Anne Deniau

Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) is widely recognized as one of the leading fashion designers of his time, whose work combined esthetic vision, emotional power, and extraordinary craft. He was especially known for staging provocative shows that were as much performances as venues to display his designs. Charged with energy, informed by history and culture, and filled with fresh concepts, they have become legends not only of fashion but also of art. Shooting backstage, photographer Anne Deniau documented twenty-six of these shows, beginning in September 1997 and ending with the final one in October 2010. Working directly for McQueen, she produced a remarkable and previously unpublished photographic record that captures the intensity and immediacy of these events. We see McQueen working with his close circle of collaborators--among them, designer Sarah Burton, milliner Philip Treacy, jewelry designer Shaun Leane, model Kate Moss. The meticulously produced spectacles that they created come back to life on the page in this inside look at the work of a great artist.