Alexander McQueen

A Fashion Collaboration

Alexander McQueen & The Rug Company

When Fashion designers collaborate outside of their familiar catwalk, something magical happens. They come with fresh ideas in an area they know no boundaries. Their work is without restriction and consists only of the freedom to create.This collaboration also happened to be some of the last designs of Alexander McQueen himself. Three years in the making, Alexander McQueen’s rug collection took craftsmanship to couture levels; with the collaboration winning the award for Fashions contributing to design. McQueen added fantasy and rebellion to his creation that was all about craft and quality. High drama and a gothic sense of beauty were constants in his work. His hand-knotted series of four large rugs and two coordinating throw pillows is The Rug Company’s most ambitious project of date.

The four-piece series included a cashmere ‘Feathers’ rug that drapes like a fabric and features a pattern based on a hawk’s feather. The wool and silk ‘Skull’ rug, by contrasts, comes with McQueen’s most famous motif in a suitably haunting grey design. The most lyrical is the ‘Hummingbird’design depicting birds in flight across an inky black background weaved with over 300 000 knots per square meter. This design was originally used in McQueen’s Spring / Summer 2009 collection. The collections final piece is the giant two-tone ‘Military Brocade’ design featuring a golden oak leaves border and a central skull from which an oriental serpent emerges. The design in hand-knotted wool with raised silk was taken from an embroidered coat from his Fall 2001 runway show. The rug designs are one of a small number of items McQueen put his name to outside of fashion and beauty. These rugs are truly a piece of art and I love them all but my personal favorite is the silk Feather rug.