"I never for a million years thought I would be writing a blog entry for Lee McQueen’s death. Even as i’m doing it I hope someone will tell my fingers to stop tapping and that he didn’t really do it. We started together, not together together, but around the same time. Even then he made me feel inadequate at what i did (I was the Fashion Director on a new magazine called Dazed & Confused). He was always so terribly impressive and talented and funny, and nice and polite.
Anyhow, there he was embarking on this amazing journey, it was always reassuring to see talented and funny people do well. That was the thing about Lee – he really deserved to be successful. Lots of people just fake it, or are lucky, but Lee was genuinely amazing at what he did. I honestly don’t know how he did it – only on Sunday Giles and I were talking about ‘how did Lee do all that he did?’. Those endless ideas, and a phenomenal stamina for the fashion industry. Not only would he happily design about two collections a season (of course no designer does everything), but the production that would go into all of his shows – which made them a proper spectacle. Most designers can’t even be bothered to have a diet coke in the run up to a show, let alone do ‘a show on water’, ‘a show in a storm’, ‘a show broadcast live on the internet with the gremlin of Lady Gaga’……
It was so impressive what Lee did, with proportion, fabrics, embroideries. And undoubtedly, when Lee was on fire he was genius. I’m sure every editor remembers the goose bumps when they saw the ‘they shoot horses don’t they’ show. I mean, that was just amazing – a standing ovation with real reason that was just mind blowing.
Lee’s most endearing quality was his honesty, he really did have people he liked and people he didn’t. Most people in positions of power at some point start to ‘play the game’ and I don’t think Lee ever did – another reason he was so brilliant – he really was successful based on talent not through any fucking (proverbially) to get ahead.
I’m kind of shocked, like everyone is, that he decided to take his own life. He always seemed so down to earth, and the last time i saw him he sprinted out of his menswear show to go skiing – at the time i thought ‘that’s the way to do a show’ – come out, turn around and jet off on holiday – i was terribly envious. And perhaps that’s how to remember him, just jetting off on one long holiday.
Poignantly, he says in his interview for Love, ‘when i’m dead, hopefully this house will still be going. On a spaceship. Hopping up and down above the Earth’. And i really hope he is somewhere, hopping up and down, in a pair of bumsters being brilliant with Issy dancing to two tribes.
Katie"
thelovemagazineblog.wordpress.com
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen