Alexander McQueen Protects the Family Jewels -- of His Male Customers
Let's hear it for the boys. And their skivvies. Extravagantly printed boxer briefs to be exact. They are the first fashion step in the new era of Alexander McQueen.
I know what you're thinking: the design genius known more for folly (think: 10-inch crab claw platforms that most models couldn't and wouldn't walk in) than functionality was concerned with such mundane basics? Apparently so. And that move didn't just fall into the margins of his sketchbook -- it was part of a larger plan for the brand. A smart plan.
Consider: Almost immediately after McQueen's unexpected death at age 40 in February, the blogosphere's rumor mill churned with speculation over who would (or could) succeed him and which direction that chosen one would take the brand.
I said McQueen's new creative lead would have giant paint-smattered brogues to fill, while balancing the weight of making such a haute-concept, high-priced legacy more commercially profitable.
Indeed, McQueen's majority stakeholder Gucci Group already had a strategic plan for the brand that included retail expansion as well as extensions into accessories and perfume long before the designer died.
But even in typically lower-priced items such as t-shirts, McQueen's garments carry hefty price tags. You could argue that each of his men's wear collections feature impeccable construction (drawn from his early training on Savile Row) and fascinating imagery and detail, but $200 for an eagle print graphic tee is hard to justify in this economy.
Enter the undies. McQueen's chief executive officer Jonathan Akeroyd underscored that developing men's wear was the brand's priority and that expanding the product mix was mandatory. As such, the entire line will include the aforementioned underwear as well as luxury sleepwear, "military-flavored loungewear," and swimwear. Retail prices will range from about $52.50 at current exchange for the basic boxers to over $500 for silk jacquard pajamas. The first items will go on sale in June.
The company insists the designer was involved in each stage of the brand's extension, including the sales campaign, before his death. Given McQueen's attention to the smallest details it's very likely true. Now that he's gone, fans will have to content themselves with the details, too. Note the tiny skulls sewn on the waistbands of boxers and the stretch fabrics printed with feathers, bones, and other fantasia. Will subversive Savile Row sell? As long as celebrities from the designer's unofficial muse Lady Gaga to Sandra Bullock continue to cloak themselves in McQueen-inspired avant garde finery, the label can cash in on covetability.