Slugging It Out With Alexander McQueen

In his Spring 2009 collection, divine inspiration in the form of saturated colors and body-forming cocoon silhouettes collided with Charles Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' to create a spectacular [and simultaneously uncharacteristic] collection for Alexander McQueen. Not surprising, given that McQueen once held a position with the famous London theatrical costumiers, Angels and Bermans, giving him a reputation as the king of fashionably dramatic theatrical highlights.

Backed by a video projection of a revolving Earth, and surrounded by stuffed animals of endangered species, McQueen set out to symbolize the negative impact of twenty-first-century evolution through the use of jumbled prints, exaggerated trims, layered textures, and unexpected color combinations -- surprisingly similar to the 'nudibranch' (one of the most colorful, and visually chaotic, creatures on earth).

"Nudibranch," which comes from the Latin nudus, (naked) and the Greek brankhia (gills), is a primitive description that oversimplifies the complex nature of these creatures by deconstructing them into a single, uncomplicated idea. The body forms of the nudibranch vary enormously, but because they are opisthobranchs, they are bilaterally symmetrical. And when viewed alongside McQueen's sublime forms, dreamy fringing, and swishing filaments, it's easy to make a comparison between his collection and these amazing underwater creatures. Although, it goes without saying, that McQueen's creations are slightly more commercially viable ;)