The Destructive Forces of Alexander McQueen

The wings of a Brahmid Moth [link]

I would tell you that I'm tiring of Alexander McQueen's obsession with intricate symmetrical patterns, were it not for the obsessive attention to detail in his Spring 2010 designs. According to Style.com, this latest collection entitled "Plato's Atlantis" was created to cast an apocalyptic forecast of the future ecological meltdown of the world. With humankind made up of creatures that evolved from the sea, McQueen used fashion to demonstrate how man may be heading back to an underwater future as the ice cap dissolves.

Dress from Alexander McQueen's 2010 Spring Collection

To understand what McQueen means, one must first understand the story of the lost continent of Atlantis. It starts in 355 B.C. with the Greek philosopher Plato. As legend goes, 9000 years before the time of Plato, after the people of Atlantis became corrupt and greedy, Plato writes that the gods decided to destroy them. A violent earthquake shook the land, giant waves rolled over the shores, and the island sank into the sea, never to be seen again.

Alexander McQueen shoe vs. moth cocoon (pupa)

Unbeknownst to McQueen, his collection bore an uncanny similarity to another ecologically destructive force: the moth. Sturdy and more resistant to pesticides than mosquitoes and flies, moths are one of the most devastating creatures to our natural forests (destroying a million acres of trees every year.) They have also been known to swarm entire cities, traveling upwards of 100 kilometers a day by hitching a ride on high-altitude winds.

Amazing how something so tiny and beautiful can wreak such havoc, a reaffirmation that none of us are immune to catastrophic disaster. So, is McQueen's collection a modern day work of fiction? Or is it an ancient premonition come to life?