Monday, December 15, 2014

The Gift List ~ Love Looks Not With The Eyes

Oh how I love Alexander McQueen!
When the runway schedules post each season
I rearrange my life so that I can watch the live feed
of the Alexander McQueen show.

I also love coffee table books, both to have for myself,
and to give as the perfect chic gift, be it for birthdays,
holidays or as a hostess gift.

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Love Looks Not With The Eyes ~ 13 Years With Alexander McQueen

Now at the top of my list is this beautiful, beautiful book
that celebrates the sheer brilliance of the designer.

For 13 years, from September 1997 until his final show in 2010,
Alexander McQueen only allowed one photographer, Anne Deniau, backstage at his spectacular and legendary runway shows.

Love Looks Not With The Eyes chronicles the torture, the toughness and the tenderness of Alexander McQueen (quoted from New York Times) as we watch him working behind the scenes with his close circle of collaborators to create his senstational shows.

For those who love McQueen, or for those who love fashion,
this book is a visceral experience. 
The reviews below lend credence to my feelings when slowly, slowly turning the beautiful pages.
I love him still.


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Un-Fallen Angel

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Alexander McQueen backstage with Kate Moss


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Backstage with McQueen

Praise for Love Looks Not With the Eyes: Thirteen Years With Lee Alexander McQueen:

The pictures are evocative of the torture, the toughness and, most of all, the tenderness of Mr. McQueen.” —New York Times

“Deniau’s close connection to McQueen and her appreciation for his formidable talent is like many of the pieces he created: breathtaking.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Thekinetic color and black-and-white photographs document the fantastical,shocking spectacle of a McQueen show in action: hairdos trussed up with birdsof prey; hubcaps strapped to foreheads; faces enhanced by extraterrestrialcheek prostheses. The images are sensual, spooky, and whimsical, playing up thedrama of McQueen’s vision; like one of the designer’s fabulous garments, thephotographs transform fashion into high art. The book is both an homage and amemorial; this celebration of McQueen’s vast, unique talent is also a eulogyfor his tragic loss.” — “Haute couture has a reputation for spectacle, but Anne Deniau’s photographs remind us that it’s also the last bastion of craftsmanship in fashion—or it was, as practiced by designer Alexander McQueen (1969–2010).” —Wall Street Journal

“Lush, previously unpublished backstage photographs from many of the late designer’s provocative fashion shows.”—The Los Angeles Times

“The kinetic color and black-and-white photographs document the fantastical, shocking spectacle of a McQueen show in action: hairdos trussed up with birds of prey; hubcaps strapped to foreheads; faces enhanced by extraterrestrial cheek prostheses. The images are sensual, spooky, and whimsical, playing up the drama of McQueen’s vision; like one of the designer’s fabulous garments, the photographs transform fashion into high art. The book is both an homage and a memorial; this celebration of McQueen’s vast, unique talent is also a eulogy for his tragic loss.” —Publishers Weekly

Love Looks Not with the Eyes document[s] the intense work and equally intense emotions that played out behind the scenes of McQueen’s poetic, passionate, and provocative shows. . . . The intimacy is evident in the pictures.” —Vogue

“The haunting images offer a rarefied glimpse into the designer’s inner world.” —Harper’s Bazaar

“Deniau, in the process of documenting 26 McQueen presentations, captured images which, too, transcend photography—matching the decadent and grand world created by the hands of McQueen.” —Time.com

“Haute couture has a reputation for spectacle, but Anne Deniau’s photographs remind us that it’s also the last bastion of craftsmanship in fashion—or it was, as practiced by designer Alexander McQueen (1969–2010).” —Wall Street Journal
 

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