My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of [razor-clam] shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make [a dress] out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin [O’Conner] came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the transient nature of beauty and usefulness, particularly in fashion.
In this quote, Alexander McQueen explores the concept of repurposing discarded items, like razor-clam shells, into something beautiful, such as a dress, only to have that creation rejected later. This illustrates the cyclical nature of fashion and art, where something may initially hold beauty and purpose, only to eventually lose its significance, mirroring the fleeting trends in the fashion industry and life itself.
In practice
This quote can be used in a presentation about sustainability in fashion.
I want to be honest about the world that we live in, and sometimes my political persuasions come through in my work. Fashion can be really racist, looking at the clothes of other cultures as costumes. . . . That’s mundane and it’s old hat. Let’s break down some barriers.
I was this young boy and I saw this man with his hands round my sister's neck, I was just standing there with her two children beside me... Everything I've done since then was for the purpose of making women look stronger, not naïve. And so, when everyone started saying I was a misogynist, that really freaked me out. They didn't know me. They didn't know what I had seen in my life. That was the first part of fashion that I hated - people labeling me without knowing me.
I came to terms with not fitting in a long time ago. I never really fitted in. I don't want to fit in. And now people are buying into that.
Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment.
I'm interested in designing for posterity.
It is important to look at death because it is a part of life. It is a sad thing, melancholy but romantic at the same time. It is the end of a cycle - everything has to end. The cycle of life is positive because it gives room for new things.
Every actor has to make terrible films from time to time, but the trick is never to be terrible in them.
When I really have to push and grope and scratch and claw to make a story work, that's a telltale sign that maybe something conceptually isn't right.
There can be nothing more humiliating for a writer of fiction to have to do than restate a case that has already been made.
I hadn't performed by myself in a while. It feels very natural to me, and I assume people come for the very same reasons as they do when I'm with the band: to be moved, for something to happen to them.
Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master the form.
Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
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