It’s rare that new material emerges, allowing us to reappraise a designer’s work, but the recent sale of a portfolio of Alexander McQueen sketches offers exactly that opportunity.
The Kerry Taylor Auction sales catalogue listed 11 menswear designs, believed to date back to his time at Central Saint Martins. McQueen began the MA Fashion course in October 1990, and while the sketches aren’t explicitly dated, one is marked McQueen 91-92, suggesting it was created in early 1991 during his first year.
These sketches demonstrate that menswear was fundamental to McQueen’s creative vision from the start. What’s particularly striking is how his approach to pattern and textiles carried seamlessly into his womenswear designs from the same period. In one sketch, a female model is shown wearing a menswear jacket layered over a dress, further highlighting this fluidity.
The significance of these sketches lies in how they reaffirm the central role of menswear in McQueen’s design ethos—a facet often overlooked in retrospectives of his career. For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s record-breaking ‘Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty’ exhibition notably omitted menswear altogether.
This omission is precisely why the Westminster Menswear Archive has actively sought to collect menswear from the early years of McQueen’s company. Understanding these designs not only provides insight into his menswear but also reveals how his tailoring background and menswear expertise informed his revolutionary approach to womenswear.
These sketches are a reminder that menswear was not an afterthought in McQueen’s career—it was integral to his design philosophy from the very beginning.
