The Fifth Tale- McQueen and I

The intimate tales of McQueen and I: an honest account of fashions darker corner’s

Making no qualms about it, one of fashions most unlikely but wholly inspirational designers was Lee Alexander McQueen. Following his shocking and unexpected death in June 2010 the world of fashion was rocked to its core; finally his life and works are explored personally and professionally from the people on the inside.

The lad from the east end who came from a little council estate and transformed his life into a fashion designers paradise had an interesting history and even more interesting life. With the help of infamous fashion journo Issy blow (Isabella blow), McQueen was launched from his east end roots into a world in which he made a magnificent impression.

Blow described McQueen as being ‘like a bird’ many of his collections for Givenchy and his own label reflect this birdlike manor. “What attracted me to Alexander was the way he takes ideas from the past and sabotages them with his cut to make them thoroughly new and in the context of today. It is the complexity and severity of his approach to cut that makes him so modern. He is like a Peeping Tom in the way he slits and stabs at fabrics to explore all the erogenous zones of the body.”

The documentary also explores the complexities of this close relationship with blow; lifelong friend and fellow suffer at the hands of press and fashion critics. McQueen and blow’s relationship was very much in the fashion industry’s eye with many accounts of its ups and downs. Blow’s ex-husband talks openly and honestly about the traumas affecting the pair. Both said to be suffers of depression the support posts of one another often frail.

Marking the one-year anniversary of his death, ‘McQueen and I’  includes interviews with the designer's  friends, models, journalists, his brother and ex-boyfriend, highlighting the pressures that came with his success -  and showing how he changed over the years that eventually led to his suicide last February.

This first collection of interviews and footage tells his tale in a brutally honest Cinderella rags to riches style documentary. No stone is left unturned in this true reflection of McQueen’s exciting but pressured existence. With a great sense of realism and a hard account of what life in the fashion industry is really like we learn just how beautiful and brutal the clothes artists’ career is.

Channel 4 interviews a variety of people close to McQueen who tell their stories of lee as a young boy rising to the challenge of becoming one of the world’s most original fashion designers. Industry professional’s including former head Givenchy publicist Eric Lanuit is captured in the documentary saying: 'The press officer’s role is also to be a nanny.

'[McQueen] would call to ask for certain "vitamin substances" to help him stay up all night and through the day of a fashion show.

' I’m not talking about vitamin C, I am talking about cocaine.'

Even though this is said to be the case McQueen was reported to have paid for some of Issy’s treatment to get her back on her feet, possibly due to the fact he was in debt to her in the early years as she launched his career by buying his graduation collection from central S.t Martins. Once the public and fashion junkies alike has realised this young man’s potential the only way was up, Blow and McQueen becoming close friends after she invited him to stay at her mansion.

The honest and emotional documentary gives such a close insight in to the life of Alexander McQueen it’s a vital exploration of the power the world of fashion holds. With no buttered up excuses, this no holds barred account is a must see for anyone who does not want to be shielded by the petticoats and glamour but wants an informed portrayal of some of the darker alleys of the fashion lovers world.