Paris Fashion Week Spring 2007: McQueen's Self-Reference Extends Beyond Himself

Alexander McQueen’s spring 2007 runway show is more than a retrospective of his own work; it also referenced the work of other modern British designers, with undeniable connections to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Anglomania Exhibition. McQueen’s message is that self-reference extends beyond the self, and even great designers must acknowledge the larger context in which they work.

McQueen ‘07 spring runway

Hussein Chalayan at the Anglomania exhibit at the MET

McQueen’s bird-like spring ‘07 runway creations

John Galliano at the Anglomania exhibit at the MET

McQueen ‘07 runway

McQueen at the Anglomania exhibit at the MET

As Charles Caleb Colton famously quippped, “Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.” It is apparent that this is the message McQueen set out to accomplish. And while McQueen has been known to be a bit self-indulgent, he steered his collection away from a narcissistic acclamation of his own work, instead making it an ode to the deisgners and movements whose work give McQueen’s a wider significance.

Runway pics and Met Exhibit pics from Style.com

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