avant-garde clothing design

Fashion shows are filled with drama; each season becoming more shocking to command the attention of a jaded audience. Leading the designer arms race has been the avant-garde Alexander McQueen. For his Spring/Summer 1998 ready-to-wear collection he made it rain on the runway (warning: NSFW). For Autumn/Winter 1999 he made it snow, and then for Spring/Summer he used robots to paint a white dress on the stunning Shalom Harlow.

For 2001 and 2002, the sets and fashion became more elaborate. Autumn/Winter was carousel-themed and Spring/Summer featured inspiration from the bull ring. In 2004, McQueen had his models dance and, in 2005, he transformed them into chess pieces.

McQueen certainly has a sense of the theatrical, and for Autumn/Winter 2006 he produced a finale that will be hard to top. To conclude his show, a vision of the controversial Kate Moss appeared in the center of the stage, twirling ethereally before floating away.

The effect, incorrectly described as a hologram, was amazing. If I paid any attention to the fashion industry I would have written about it last March. Instead, I discovered the clip on YouTube quite accidentally while searching for 80s music videos. Glassworks has the details on how the illusion (an updated version of Pepper’s ghost) was produced.

Bonus link: watch cutting edge designs from Hussien Chalayan featuring animatronic dresses, including one that completely disappears for the finale. Read coverage