It was such a shock to hear the news about Alexander McQueen's suicide. What a shame! He was only 40, yet he achieved so much within the 40 years that most people could only dream of.
In my eyes, there are only a handful of truly talented living designers today and McQueen was one of them. Others include: John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto (before he started Y-3). I see them as visionaires because they are/ were ahead of their times, they are/ were trendsetters, artists and rule-breakers. There are so many more successful designers in the industry but their successes rely more on their marketing/ business skills, design flair or styling sense. Designers like Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs etc are excellent business people with good fashion sense, but I don't see them as geniuses. And compare to other fashion legends, McQueen was still relatively young and he belonged to my generation which is why so many of us feel so strongly towards his death. A lot of people focused more on his dramatic and structural show pieces and his amazing fashion shows, but one of his talents was his tailoring and ability to create beautifully cut fashion items for everyday wear.
Last week, I worn my 12-year old McQueen black trousers to a formal dinner and I still received comments on how well they looked on me. They are one of my favourites and I try not to wear them too much simply because I know I will never be able to find another pair like them! I don't owe many McQueen pieces simply because they are so expensive. I used to spend a lot of money on fashion which I regretted in the years to come. Subsequently, I spent years selling hundreds of fashion items on ebay, and it made me realised how 'insane' I was back then. Now I still have many beautiful/ collectible pieces in my wardrobe but I rarely wear them. My current daily wardrobe is consisted of Uniqlo, Muji and Cos, a far cry from my fashion-conscious days.
McQueen's death made me think of this question: Is it better to have a short and amazing life or a long but uneventful and unfulfilling life? I used to see suicides as cowardly and destructive acts but now I am starting to feel empathy towards those who commit these acts. Since we all die eventually, so whether we die early or later probably make no difference to certain people. Are they realists or pessimists? It's hard to say. I, myself love life too much, so I find suicides incomprehensible. But then again, life is not all about the length, it is about how we live and how we can influence those around us, hopefully in a positive and inspiring way. Many geniuses had short but very influential lives, so rather than focusing on the time they spent on this earth, perhaps we should just celebrate and appreciate their achievements and legacies.
