shows. He wasn’t always the most admirable person but he was passionate about the things he cared about. That’s what I have learned about Alexander McQueen from reading this biography. It took Andrew Wilson quite some time to find his voice while writing this biography. The introduction to Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin begins with the gathering held months after McQueen’s death and focused very heavily on the opinions others had of McQueen and the clothes they chose to wear to the event. Wilson continued the opinion heavy narrative throughout the first third of the biography and it honestly didn’t feel as if he had established his own narrative about McQueen’s life until midway through the book. Wilson’s style of writing isn’t my favorite because of the amount of tangents that took over the biography. When Wilson began to focus and lead the narrative of the story instead of letting the opinions and source information take over, this became a more enjoyable biography. Overall I give this 3 out of 5 stars. 

Thank you Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

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