Alexander McQueen opens Savile Row Menswear Flagship Store

ALEXANDER McQUEEN OPENS ITS FIRST EVER MENSWEAR STORE ON SAVILE ROW IN LONDON
22nd October 2012 - Alexander McQueen is proud to announce the opening of its first ever menswear flagship store, at 9 Savile Row, London. The store been conceived by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen and realised together with David Collins Studio, also responsible for the new women’s store concept. The flagship will provide the largest offering for the men’s ready-to-wear line and accessories with plans to develop an in-house bespoke tailoring service housed at the workshop in the basement of the store.


“This new menswear store is like a homecoming for Alexander McQueen, since Lee himself was an apprentice on Savile Row, and tailoring has always been the backbone of the label. I’m excited to be able to offer Alexander McQueen menswear in our new environment that is steeped in the codes of the house.”
Sarah Burton

“The Alexander McQueen menswear store on Savile Row has the same vision as the new McQueen women’s store concept, but with its own character, like Britishness laid bare. There is a romance to the store and a maverick spirit, just like Alexander McQueen.” David Collins


THE STORE

Alexander McQueen’s first menswear store sits on one of the most famous streets in London, with Savile Row known worldwide as the home of tailoring. Behind the original facade is an entry area with a floor of smashed and reassembled Nero Argento marble. This leads to the main body of the store, where the clothes are arranged down the centre on a strip of red carpet to echo a military procession, all hanging from a brass rail specially carved like the vertebrae of a spine.


The original parquet flooring has been maintained to give a lived-in feeling, while the walls are lined in plaster panels which at first seem like classic 19th century pieces, but which have actually been designed to feature many McQueen motifs. These include the feathers of an outstretched wing, and the discreet use of the skull. Such animalistic details are found elsewhere in the store, with claws carved into the feet of cabinets, and handles carved into twisted horns.

At the end of the store stands a large enclosed glass box, another key McQueen signature, which is being curated by Sadie Coles. The first work presented is ICON by Sarah Lucas, a sculpture from 2006 that portrays British dancer Michael Clark, from the artist’s celebrated ‘Bunny’ series.

INSPIRATIONS

Nature, both real and idealised; the graphic lines of Francis Bacon; Rorschach tests; the faded grandeur of stately homes; the skeleton; military parades.

COLOURS
Black, red, white and gold.



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