Was I the only one...

... underwhelmed by Alexander McQueen's showing for Spring 2010? I'm used to him breaking through limits of form and redefining construction, while delivering fully developed statements. The collection didn't seem especially innovative, other than the footwear:

I guess it's unfair of me to expect him to outdo himself every time out. Still, it made me miss the theatricality of his past shows, for which he was occasionally chastised. Spring/Summer 1999 literally took my breath away:

NOTE added February 18th, 2008: Alexander McQueen died one week ago today. Some people were surprised that I didn't blog about it immediately, and to be honest, I feel strange writing about it now. I thought about compiling and posting my favourite McQueen pieces, but memorialization feels like a callous exercise to me right now. It's hard to explain the grief over someone whom you never met, yet who profoundly influenced your aesthetic outlook. McQueen's work was more than fashion to me. It was a glimpse at something transcendent, visceral and above all, beautiful. He created the kind of otherworldly beauty that made me wonder and dream. My clumsy words are flat and lifeless against what they deign to describe.

One of my most closely cherished dreams was to one day see a McQueen show live. I think I am mourning the death of that dream and grappling with the fact that there will never be another collection to behold.

I leave my criticisms of his last collection, above, unchanged. My words reflect the fact that I never compared, nor could ever compare, Alexander McQueen to any other designer; I could only compare him to himself. The critique proves that you never appreciate what you have until it's gone. I certainly feel that way, and am sure that history will eclipse my remarks as his last collection becomes edified as his greatest.

I mourn in the most selfish way, in grief for my own loss. I hope that Mr. McQueen has found the peace he sought.