Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection is the thirty-third collection by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, released for the Spring/Summer 2009 season of his eponymous fashion house. The collection reflected McQueen's concerns about human impact on the environment, while drawing inspiration from the work of naturalist Charles Darwin. Natural Dis-tinction is known for its pioneering use of digital prints, which were engineered to match the patterns of their garments.
Two distinct phases of designs contrasted the beauty of the environment with the impact of human industry. The first phase used soft colours, organic motifs, and flowing lines to present an image of nature unspoiled by man. The second featured prints manipulated to look unnaturally perfect, with some designs in artificially bright colours and others in black and white. Across both phases, McQueen presented both classical and experimental silhouettes. Forty-one looks were presented at the collection's runway show, which was staged on 3 October 2008 at the Cent Quatre building in Paris, a community centre that was once a mortuary. The catwalk was framed by two lines of exotic taxidermy animals; a large round screen at the rear of the stage showed projections of celestial bodies and McQueen's own eyeball.
Contemporary critical response was somewhat mixed, with journalists preferring the more romantic first half of the show. Some were disappointed at the lack of runway theatrics for which McQueen had been known. McQueen continued to explore environmental themes and digital prints in his following two collections; he is credited with popularising the use of such prints in fashion. Ensembles from Natural Dis-tinction are held by various museums and have appeared in exhibitions such as the McQueen retrospective Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.
Background British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was known for his imaginative, sometimes controversial designs, and dramatic fashion shows. Over the course of his career, which lasted from 1992 until his death in 2010, he explored a broad range of ideas and themes, particularly sexuality, death, violence, romanticism, and historicism. He learned tailoring as an apprentice on Savile Row, and dressmaking as head designer at French fashion house Givenchy. Although he worked in ready-to-wear – clothing produced for retail sale – his showpiece designs featured a degree of craftsmanship that verged on haute couture.
McQueen's personal fixations had a strong influence on his work. He incorporated his love of animals and the environment throughout his career by using organic materials and making visual references to nature. He was fascinated with taxidermy, and owned several pieces, including stuffed alligator heads and a whole polar bear. Preserved animals and animal parts had appeared in many previous collections: It's a Jungle Out There (Autumn/Winter 1997) had jackets with horns and crocodile heads, while Voss (Spring/Summer 2001) featured a dress made with taxidermied hawks positioned as though attacking the model.
In the final years of his career, McQueen became increasingly concerned about human activity damaging the natural world. He felt that humans were beginning to overpower nature and were "in danger of killing the planet through greed", which would lead to the extinction of life on earth. Variations on these ideas formed the basis for his last three completed collections.
Concept and collection
Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection (Spring/Summer 2009) is the thirty-third collection McQueen made for his eponymous fashion house. According to the show's program notes, McQueen drew inspiration from the theory of natural selection as described by Charles Darwin in his seminal 1859 work On the Origin of Species. Natural Dis-tinction is known for its pioneering use of digital prints, which were engineered to match the patterns of their garments, rather than the usual practice of the pattern being cut to accommodate an existing print. The collection's prints were derived from natural materials, in the latter half manipulated to appear kaleidoscopic. Two distinct phases of designs contrasted the beauty of nature with the impact of human industry.
The first portion of the collection visually referenced unspoiled nature using soft colours, natural materials like leather, delicate embroidery, loose fringe, and flowing, organic shapes. Prints in this section were floral or derived from wood grain in light shades of brown. Many designs featured embroidered floral motifs or fabric flowers. In some, the flowers were set beneath transparent tulle, evoking scientific specimens kept beneath glass, as was common in the Victorian era. The skull, by that point a McQueen signature, appeared on the front of a white minidress in Look 7.
In the second half of the collection, inspiration shifted to the industrial and modern, with two contrasting colour schemes. Some designs had patterns in artificially bright colours, while the rest were in shades of black and white. The prints in this section were still mainly derived from nature – flowers, crystals, and bones – but were digitally manipulated to look unnaturally angular and symmetrical. McQueen described the prints as organic in nature but "enhanced, synthetic – touched by man". Other prints were based on buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, or a mountain taken from a photograph by Dan Holdsworth. Artificial and structured textiles predominated: Lycra for leggings and dresses, and bonded leather dyed black, calling to mind fetish wear. Some dresses and jumpsuits were encrusted with minerals; the final look was a jumpsuit covered with pieces of real amber.
Across the collection, the silhouettes were both classical and experimental. The garments were designed to fit an antique Victorian era mannequin, leading to what Susannah Frankel called a "slightly truncated hourglass silhouette". Wearable items like leggings and shift dresses hinted at McQueen's efforts to keep the collection viable for retail sales. Despite this, McQueen's characteristic tailoring appeared in precisely-cut minidresses, frock coats, and slim trouser suits. High Edwardian collars and leg-of-mutton sleeves showcased his ever-present historicist tendencies, as did designs that appeared to reference The Tailor's Pattern Book (1589) by Spanish mathematician Juan de Alcega.
McQueen had become known for playing with the silhouette by cutting or structuring garments to produce unusual shapes, and he returned to these ideas in Natural Dis-tinction. The collection's more experimental designs exaggerated the wearer's body beyond natural human proportions, with cinched waists and padded shoulders and hips. Intricately folded fabric created cocoon dresses that surrounded the body. Other short dresses had structured, rounded skirts resembling bell jars.
Runway show
Staging and design
The runway show was staged on 3 October 2008 at the Cent Quatre building in Paris, a community centre that was once a mortuary. The invitation featured a lenticular portrait of McQueen that transformed into a skull. McQueen's nephew, Gary McQueen, who worked as a menswear assistant with the company, had created the skull image as a print for the menswear line. McQueen decided he wanted to use it instead and had his nephew rework it into the shifting image for the invite.
McQueen typically worked with a consistent creative team for his shows. Overall styling was handled by Tabitha Simmons, while Gainsbury & Whiting were responsible for production. Joseph Bennett returned for set design. Hair was styled by Paul Hanlon, make-up by Peter Philips. Models were styled with see-through hairnets used as veils over their heads and faces. Author Chloe Fox felt they provided a "foetal sameness" as though the models were freshly-born specimens of a "new breed".
The catwalk was framed by two lines of exotic taxidermy animals, including an elephant, giraffe, and several large cats. Accordingly, the show opened with a soundtrack of animal noises – roaring, hoofbeats, and elephant calls – before transitioning to electronic dance music. A large round screen at the rear of the stage featured various projections of the Earth, the moon, and the sun, and McQueen's own eyeball. McQueen's typical runway theatrics were absent.
Show Forty-one looks were presented in roughly two phases. The first dozen looks were a mixture of minidresses and trouser ensembles featuring wood grain print and floral elements, including the dresses with the flowers set beneath sheer tulle. Abbey Lee Kershaw, wearing a leather corset for Look 8, fainted as she came off the runway, which her agent blamed on the tight garment. This set of outfits was followed by a pair of minidresses made from fringe, Looks 14 and 15. Look 16 was a brown bodysuit worn under a long patterned coat with sharply pointed shoulders; critics compared its silhouette to that of a manta ray or an alien life form. The phase closed with a trio of minidresses covered with metallic enamel flowers, contrasting the softness of the preceding items.
The second half of the show opened with a short series of tailored minidresses, and one trouser suit, in brightly coloured patterns based on crystals. From Look 27, the tailored patterned minidresses and trouser suits continued, but the show transitioned to a mostly black and white palette, with prints now based on bones and architectural elements. This series was interspersed with tailored leather items, mostly minidresses. The final four looks were a series of dresses and jumpsuits encrusted with minerals. The last jumpsuit was covered with pieces of real amber. After the models took their final turn, McQueen came out to take his bow in a rabbit costume.
Reception
Critical reception for Natural Dis-tinction was somewhat mixed. Critics generally preferred the first half of the collection. The colourful, complicated prints were seen as a highlight. Some reviewers were disappointed with the lack of runway performance art, which they had come to expect from McQueen. Despite this, the staff writer for Women's Wear Daily (WWD) considered the show a strong one with a "stunning" set and called it "among the most intriguing in a lackluster season". Anne Slowey of Elle reported that the industry was "charmed" by McQueen's appearance in the rabbit suit. McQueen drew criticism for Kershaw's fainting incident.
Writing for The New York Times, Cathy Horyn regarded the collection as "drivingly contemporary" despite the historical silhouettes and concepts that it referred back to. Sarah Mower of Vogue described the execution as "romantic" and highlighted the fringed designs as "two of the season's most sublime". Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian felt the best designs were those which balanced "pretty and menacing" elements. The minidresses which featured silk flowers beneath layers of see-through mesh were favourites for several critics.
Several critics noted the adherence to McQueen's typical tailored shapes, especially his signature frock coats. Mower thought the choice to produce a colourful collection with "eased-up tailoring" was intended to promote sales; she felt it would sell well at retail. Susannah Frankel felt McQueen's workmanship had been improving each season, citing the embroidery, fabric choices, and digital prints. Joelle Diderich for the Associated Press described the hourglass dresses as a "radical silhouette", while the reviewer for Le Monde found them chicly reminiscent of the work of Cristóbal Balenciaga.